n1029

1 hour ago, SaburoDaimando said:

I've heard a rumor on Twitter that the final season of My Little Pony may not start until Fall of this year.  I got this from Twitter user Critical Thought

 

 

https://twitter.com/CriticalBrony/status/1098772525490810881

What are your thoughts on this?  I think that may explain why the final season's release date hasn't been announced yet.

Honestly, I'd be okay with that. We know it's the last season, so at least it'll make the wait for the next gen shorter.

In any event we have the shorts and the Rainbow special in the summer to tide us over. 

Now that we know this is the last season, I hope they don't waste time introducing new characters and/or lore. Focus on using these last 572 minutes to bring the personal arcs of the myriad of characters we already know to satisfying ends.

I'd venture to guess that everyone who has already responded to this thread probably cares a lot more about what film critics say than most, despite their efforts of insisting to the contrary.

Everyone has an opinion on a movie and it's not a critic's job to ensure their opinions match the consensus to a T. But whatever anecdotal evidence you can pull to "prove" they have no "credibility", they do tend to match up with the general public's perception more often than not; even if it does mean they're "biased" toward Disney movies. No one likes it when critics trash their interests, but you have to learn to be ok with some people disliking the stuff you like and not take it personally.

I think the fandom will have enough gas left in the tank to get through the hiatus up to the next movie; especially if this final season provides a lot of juicy character moments to chew on. But beyond that it probably depends on how well they take to the new series and/or how connected it is to G4. Hopefully it's not too much of a departure canon or tone wise.

Worth noting we still have the rough equivalent of the Lord of the Rings trilogy to go in Pony minutes, not including the Rainbow special.

The show may be ending but there's still a lot of unanswered questions; both pertaining to the show itself and what future plans are.

I need to find something else to preoccupy my time.

I wouldn't mind a new cast, but I'd like the M6 still there in some capacity, older and wiser. They were the hook of this series and I feel like anything that tries to follow should at least acknowledge their existence. Sort of like the new Star Wars movies.

-And before anyone says anything, I thought The Last Jedi was great and will not have any argument rebuttals based on the fandom reaction to that movie alone.

3 hours ago, Key Sharkz said:

 

Really, Lauren? This is pretty shameful. Just because you are admitting it's a shameless plug doesn't make it any less shameful to do. I mean this kind of doesn't spell out "great" for your new show when you are having to piggyback off of the show you left 7 years ago ending to get some promotion for it.

Really feel like Lauren is not being a good sport about this.

I fear Gen 5 will be another situation where some of the talent from Gen 4 basically try to sabotage it out of bitterness.

1 hour ago, Sparklefan1234 said:

 

I agree with what you said above

Oh, please forgive her for having the NERVE to seize an opportunity to advertise what she's currently working on. She's not trying to take anything away from FIM ending, just reminding her followers that there's something else to look forward to. 

Whatever happened with PowerPuff Girls, I don't imagine oversensitive fans did it any favors either.

Much of the crew has already moved on to other projects. Hard as it is, just have to trust they know what they're doing.

Bronycon's probably going to get a lot of press attention this year being an extremely visible "Last hurrah" for the fandom. Around that time I imagine everyone else will catch on that it's ending.

I guess the sobering reality is that the lack of coverage right now is all the more evidence Hasbro needs that it's time for a reboot. But there'll probably be more general media attention around the time the final episode is actually aired, especially since Hasbro will likely start getting into cast/crew announcements for the movie around that time. Retrospectives are still kind of premature when we still have a season to go, and it very well may \shape final thoughts on the series significantly before it's done.

Being Boulder's first longform project with the franchise I'll be curious who the creative talent is. May give us a preview of what to expect from G5. 

Just now, BasementSparkle said:

Life sucks, and I hate it. I value happy endings because they make me happy when reality itself barely gives me any. Happiness is powerful too and not everything needs to end sadly, or bittersweet. Real life doesn't have enough happy ends, sometimes you need a reminder they're still possible. I often don't want to keep going, I don't need a reminder of the harshness of life from one of the few bright spots I have.

I would suggest you seek out support in real life if this is truly how you feel. It's not healthy to rely on a TV show for emotional stability.

There is a lot of beauty in the real world if you're willing to see it.

Honestly, in the real world long-distance friendships are becoming a lot easier to maintain. I think there is an important lesson in not letting your self-worth be adversely affected by your friends' personal ambitions, but it's not that hard to spin it in an upbeat way.

With a planned endgame, I'm mainly hoping they now have the freedom to wring as much drama and emotion as they can out of the characters' long-gestating insecurities. Now's the time to dive head-first into stuff rather than just hinting at it.

Just now, Key Sharkz said:

A post on Facebook I saw that I agree with:

The final episode should deal with the greatest friendship lesson of all: saying goodbye. Twilight should be required to move away and have to say goodbye to her friends. A great lesson to teach kids about and a powerful one to end the show on.

Honestly she's probably the one who has the most roots in Ponyville now. It'd be more poetic if everyone else is who has to leave, or at least some of them.

Just now, TheAnimationFanatic said:

Do any of these shows float your fancy?:

- Ducktales (2017)

- Big City Greens

- Star Wars Resistance

- The Owl House (Coming Soon)

- Amphibia (Coming Soon)

Also Lauren Faust's next project (DC Super Hero Girls) debuts in March.

I feel like Hasbro has an interest in maintaining fan engagement even after the series ends, so I wonder if it'll ever really "feel" like it has truly ended before they start promoting the next movie. Guessing that was the strategy behind these shorts they've been putting out.

I don't know how much of the leaks will end up legit but I just find it hard to imagine Hasbro moving away from these characters right now. The current likenesses have become ubiquitous on merchandise, especially Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash; and they still are pretty strong sellers. I feel like they'll have a Snoopy or Bart Simpson like longevity. So I'm assuming this will involve G4 in some form unless official announcements imply otherwise; especially since Twilight and Spike are on the graphic (They could just as easily have used Micronauts or GI Joe if they weren't planning to do G4).

That being said I do hope they make narrative execution a higher priority next time. I don't really care if it's 3D or 2D animation, as long as it looks nice and is as entertaining as the series' better episodes. Travis Knight's work on Bumblebee gives me hope that Paramount may prioritize artistic quality more than Lionsgate now.

Yes. If this is really the quality entertainment we want to prop it up as, the execution of its morals - its main reason for being - should be evaluated at that standard. 

6 hours ago, BornAgainBrony said:

They... may have backed themselves into a corner somewhat here. Both have the possibility of sending a negative message. I'm sure it's been heavily discussed. The soci-political/moral implications of inter-species relationships is normally a topic reserved for crtitical-thinking sci-fi shows, but FiM has dared to wade in that brook repeatedly.

On the one hand, putting the two of them in a relationship will probably send some of the conservative viewers into a tizzy, similar to the reaction that the School of Friendship got in the first place. "Oh here goes Hollywood again, pushing diversity."

But if Spike were to just "outgrow" it, I have a couple of problems with that. First, it's just a terrible way to end it. Spike/Rarity is literally the longest running subplot in the entire series that hasn't had a resolution. At the very least, such a thing would have to happen only AFTER Spike got what he wanted. They go on a date and Spike realizes they aren't actually that compatible; it's not at all like what he had cooked up in his imagination. One thing they definitely DON'T want to do though is send a message that there would be anything wrong with the relationship, less viewers come away with a "stick to your own kind" undertone. Not only would that be a very bad lesson to teach, but it'd also be a huge slap in the face to every fan who has had a crush on any character.

Sparity isn't a subplot so much as a very long running gag. The show hasn't shown much interest in depicting a serious perspective from Rarity on it; even though she's clearly been aware of it at least since The Secret of My Excess. 

Inter-species isn't the issue so much as their complete lack of compatibility. Spike hasn't given much thought to what having Rarity as his girlfriend would actually entail on a day-to-day basis. Their personalities, interests and ambitions are almost entirely at odds with each other. Sometimes I feel like the writers intentionally had him crush on the pony he has the least chemistry with just so no parents would send angry letters about shipping a child.

But that's why I also think the best way to conclude that narrative would be to have someone else confess to crushing on Spike. I can't say who for sure, but there are a bunch of characters in the show who could convincingly pull off an "I had a crush on him for years but didn't want to risk pushing him away" story thread. Let both him and Rarity move on from it without bogging the show down with any hard feelings between them.

Best way I see the cartoon dealing with it while still maintaining its tone would be to have a different character develop/admit to a crush on Spike, and as they spend more time together Spike realizes he has a better chance with her than Rarity. Eventually they hook up while Spike and Rarity maintain their aunt-nephew type friendship and silently drop the issue. 

Perhaps it's not melodramatically satisfying but I'd rather it be handled that way than deal with 22 minutes of angst and discomfort. It's a thorny situation as it is.

Twilight - Adult contemporary, classical, stage/screen scores, obscure folk

RD - Rock, alternative, synthpop

Rarity - Classical, opera, swing jazz

Applejack - Alt country, bluegrass, southern rock. Feel like she wouldn't be so much into the bro-country stuff on the radio.

Fluttershy - Folk, new age, downtempo electronic

Pinkie - Polka, edm, power pop

The Pinkie / Yakyak dynamic has always had an uncomfortable "white man's burden" subtext and I really hope they move away from it. I feel like it's a thematic dead end and more interesting Yakyak episodes could be done with Yona.

it's possible. Best analogy I can think of is the FoxTrot comic strip which ended its daily run in 2006 but continues today as a Sunday only strip.

I feel like even if popularity has dwindled, this iteration of MLP is still one of their most lucrative properties and they wouldn't want to give it up just like that.

Optimistically, I'm hoping they have and are just resisting pushing him towards anyone else to keep the fandom at bay until the end. 

I don't want Sparity either, mainly because I think he has better chemistry with almost every other character in the show if only he'd realize it