As a father of two daughters who both watch the show avidly, I must say that this was mildly disappointing.
Though the word derp 'can' mean stupid, in popular internet culture it mostly refers to the wall-eyed appearance of the character: this is what the fans noticed, and why the fans called her by that name.. not because she was mentally handicapped, which wouldn't have been apparent in her non-speaking appearances, even if it were true (which it doesn't seem to be).
My daughters did not laugh at her name, or call her stupid: in fact, they thought that Rainbow Dash was a little too harsh towards her, as the destruction was clearly an accident and Derpy's intentions were good. They didn't see her as being "retarded" or "stupid": just a well-meaning klutz. To be honest, though: so what if she were mentally challenged? Why would that matter? Isn't that just an excellent platform for teaching kids at an early age to see beyond surface appearances to the person inside, and to treat all others with equal respect, no matter their differences? Hasbro, I think you dropped the ball on this one...
Edit: ... though I do think it was good of you to at least include the unaltered version in the DVD release. I would encourage you to explore the Derpy character further, and use it as a positive tool to help viewers cope with real issues that they might very well have to face in real life, such as intolerance
As a father of two daughters who both watch the show avidly, I must say that this was mildly disappointing. Though the word derp 'can' mean stupid, in popular internet culture it mostly refers to the wall-eyed appearance of the character: this is what the fans noticed, and why the fans called her by that name.. not because she was mentally handicapped, which wouldn't have been apparent in her non-speaking appearances, even if it were true (which it doesn't seem to be). My daughters did not laugh at her name, or call her stupid: in fact, they thought that Rainbow Dash was a little too harsh towards her, as the destruction was clearly an accident and Derpy's intentions were good. They didn't see her as being "retarded" or "stupid": just a well-meaning klutz. To be honest, though: so what if she were mentally challenged? Why would that matter? Isn't that just an excellent platform for teaching kids at an early age to see beyond surface appearances to the person inside, and to treat all others with equal respect, no matter their differences? Hasbro, I think you dropped the ball on this one... Edit: ... though I do think it was good of you to at least include the unaltered version in the DVD release. I would encourage you to explore the Derpy character further, and use it as a positive tool to help viewers cope with real issues that they might very well have to face in real life, such as intolerance