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Let's be honest, is FiM a preschool show?


TheMisterManGuy

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There's been some debate as to how much can FiM exactly get away with. People then say, the target audience is very young. To witch I say, how young exactly? I'm starting to think some people believe FiM is a preschool show. The answer IMO, is no. While it was intended to skew a broad audience, Faust said she intended it to be for girls in general, not just 2-5 year olds, more like 2-11 year olds. 

 

However, I will say this. The show is most likely growing with its audience, the 2-11 year old girls who watched the show almost 4 years ago, are now probably 6-14 years old, part of that age range has already grew out of the original target audience. So if the writers want those older girls to tune in, as well as keep the younger kids happy, then they're going to have to tweak the show's scale and structure a bit. And if the Season 4 finalle and Season 5 preview are anything to go by, then we may see just that. 

 

So do you consider FiM a preschool show?

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Hell no. Preschool shows are like Dora The Explorer where the characters talk to the audience and stuff.  FiM is just a general kids show that any kid, or really anyone, can enjoy. Its target audience though I wouldn't say are preschoolers either. Rather kids 4-12 or something like that.

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No! And I can say this as someone who has sat down and watched preschool shows (with my little brother, I swear). If MLP: FiM was a preschool show, it'd be less fighting evil creatures dragon ball z style and more: "Look! Twilight is holding an A! What word begins with the letter A?"

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Hell no. Preschool shows are like Dora The Explorer where the characters talk to the audience and stuff.  FiM is just a general kids show that any kid, or really anyone, can enjoy. Its target audience though I wouldn't say are preschoolers either. Rather kids 4-12 or something like that.

2-11 is more accurate TBH. By 12 years old, Neilson and Television in general considers you an adolescent/tween/teen. But yes, FiM is just a show that, while targets a specific audience, doesn't pander, and it encourages periphery demographics. And this goes back to what I said earlier, the show is most likely going to be aging up from 2-11, to 6-14, which may allow it to tell darker, slightly more mature stories, while still keeping younger children happy.

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Friendship is Magic is whole family show! There are not many shows or series that the whole family can watch together and enjoy it. I remember watching some good old fashion WHOLE family movies with my family from my childhood. Those moments are special the family unites to watch a great movie or show together.

 

You remember those moments when you are older and think "good times" MLP FiM is one of those shows it attracts the younger audience but also interests the older ones. You can create some warm memories with this show my friends keep that in mind x)

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No I dont think so. My 2 year old brother watches things like Thomas the tank engine and that is a preschool show! FIM has a lot more to it than the 2-dimensional characters (not literally) or the extremely simple plot (if you can call trains taking cargo from A to B plot!) of preschool shows I've seen.

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99% of all preschool shows are aimed at teaching children morals as well as language, logic and math skills. MLP has it's lessons but there's much more to it than that. The show was even originally designed to be a show for the whole family, not just children.

 

The show has even grown past just having the morals. Season 4 was proof of that evolution when it had several story arcs in the same season and there were a lot of scenarios that made us question the fabric of reality in Equestria as well as the societal standards ponies live by in different regions.

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No! And I can say this as someone who has sat down and watched preschool shows (with my little brother, I swear). If MLP: FiM was a preschool show, it'd be less fighting evil creatures dragon ball z style and more: "Look! Twilight is holding an A! What word begins with the letter A?"

"Alicorn!!!"

 

...

 

..

.

oh wait...that was hypothetical?...oh. Ok then.

 

 

But naaaah, to be honest, I believe it was intended for everyone. At least in Lauren Fausts eyes...

She always had a knack for that stuff to be honest. I mean, look at the work between her and craig on the powerpuff girls!

I mean...There was "Girls rule" stuff everywhere at walmart featuring them, and there was a huge demographic of girls that loved watching it!

 

buuuuuuuuuut...there was also a ton of guys watching it too! in fact, the majourity of boys who grew up with the stuff on cartoon network watched it, and it still holds a special place of nostalgia in our hearts, and held up really well as adults!

 

The only stuff I believe that was aimed at preschoolers/young girls was the G2-G3.5 shows...

 

But one more thing...even if it was, would it matter?

 

In a world full of complexity, violence, sadness, anger, deceit, and chaos...is it really so bad to take a break from it all and watch something simple? Not to say that mlp is simple or anything, but I know a lot of people that still watch kids shows (like actual kids shows) because they just need a break from a lot of the "Worldly stuff" going on...and to be honest, I don't blame them!

 

Film/Animation, much like music is subjective...and as long as you're happy and not forcing it on others, then there's no problem at all!

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NO! Simply put. Anyone who thinks that MLP us preschool level obviously never watched a full episode of Teletubies, Dora the Explorer, or Barney the Dinosaur before. Hell, Blues Clues was very preschool but I still loved watching when I was older. The point being MLP is far from preschool level. MLP FiM as a whole is more a older child to teenaged level cartoon. Anyone who would say MLP is preschool is obviously a closed minded fool for being so presumptuous.

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Far from it. When you have villains such as Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra and Queen Chrysalis, that's bound to give five-year olds nightmares.

Edited by Yoshi89
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Not one damn bit.

 

Just like "it's a girls'/kids' show," "it's a preschool show" is just as big a lie. FIM has always been a family-friendly show (and anyone who believes otherwise is enforcing inherently sexist and ageist lies that harm the foundation of family TV), but the show isn't exclusively about educational values. It's about developing the story and characters through conflicts and morals that bridges across a wide range of demographics. Young kids, teens, and adults.

 

The multi-layered construct of this show puts the show beyond the basic scope of "it's a preshcool show." It instills some form of standard in itself and projects it onto its audience.

Edited by Dark Qiviut
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Yeah, totally a pre-school show, what with Tartarus which is basically hell, multiple forms of evil villains, one of which was (as far as I can tell) killed off, romance, messages on heavy subjects like religion, adult references to video games, movies, TV, deep characters, thoughtful stories, 4th wall humor... See where I am going with this?

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The main target audience seems to be girls at pre-school and primary school age. However, the writers recognised that it's also important to cater to the parents of the target audience, as they're going to end up watching it anyway.
 
Why is this important? My kids like My Little Pony, and my kids like Cloudbabies. I like My Little Pony, but I frickin hate Cloudbabies. Do you want to guess which show I encourage the kids to watch? Do you want to guess which small plastic toys I'm more likely to buy for the kids?
 
My Little Pony is certainly not the first cartoon to recognise the importance of parents as a secondary audience. There's a whole bunch of examples at ParentalBonus and ParentService at TV tropes.
 

However, I will say this. The show is most likely growing with its audience, the 2-11 year old girls who watched the show almost 4 years ago, are now probably 6-14 years old, part of that age range has already grew out of the original target audience. So if the writers want those older girls to tune in, as well as keep the younger kids happy, then they're going to have to tweak the show's scale and structure a bit.

Why change a winning formula to try to hold on to departing fans when there are a brand new batch of 2 year olds every year?

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(edited)

Why change a winning formula to try to hold on to departing fans when there are a brand new batch of 2 year olds every year?

That's why I said, keep younger kids happy too. Even if the show ages up slightly, there's still going to be views from the 2-11 set who are MLP's main demographic for toy sales. It's important for the staff to keep them entertained as well.

Edited by TheMisterManGuy
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While it isn't necessarily intended for little kids only, it's main priority is to be something that children can enjoy and any other people who enjoy it is an added bonus.

 

As such it always will have to be relatable and able to be appreciated by children, which will put constraints on what they can do with the show.

 

I think there is maybe a little wiggle room for an audience that grows up with the show, but it's unlikely they will stray very far from it's current kid-friendly format.

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While it isn't necessarily intended for little kids only, it's main priority is to be something that children can enjoy and any other people who enjoy it is an added bonus.

 

As such it always will have to be relatable and able to be appreciated by children, which will put constraints on what they can do with the show.

 

I think there is maybe a little wiggle room for an audience that grows up with the show, but it's unlikely they will stray very far from it's current kid-friendly format.

True, It should still be a kids show first and foremost. But I still think it should grow with its audience, while still trying entertain the younger set.

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Many of the concepts utilized in MLP:FIM are too advanced for a pre-school demographic. Take Celestia finally being able to enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration, because it no longer brings the banishment of Nightmare Moon to mind. She now finds joy in it being a day dedicated to the return of her beloved little sister.

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No, G3 fit that category in spades. It is a bit too sophisticated for most pre schoolers but is accessible to most children around maybe 1st of 2nd grade without treating its audience like they are stupid and being able to appeal to older audience as well.

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I'm pretty sure the show wasn't intended to be a preschool show. Unfortunately, here in Canada, the only network that MLP is on is a channel called Treehouse. It's a channel that shows specifically pre-school programs such as Bob the Builder, and Dora the Explorer. No adult in their right mind would watch something in Treehouse for their own amusement. Since season 1 of MLP is the only season with the EI rating, that's the only season that the network shows. On top of that, most of the episodes of MLP that Treehouse shows are heavily censored.

Clearly MLP is not a preschool show, so why isn't it on some other Canadian network like YTV? Littlest Pet Shop managed to be put on there for god's sake.

 

At least it's on Netflix.

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