DHX employee explains the disabled ponies in the show

[An Old Head 4,815]

I am friends with an employee of DHX, and he recently revealed some very interesting information that I thought would befit some discussion amongst you guys. This is what he posted a few minutes ago to a Brony Facebook group:

 

"Just to let every pony know that yesterday's episode was to do with the Western trading companies. The animation was created and produced to give people an idea on what happens at trading conventions (as I like to call them) and the pony in the wheelchair from Leap of Faith is an OC of one of Hasbros work colleagues who had a car accident in September and is now wheelchair bound. People have been commenting about why there is more disabled ponies in this season. Well it's mostly to do with Derpy or Ditzy. See if Hasbro are going to use Derpy, they have to create new characters with other problems so Derpy isn't the only pony with problems if that makes sense, it's like pointing out the weak link in the group. So with new characters taking some of the heat off Derpy Hasbro can sort out writing good scripts for season 5."

 

So it looks like Season 5 is underway in production, and we get this interesting tidbit on Derpy. It looks like we're seeing ponies added that have disabilities so that Derpy's supposed disability is evened out. So...

• What do you guys think of it?
• Do you agree with it/disagree with it?
• What other disabilities do you think will be encompassed?

Edited April 21, 2014 by Flipturn

[GaleFenrir 281]

Wait, didn't equestria daily report that Stellar Eclipse was the OC of a kid from the Make-a-Wish foundation?

 

edit: and, you've now fixed your mistake. Alrighty then.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Aged Rain

[CT-1138 3,179]

I very much agree with it. Not every person in life is perfect, and I hate when TV portrays life where everyone is the epitome of perfection. I commend Hasbro for doing this.

[Scootalove 10,684]

• What I think of this is, I'm glad that they are adding more ponies with disabilities to show that even with their disabilities, there is no weak link and that there is no perfection present.

• I agree with it.

They might probably show hyperactivity disorders.

Edited April 21, 2014 by Scootalove

[Castle Bleck 19,163]

I liked him. Trade Ya never emphasized his disability; he was just a character who was there.

[An Old Head 4,815]

Apologies, guys, I was given the wrong information for part of the OP. The OC of the Hasbro associate wasn't the wheelchair pony in Trade Ya, it was one of the wheelchair ponies from Leap Of Faith. I have amended the OP to reflect this. As a user above rightly said, the wheelchair pony in Trade Ya actually belonged to a child from the Make A Wish foundation.

 

@, this concerns your question

Edited April 21, 2014 by Flipturn

[Mywas 687]

I liked him. Trade Ya never emphasized his disability; he was just a character who was there.

I agree. They didn't force his disability in our faces. They treated him as just another character. As how we should treat each other, with respect regardless of who we are.

[BastementSparkle 20,310]

Well, that's cool. It's nice to see things like this in the show. It breathes a little bit of extra life into it.

 

I don't think anyone could complain about it. At least, I hope not.

[NavelColt 22,875]

I really liked the new OC from this week :3 The wheelchair for his back legs was cool, and I loved his color scheme, design and personality, even his voice. Come to think of it, there were lots of great OC and background characters in this episode. Pretty much every stall pony that we saw looked pretty neat, and was unique.

 

I love the fact that he was voiced by a kid who suffers from similar physical issues too, it's all pretty neat if you ask me. Guy should show up more often. He had the best line of the episode!

[Henny Penny Benny 936]

I liked him. Trade Ya never emphasized his disability; he was just a character who was there.

 

That's what I loved about it. Just, "Oh hey, that dude's in a wheelchair-like apparatus. And he's just goin' about life, doin' stuff. Neat."

[Mr Underhill 219]

Hasbro is doing a good thing here, showing kids that a disability does not have to keep us from doing what we want. 

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I think it's actually really cool that they used that handicapped guy's OC.

 

I get what the employee is saying. Adding more disabled ponies makes perfect sense.

[Shanks 10,811]

This is really awesome, I am very pleased that they are considering this. This is very smart on their part because it will allow them to point to other examples before using Derpy.

[websterhamster 203]

Wait, from what I read it almost sounds like they're going to try to give Derpy a more substantial role in Season 5...  

[Zekromic 1,054]

I agree. They didn't force his disability in our faces. They treated him as just another character. As how we should treat each other, with respect regardless of who we are.

yes, it really pisses me of when people make fun of them, OR make a huge deal of their disability. They made a good move with the guy, he was just there, making his role in the episode, treated and acting as anypony else 

[Anneal 2,194]

Honestly, I want new characters in the next season because I honestly want these new characters to have a chance rather than let Derpy or some other supporting character stay in the spotlight too long – while I am not saying they shouldn't have one, Hasbro and DHX should try at the least do something different for a change. 

 

Disabilities should be played carefully. While it should be portrayed as a challenge, it shouldn't be a standing "trait" to the character. Otherwise, it's going to be an unmemorable one (unless you factor in cuteness...).

[Dattebayo 2,850]

Haven't seen it yet, but if it means moar Derpy, then they can add a pony who's just a taking head.

[FlitterFlutter 1,568]

I for one love the fact that they are adding different types of charterers on the show, it adds more variety. 

[GhostPony750 958]

This is like the best idea ever! o_O I absolutely loved the wheelchaired pony in the latest episode, I'm glad they are putting them! I hope to see more in the future, there is so much to explore!

[Venomous 18,813]

I'm glad MLP is occasionally adding other disabled characters (not specifically mental retardation, but medical issues as well). It is showing that the writers weren't belittling disabled individuals when they gave Derpy dialogue in "The Last Roundup".

 

I think it's great, actually! It shows that Equestria isn't perfect and that the residents there accept disabled ponies as they are.

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos 1,189]

Not only is it great that they are putting ponies with disabilities to show that they are just as normal as us, it also adds a very cool dimension to the show in general.

 

The land of Equestria may be brightly colored and filled with ponies, but that doesn't mean they don't have problems. It shows that Equestria isn't perfect, and while technically that's not good, it's really a great thing. Different than any other 'kid's show' that I know!

[Wild Star 141]

I was really surprised to see the wheelchair pony, but I liked it. He is so unique and ....... Sigh, I have a pony crush now. I like it, as long as they aren't just trying to fill the disabled quota, which would actually be more insulting. As long as the disabilities or differences are about making the character interesting and unique, not trying to have a disabled pony so they can say they have a disabled pony.

[DryGuy84 (Inactive) 927]

I like that they're putting more disabled ponies in the show, because they never point it out, and they're never treated differently. This, to me, speaks volumes about the characters in the show, and sets a good precedent for people of all ages to follow.

[crazitaco 596]

The thing that stuck out to me more was not actually the wheelchair, but the pony's color scheme.

Black and purple hair....

I knew almost immediately that it was an OC, but i didn't know whose it was. That's neat that it was a kid's OC from the make-a-wish foundation!

 

It also seems that a pony without working back legs wouldn't actually be as bad off as a human without working legs.

People only have two legs, meaning if those are gone there's no other legs to power our mobility. Our arms aren't really built for pulling body weight in most cases. A pony can still use his/her front legs to walk and steer, and the wheels make it so that the back end is fully supported and the back legs follow the front legs with minimal drag.

Anyway, I don't have any point to make with this. It's just an observation.

Edited April 21, 2014 by crazitaco

[Anneal 2,194]

By the way, the actor of Stellar Eclipse (the handicapped pony in Trade Ya!), Sylvain, has "spine atrophy" or whatever you call it, which appears to be, in some way, similar to paralysis, which means the actor is handicapped himself.

 

Kind of nice to see how handicapped ponies in Equestria are shown to be capable and treated equally like regular ponies.