In 2008 a woman who had been trying for years to break through into a strongly male-dominated field finally got a break. She was placed in charge of the latest iteration of one of the longest-running and most heavily merchandised franchises in the industry, which no man on earth would have ever expected to change in any way, except maybe for the worse.

That woman was Lauren Faust, probably best known for her work on the Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. And the new show she would produce would eventually be named My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

And through satanic pact or voodoo ritual, it would quickly take the Internet by storm.

I was extremely skeptical at first about taking the job. Shows based on girls' toys always left a bad taste in my mouth, even when I was a child. They did not reflect the way I played with my toys. I assigned my ponies and my Strawberry Shortcake dolls distinctive personalities and sent them on epic adventures to save the world. On TV, though, I couldn't tell one girl character from another and they just had endless tea parties, giggled over nothing and defeated villains by either sharing with them or crying–which miraculously inspired the villain to turn nice. Even to my 7-year-old self, these shows made no sense and couldn't keep my interest. No wonder the boys at school laughed at my Rainbow Unicorn Trapper Keeper.

From what I've seen since I've grown up, little has changed. To look at the quality of most girls' cartoons, it would seem that not one artist really cared about them. Not one designer, not one background painter, not one animator. Some of the more well-meaning, more expensive animated productions for girl audiences may look better, but the female characters have been so homogenized with old-fashioned “niceness” that they have no flaws and are unrelatable. They are so pretty, polite and perfect; there is no legitimate conflict and nothing exciting ever happens. In short, animated shows for little girls come across as boring. Stupid. Lame.

This perception, more than anything, is what I am trying to change with My Little Pony.

Whatevz. I bet there's others around Snafu that have taken interest in the series. IMO It's almost like watching Foster's again.

doh.

HOLY-
Holy shit.
Holy mother of god I have never seen this show. Hi, I'm someone nobody knows. But I love My Little Pony. So. I must post here. o:

Welcome to the Foal-d.

Do not trust ponies and here is why: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbYUVn27M9E&feature=related

I'm actually tempted to watch this show now.

ilu BR. I'm going to start watching them right now, thanks for the link.