For those wondering why My Little Pony is so popular...

[AdamRBi]

If you really want to tell people why we love the show, show them this quote from Lauren Faust:

"While developing the concept for the show, I personally produced a 40+ page "pitch bible." I was hired to do this on my own, so I was free to hire the help I wanted with the budget I was given. I hired two artists to help me with this early phase. Martin Ansolobehere, with whom I had worked on Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, did some adorable initial background concepts for this bible. And my friend Paul Rudish, a key creative for shows like Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Samurai Jack, the first Clone Wars and Symbionic Titan, assisted me with conceptualization and art development."

That quote's from an interview with Lauren by the blog "Equestria Daily" and only scratches the surface of the creative team that went into making it.

Don't worry guys; once these haters mature to a point where 'girly' and 'childish' are no longer barriers and become non-issues their opinions will change, even if it's to an "I don't like the show, but I respect it for being of good quality" perspective. Because really there's only 3 reasons to hate the show:

1) It's 'Girly' and 'for kids' so that must mean it sucks.
2) Overexposure to the bad-side of the fanbase.
3) Because it's cool to hate on popular things/I want to look cool by joining the hate for something popular.

Though it would be helpful if we didn't spam about it. This whole "not this thread again" thing isn't doing us any justice.

 

[Calbeck]

Don't mix me up in all of this. The Fez loves whores! Now good day!

Then you'll be needin' this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY5iLIMkZ5w (warning: explicit lyrics and brony in-jokes)

 

[Calbeck]

you are gushing over a kiddy show.

Reality Check: very few animated shows AREN'T aimed at kiddies, including anime (which is why if you like anime and you're not a teenager, you're otaku).

We're all geeks here, not every geek "gets" what other geeks like, so eh. That's life.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

My problem with My Little Pony is that it's insanely popular when there are better kids cartoons out there. I mean, look at something like Adventure Time or Regular Show. Both of those shows are by far better executed than MLP and they aren't as "preachy" as MLP. They also can appeal to more than just kids, which MLP aimed for exclusively but also somehow hit the 4chan demographic.

I'm pretty sure Adventure Time has at least as big of a following as MLP, the fans are just less vocal -- mainly because they aren't self conscious about watching a show aimed at boys, especially one that's pretty clearly aimed more at the 14-25 demographic than at small children. Same thing with Regular Show except it's less popular, but contains even more frat boy humor (I swear, I saw one episode where some of the characters were shotgunning beers.) If you think about it, I doubt you'll find many bronies who don't like Adventure Time, and it's got a pretty big following of people who aren't bronies, so chances are that it has at least as many, if not more fans. [edit]Oh, also, there's another reason why people aren't quite as crazy about Adventure Time and Regular Show; they're very much modern cartoons, in the acid-trip style of shows like Flapjack and Chowder. My Little Pony is something of a throwback to the 90's style of cartoons best exemplified by Animaniacs. While it's not as good as that show, it's pretty clearly inspired by it, and it provides a double whammy of being a good show, and of nostalgia for 90's cartoons.[/edit]

As for the people who are complaining about how bronies constantly talk about the show, or about how we have a persecution complex: look back through the pony threads on this site. This is the first one in living memory that was started by a brony, and not someone who was either trolling or who had been away from the internet for a while, and was now confused about all of the avatars -- and I was serious about the sticky. We need one, even moreso now that a new season of the show has started up. Everyone is sick of these threads, bronies and non bronies alike.

One last thing: you can sum up the reason bronies are so vocal with two things: one, society discourages boys and men from enjoying things aimed at girls and women, and most men have internalized it to the point that it seems kind of weird even to them when they find they like something aimed at the wrong gender. The other thing is that there really are a lot of anti-bronies running around -- all you have to do is look at this thread. When you combine an undercurrent of embarrassment with people who really do make fun of you for liking something, you're going to get a much more vocal fanbase then you'll get when nobody cares that you like something[footnote]I'm not saying I'm embarrassed by it, or that the majority of bronies are, but there's enough of an undercurrent that it plays a role -- and it especially played a role at first, when there was no brony subculture, and we were just a bunch of people coming to grips with the fact that we liked a new version of, of all things, My Little Pony.[/footnote]. That's just the way things are.

 

[Generalissimo]

you are gushing over a kiddy show.

Reality Check: very few animated shows AREN'T aimed at kiddies, including anime (which is why if you like anime and you're not a teenager, you're otaku).

We're all geeks here, not every geek "gets" what other geeks like, so eh. That's life.

but most geeks don't flaunt their liking of whatever it is like some kind of new coat.

in other words. PACK IT IN. IT'S A KING SIZED ANNOYANCE.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

you are gushing over a kiddy show.

Reality Check: very few animated shows AREN'T aimed at kiddies, including anime (which is why if you like anime and you're not a teenager, you're otaku).

We're all geeks here, not every geek "gets" what other geeks like, so eh. That's life.

but most geeks don't flaunt their liking of whatever it is like some kind of new coat.

in other words. PACK IT IN. IT'S A KING SIZED ANNOYANCE.

Says the guy with a Family Guy avatar. Avatars are about 90% of the "flaunting" you see on these forums, and as I noted above, A.) less of these threads are started by bronies than you seem to think, and B.) there's a pretty good reason bronies wound up being so visible.

 

[Eri]

Ironic that all of the people here asserting that all bronies need to "grow up" are probably the ones who need to do some growing up themselves...

Stop feeling superior to people because you don't like something they like, or you perceive what they like as somehow inappropriate.

I like shit you don't like. You like shit I don't like.

End thread forever x 1,000,000.

Boom. This right here. Thanks for typing it before me.

 

[Generalissimo]

you are gushing over a kiddy show.

Reality Check: very few animated shows AREN'T aimed at kiddies, including anime (which is why if you like anime and you're not a teenager, you're otaku).

We're all geeks here, not every geek "gets" what other geeks like, so eh. That's life.

but most geeks don't flaunt their liking of whatever it is like some kind of new coat.

in other words. PACK IT IN. IT'S A KING SIZED ANNOYANCE.

Says the guy with a Family Guy avatar. Avatars are about 90% of the "flaunting" you see on these forums, and as I noted above, A.) less of these threads are started by bronies than you seem to think, and B.) there's a pretty good reason bronies wound up being so visible.

i have a family guy avatar because it's the only one that seems to work here. so that's invalid.

A. that's not relavent

B. because they make such a big deal of themselves

 

[Atmos Duality]

The only people opinions I care about are my friends' opinions. I'm not going to lose sleep over what a random internet strager thinks of me.

Well, you shouldn't. Again, unless your lifestyle requires a strong public presence.
"I take comments on the Internet as seriously as I take bathroom graffiti."

 

[Sassafrass]

And 'lo, a thread about a TV show involving animated ponies has proven to me that, once again, any civilised discussion on this forum is pretty much impossible.

This is an argument over a show with animated ponies in it. Now, reread that sentence. Then read it again. Then realise how fucking stupid that sounds.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I'd just like to say, this thread has the most views in the least pages of any thread I've ever created. I had one hit at least 14 pages once, and when it finally got deleted (long story, that one) it had about as many views as this one does now. I may finally get my on fire badge =D

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

you are gushing over a kiddy show.

Reality Check: very few animated shows AREN'T aimed at kiddies, including anime (which is why if you like anime and you're not a teenager, you're otaku).

We're all geeks here, not every geek "gets" what other geeks like, so eh. That's life.

but most geeks don't flaunt their liking of whatever it is like some kind of new coat.

in other words. PACK IT IN. IT'S A KING SIZED ANNOYANCE.

Says the guy with a Family Guy avatar. Avatars are about 90% of the "flaunting" you see on these forums, and as I noted above, A.) less of these threads are started by bronies than you seem to think, and B.) there's a pretty good reason bronies wound up being so visible.

what so the lazy pictures people try and hedge in any time they can squeeze in a meme doesn't count?

Well, they don't do it all that often -- especially not on threads that aren't already touching on ponies in some way. People post image macros on forums all the time, with pictures from all sorts of sources. Whatever you might say about the show, you can't deny that the characters are highly expressive -- which makes it really easy to make a good image macro. I don't see pony macros as any different from, say, the "Shut up and take my money!" one with Fry from Futurama, or any macros from any other property. It's just part of internet culture.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

And 'lo, a thread about a TV show involving animated ponies has proven to me that, once again, any civilised discussion on this forum is pretty much impossible.

This is an argument over a show with animated ponies in it. Now, reread that sentence. Then read it again. Then realise how fucking stupid that sounds.

Dude, you need to go back to the Dr. Cox avatar, because you're pretty much his representation on these forums. This post is exactly what he would have had to say on the matter.

you are gushing over a kiddy show.

Reality Check: very few animated shows AREN'T aimed at kiddies, including anime (which is why if you like anime and you're not a teenager, you're otaku).

We're all geeks here, not every geek "gets" what other geeks like, so eh. That's life.

but most geeks don't flaunt their liking of whatever it is like some kind of new coat.

in other words. PACK IT IN. IT'S A KING SIZED ANNOYANCE.

Says the guy with a Family Guy avatar. Avatars are about 90% of the "flaunting" you see on these forums, and as I noted above, A.) less of these threads are started by bronies than you seem to think, and B.) there's a pretty good reason bronies wound up being so visible.

what so the lazy pictures people try and hedge in any time they can squeeze in a meme doesn't count?

Well, they don't do it all that often -- especially not on threads that aren't already touching on ponies in some way. People post image macros on forums all the time, with pictures from all sorts of sources. Whatever you might say about the show, you can't deny that the characters are highly expressive -- which makes it really easy to make a good image macro. I don't see pony macros as any different from, say, the "Shut up and take my money!" one with Fry from Futurama, or any macros from any other property. It's just part of internet culture.

I see them a lot and i don't mind meme's but they have to actually be humorous and the words suit the content of the picture, the self referential pony ones miss this mark a lot and thats why thats an issue.

I guess you're seeing different memes than I am; I'll admit, bad image macros are annoying.

 

[Shivhappy]

Funny how i never run into this pony b.s. until i visit the escapist. "Rampaging through the internets?" not in my neck of the woods.
Seems like an isolated cancer, start the chemo.

 

[funguy2121]

Don't mix me up in all of this. The Fez loves whores! Now good day!

Then you'll be needin' this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY5iLIMkZ5w (warning: explicit lyrics and brony in-jokes)

I was going to point out something, and then your next post did it for me. I guess, even with the pic, you didn't get that I reference certain shows (only 'cos it's funny to me, and Wilmer Valderamma is an insufferable douche), and they are not the shows that you reference. But, regarding what you said, though all kids' shows are indeed kids' shows, Aristotle's law of identity being firmly intact and all, many of them are able to be enjoyed by adults, BECAUSE THEY DON'T INSULT THEIR AUDIENCE or aren't just sacharine sugary sweet pastel explosions with googly eyes for kids to go nuts over. The My Little Pony show is, in my opinion, the latter. Though it may not be as vapid as Barney or the Tellytubbies, I also don't think it's the animated equivalent of Vonnegut, as many of its supporters seem to think.

Pan's Labyrinth, The Last Mimzy, and Where The Wild Things Are are all good examples of kids' entertainment that are enjoyed by numerous adults, and no one thinks that we're weird for it. They are intelligent, thoughtful films that don't insult their audience or constantly bombard them with hyperactive nonsense. I had a neighbor who had probably every Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie they ever made, from when they were 4 to when they were 16, and I thought that was weird. I didn't think he was a pedophile (still don't) but I DID think it was odd. And it was, as was he. He had the personality, quite literally, of a lobotomized person. He was in his late 50's and had a small child's mind with a small child's approach to solving problems. This, of course, is not true of bronies, though many of them that I've spoken to have a tween's level of maturity and oftentimes a tween's level of communication.

What were we talking about? Oh yeah, it's Bastille Day!

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