Bato

It's worth comparing to the change from the early 2010s Littlest Pet Shop series – the one with Blythe – to A World Of Our Own. In AWOOO, there were mostly all different characters, that largely interacted in the non-human world, while in PL it's largely the same characters interacting in a similar world. However, they're both shorter than the series they launched off of, both less bound to narrative continuity than before, and both came around after the main series got long in the tooth. They also both seem like gentler sequels, not the radical redesign their predecessors were to their 90s incarnations. Consequently, neither have big merchandise pushes associated with them. I believe Pony Life will do its job in keeping the MLP brand in use, and in kids'/the industry's minds, for several years, even after it's eventually cancelled, until Hasbro comes out with the next big incarnation. On to my own thoughts. It's really not my PERSONAL cup of tea – mostly because of the very short length, not because of it being on Treehouse (I still think FiM could have been on a more mainstream cartoon channel). But I feel it's decent. The misaligned outlines and spongy primary colors in the background harken back to G3, which is interesting, but somehow make the world feel smaller, less real. The dialogue is, to me, written well, despite such a compressed time. The stories, however, feel underwhelming. They have to balance being entertaining, funny, and slightly educational within roughly six minutes, leaving time for only a single story, and little in the way of lore or character development. To be honest, I was much more interested in the stories of Corn and Peg. Moreover, it simply reinforces the restrictions inherent to the My Little Pony IP, which have been tightened up from the loosenings in FiM. Those restrictions were what inspired me to create Firewake.

How do you feel about cartoons featuring, as more than just a throwaway joke, parodies or expies of My Little Pony? Would you feel differently if it was a parody/expy of the MLP Fandom in particular? Myself, I used to cringe at them. But over time, it affected me less and less, and now I can laugh at them as much as anything. But I'm not as deep into the fandom as many here, and so wanted to get your feelings on it. I'm a writer of original equine stories, and a cartoon screenwriter, so the opportunity may come up to write such an episode for a series. I would use a more sensitive, positive touch, but other writers may not. I think the pre-FIM parodies/references were largely limited to the traditional 'girliness' aspect of it – such as the Twonicorns from Yin Yang Yo. But now that has changed – and invited more avenues of parody, for good or for worse.

There's a lot of good discussions and podcasts here on the forums, Ponyville Live, and Poniverse as a whole. Can you recommend some particular podcasts, videobloggers, or article writers who would be open to reviewing equine comics? I will be honest – I've got an equine comic out from Rabbit Valley, and would like to raise it's profile, and even get it put through the review wringer. Without going into too much detail – as I don't want to technically advertise it here – it isn't technically an MLP comic, but has a world and cast of entirely unicorns, and is rated T, so it'd be safe to talk about almost anywhere. ILoveKimPossibleAlot and Pony411 seem like good candidates, but I'm hoping there are writers/bloggers out there who have specifically covered tangential fiction before. Thanks for your help!