First MLP, what's next?

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

We've seen a bunch of grown men and teenagers become OCD about a show that was meant for little girls in less than a year, but first it was MLP, but what's next? Care Bears? Barbie? Littlest Pet Shop? Angelina Ballerina?! What do you guys think?

[Megas 27,628]

We've seen a bunch of grown men and teenagers become OCD about a show that was meant for little girls in less than a year, but first it was MLP, but what's next? Care Bears? Barbie? Littlest Pet Shop? Angelina Ballerina?! What do you guys think?

Littlest Pet Shop was adopted by a lot of bronies

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

Littlest Pet Shop was adopted by a lot of bronies

Oh really? Wow. Interesting...

[yeet 2,027]

What's wrong with it anyway? We can enjoy what ever shows we want. And littlest pet shop is awesome.

[Scootaloodle 1,622]

Who knows?

 

It could be anything, just have to see

[Fractured 2,684]

We've seen a bunch of grown men and teenagers become OCD about a show that was meant for little girls in less than a year, but first it was MLP, but what's next? Care Bears? Barbie? Littlest Pet Shop? Angelina Ballerina?! What do you guys think?

MLP is adored because of many things, chief among them being complexity. Care Bears is not the same, and Angelina Ballerina is just...insulting. I won't watch LPS because "danger:MLP rip-off", but I can understand why people like it. And the Barbie movies are actually amazingly complex, I suggest you watch a few of them. On the whole, they're actually better than MLP:FIM.

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

What's wrong with it anyway? We can enjoy what ever shows we want. And littlest pet shop is awesome.

I never said there was anything wrong with it. I'm just wondering what next little girls show that started out crappy is gonna have a new series that teenage guys and grown men are gonna be OCD about.

[yeet 2,027]

I never said there was anything wrong with it. I'm just wondering what next little girls show that started out crappy is gonna have a new series that teenage guys and grown men are gonna be OCD about.

Okay. Fair enough. It just seemed a bit like you were saying that. And I don't know. Maybe Strawberry Shortcake.

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

Okay. Fair enough. It just seemed a bit like you were saying that. And I don't know. Maybe Strawberry Shortcake.

Ha ha. I wonder what the guy fans of Strawberry Shortcake are gonna call themselves?

[yeet 2,027]

Ha ha. I wonder what the guy fans of Strawberry Shortcake are gonna call themselves?

Shortcakians I would say.

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

Shortcakians I would say.

HA HA HA HA! That's hilarious! I love it!

[yeet 2,027]

HA HA HA HA! That's hilarious! I love it!

Yes. They shall be called Shortcakians. AND THEY SHALL ENJOY It!

[hip-indeed 304]

Hasbro very specifically tried to retool LPS to cater to the rabid new fans of MLP when they rebooted the series back in 2012.  It's very good, far better than any previous incarnation or most girls' shows for that matter, but for a few reasons it just doesn't really measure up to FiM.  Solid cartoon anyway, though.

 

Barbie, shockingly, actually already has a webseries called Life in the Dreamhouse that is alarmingly well-written and funny, from what I've seen of it.  Check it out:

 

 

It's murmured about in various corners of the internet but despite being around for awhile now it never caught on even a tenth of as much as FiM, despite possibly being written even more sharply.  I blame the fact that it's presented as a pure comedy and animated in CGI to give the impression "this is what Barbie dolls do when you aren't looking" a la Toy Story, whereas FiM has a wide range of adventurous and soft-dramatic elements and is presented as a brilliantly whimsical fantasy cartoon.  In fact, that's a similar reason to why I don't think LPS could possibly be as popular; even though it's similar as a brightly-colored Flash cartoon made to look like the "next generation of 2d animation" which I feel is almost universally more charming and likable to people than CGI, it's just 'modern day girl in a petstore with normal animals that she can happen to understand'.  There's this high-fantasy element FiM has that almost no cartoon even tries for anymore, plus the fact that the characters are all fully-sapient non-humans which is unique and charming and CRAVED I think by a lot of cartoon fans young and old in an age where almost every cartoon for the last couple decades has been about humans or at best normal animals that we can understand for one reason or another.  People miss good ol' funny animals (or "furries" as many people would call them now, but I think that tends to be kind of its own distinction -- that's a long story for another post though) and intelligent fantasy creatures like we get in FiM.

 

...Also, the character designs in FiM are just plain top-tier and incomparable to anything else.  Faust hit that sweet spot reserved only for the Mickey Mice, Hello Kitties and Pikachus out there, sitting at the zenith of charm and appeal in the rankings of character design, and perhaps even MORESO with her ponies than any of those characters for a few reasons.  And then there's the fact that "it was MLP and no one expected that at all" which was a massive shocker when it happened, but now that it has it can never really happen in the same way again, with as much shock or awe; Now that it happened with *the* girliest franchise of all time, even if another such franchise comes out with something even BETTER than FiM was, it still wont' be that shocking anymore.

 

All that said, between the new MLP, the new LPS and the new Barbie cartoons we can safely say we're on a very good trend of girls' cartoons no longer being 'crappy by default.  Heck, I don't think any company in their right mind would just let things go the way they used to now, and EVERYONE will want a slice of this brony pie or try to chase its success, so I'm sure we can expect plenty more.  I'm still waiting for my awesome Care Bears revival; that worthless CGI joke of a show that also premiered on the Hub at the same time as FiM in 2010 does not count.

[AveryGamerDude 4,640]

Hasbro very specifically tried to retool LPS to cater to the rabid new fans of MLP when they rebooted the series back in 2012.  It's very good, far better than any previous incarnation or most girls' shows for that matter, but for a few reasons it just doesn't really measure up to FiM.  Solid cartoon anyway, though.

 

Barbie, shockingly, actually already has a webseries called Life in the Dreamhouse that is alarmingly well-written and funny, from what I've seen of it.  Check it out:

 

 

It's murmured about in various corners of the internet but despite being around for awhile now it never caught on even a tenth of as much as FiM, despite possibly being written even more sharply.  I blame the fact that it's presented as a pure comedy and animated in CGI to give the impression "this is what Barbie dolls do when you aren't looking" a la Toy Story, whereas FiM has a wide range of adventurous and soft-dramatic elements and is presented as a brilliantly whimsical fantasy cartoon.  In fact, that's a similar reason to why I don't think LPS could possibly be as popular; even though it's similar as a brightly-colored Flash cartoon made to look like the "next generation of 2d animation" which I feel is almost universally more charming and likable to people than CGI, it's just 'modern day girl in a petstore with normal animals that she can happen to understand'.  There's this high-fantasy element FiM has that almost no cartoon even tries for anymore, plus the fact that the characters are all fully-sapient non-humans which is unique and charming and CRAVED I think by a lot of cartoon fans young and old in an age where almost every cartoon for the last couple decades has been about humans or at best normal animals that we can understand for one reason or another.  People miss good ol' funny animals (or "furries" as many people would call them now, but I think that tends to be kind of its own distinction -- that's a long story for another post though) and intelligent fantasy creatures like we get in FiM.

 

...Also, the character designs in FiM are just plain top-tier and incomparable to anything else.  Faust hit that sweet spot reserved only for the Mickey Mice, Hello Kitties and Pikachus out there, sitting at the zenith of charm and appeal in the rankings of character design, and perhaps even MORESO with her ponies than any of those characters for a few reasons.  And then there's the fact that "it was MLP and no one expected that at all" which was a massive shocker when it happened, but now that it has it can never really happen in the same way again, with as much shock or awe; Now that it happened with *the* girliest franchise of all time, even if another such franchise comes out with something even BETTER than FiM was, it still wont' be that shocking anymore.

 

All that said, between the new MLP, the new LPS and the new Barbie cartoons we can safely say we're on a very good trend of girls' cartoons no longer being 'crappy by default.  Heck, I don't think any company in their right mind would just let things go the way they used to now, and EVERYONE will want a slice of this brony pie or try to chase its success, so I'm sure we can expect plenty more.  I'm still waiting for my awesome Care Bears revival; that worthless CGI joke of a show that also premiered on the Hub at the same time as FiM in 2010 does not count.

Oh boy. Just a matter of time before I grow the balls to watch them, and becoming really OCD about it.

[Nit Pick 247]

There's a mini cartoon series called Super Best Friends Forever, you can see it on youtube.  It's about Super Girl, Bat Girl and... Wonder Girl? I think It's Wonder Girl.  I could be 100 percent wrong.  They fight crime together and are super besties!  Although I never really liked Bat Girl's design in it, she looks like a monkey out of costume.   I love the one episode where Super Girl is grounded (both figuratively and literally) at the Kents home and Superman makes a guest appearance.  He looks very reminiscent of Professor Plutonium from PPG.  ←Another cartoon that was meant for girls that boys and adult men like :3

[paradoxical 1,735]

The Barbie one talked WAY too much about fashion for me to care about anything.  I mean if in the next scene the whole house burned down and Barbie's friends were in it, I'd be like "I guess that's a bummer."

 

Gem and the Holograms -- the new old obsession for guys.  (or not)

 

If Hasbro gives them the movie that is as good as the TV show was for it's era, it would easily be good enough for guys to gush.

[Fractured 2,684]

Hasbro very specifically tried to retool LPS to cater to the rabid new fans of MLP when they rebooted the series back in 2012.  It's very good, far better than any previous incarnation or most girls' shows for that matter, but for a few reasons it just doesn't really measure up to FiM.  Solid cartoon anyway, though.

 

Barbie, shockingly, actually already has a webseries called Life in the Dreamhouse that is alarmingly well-written and funny, from what I've seen of it.  Check it out:

 

 

It's murmured about in various corners of the internet but despite being around for awhile now it never caught on even a tenth of as much as FiM, despite possibly being written even more sharply.  I blame the fact that it's presented as a pure comedy and animated in CGI to give the impression "this is what Barbie dolls do when you aren't looking" a la Toy Story, whereas FiM has a wide range of adventurous and soft-dramatic elements and is presented as a brilliantly whimsical fantasy cartoon.  In fact, that's a similar reason to why I don't think LPS could possibly be as popular; even though it's similar as a brightly-colored Flash cartoon made to look like the "next generation of 2d animation" which I feel is almost universally more charming and likable to people than CGI, it's just 'modern day girl in a petstore with normal animals that she can happen to understand'.  There's this high-fantasy element FiM has that almost no cartoon even tries for anymore, plus the fact that the characters are all fully-sapient non-humans which is unique and charming and CRAVED I think by a lot of cartoon fans young and old in an age where almost every cartoon for the last couple decades has been about humans or at best normal animals that we can understand for one reason or another.  People miss good ol' funny animals (or "furries" as many people would call them now, but I think that tends to be kind of its own distinction -- that's a long story for another post though) and intelligent fantasy creatures like we get in FiM.

 

...Also, the character designs in FiM are just plain top-tier and incomparable to anything else.  Faust hit that sweet spot reserved only for the Mickey Mice, Hello Kitties and Pikachus out there, sitting at the zenith of charm and appeal in the rankings of character design, and perhaps even MORESO with her ponies than any of those characters for a few reasons.  And then there's the fact that "it was MLP and no one expected that at all" which was a massive shocker when it happened, but now that it has it can never really happen in the same way again, with as much shock or awe; Now that it happened with *the* girliest franchise of all time, even if another such franchise comes out with something even BETTER than FiM was, it still wont' be that shocking anymore.

 

All that said, between the new MLP, the new LPS and the new Barbie cartoons we can safely say we're on a very good trend of girls' cartoons no longer being 'crappy by default.  Heck, I don't think any company in their right mind would just let things go the way they used to now, and EVERYONE will want a slice of this brony pie or try to chase its success, so I'm sure we can expect plenty more.  I'm still waiting for my awesome Care Bears revival; that worthless CGI joke of a show that also premiered on the Hub at the same time as FiM in 2010 does not count.

Don't forget the movies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie_(film_series) Ignore the crappy first generation movies, and focus on the second one. I do believe it starts with Princess and the Pauper, but lately Barbie movies have a complexity that's very surprising. You can find actual character depth, surprisingly deep topics and conversations, and even your dark moments(Including, at one point, Barbie attempting to murder someone intentionally. Pretty sweet). I hate to say it, but...Barbie has become mature, enough so as to rival FIM.

 

The Barbie one talked WAY too much about fashion for me to care about anything.  I mean if in the next scene the whole house burned down and Barbie's friends were in it, I'd be like "I guess that's a bummer."

 

Gem and the Holograms -- the new old obsession for guys.  (or not)

 

If Hasbro gives them the movie that is as good as the TV show was for it's era, it would easily be good enough for guys to gush.

See above. Also, the TV show is designed as a satirical parody of traditional Barbie values, it's supposed to make fun of those things

Edited July 28, 2014 by Shimmer5000

[paradoxical 1,735]

 

 

See above. Also, the TV show is designed as a satirical parody of traditional Barbie values, it's supposed to make fun of those things

 

I totally saw the parody, and if they had left the clothes after the joke, I'd have kept watching at least some, but they kept going.  And I felt like they had taken Applejack's parents -- wait -- that's a tactless joke.

 

Other versions of Barbie might be more my style.

[hip-indeed 304]

I totally saw the parody, and if they had left the clothes after the joke, I'd have kept watching at least some, but they kept going.  And I felt like they had taken Applejack's parents -- wait -- that's a tactless joke.

 

Other versions of Barbie might be more my style.

I feel that you're getting hung up on a fact of life about Barbie like someone who's hung up on ponies because they walk on all fours and make little 'clip clop' sounds if you listen closely.  Fashion is what Barbie IS.  To avoid it would be to try to avoid the fact that the ponies are equine creatures in FiM.

 

It's handled very well from what I've seen.  Of course they're gonna talk about it but it feels like something I can still enjoy anyway despite never having had interest in such things (see: Rarity being by far one of my favorite ponies).  And there's more than enough humor of all kinds and tongue-in-cheek attitude to make up for it, imo.

[Eloquence 2,076]

Shows for girls, shows for boys, blah-blah-blah. With any luck, we'll soon see a day when all of this needless gendering nonsense is done with, and a show can simply be good, be it about traditionally masculine things or traditionally feminine ones, or any mix thereof. I think that's what MLP has started, a push for cartoons to be enjoyable by all, even if they're about something as traditionally meant for one gender as candy-colored pony girls. And don't get me started on the 'brony' movement, a gender-neutral group using a masculine term to describe their love for a feminine show. The gender-norm subversion is just too delicious for words 

 

Fangirling aside, I couldn't say what "girly" show might get a reboot next, but the question does make me wonder if there are any shows "for boys" that could get similar reboots that make them more enjoyable for a gender non-specific audience

[shy0wl 484]

I don't really see bronies as people who, just because they like a show regarded as a girly show, will go looking for other "girly" shows just because they already like one.  I mean honestly, bronies like MLP because it just is an enjoyable show and it isn't boring or stereotypical.  It's really well written and quirky, it's a great show all over.  Bronies may or may not jump to looking for other shows like MLP, but I don't think bronies like those kinds of shows exclusively

[iceestarz 5,764]

Lol I'm not a boy, but as long as some old show gets an awesome reboot I'll be all for it.

 

I never watched the older littlest pet shop, but I generally enjoy the rebooted version on the hub. It has its moments, but it's not even close to fim.

 

The only super great thing about it is that season 3 of lps is airing still, so I have something to still look forward to on Saturdays despite this pony hiatus. Well that...plus The Fosters and Master Chef on Monday, but that's not really a kids show...but whatevz.

[Silver Letter 1,832]

Um...how about...nothing? Unconventional fans don't go around trying to absorb and reappropriate all these shows to try and take them away from little girls. This is a classic brony bashing meme that we should not tolerate on these forums. If you want to attack unconventional fans, do it some place else.

[Twilight Dirac 721]

The reason why Bronies enjoy watching MLP has nothing to do with the fact it is aimed at little girls.  They like it because they show is good; likable characters, well written episodes, excellent animation, etc.  Any migration to other shows directed at a young audience would require that those shows obtain the same of quality that MLP has, otherwise it simply isn't going to happen.

 

While I can't speak for everyone I personally despise the average show that is aimed at young audiences.  You might be able to get away with a transformers here or there (because who doesn't like giant robot-jetplane-dinosaur wars with lasers in space) but most of the time the antics of these shows are more likely to make me vomit than endear me towards them.  I reluctantly checked out MLP after it was recommended by everybody on the internet and found I enjoyed the show, but I am not likely to spend time checking out other children's entertainment without receiving strong outside endorsement first.

[paradoxical 1,735]

@@Twilight Dirac, I agree wholeheartedly, though some people have mentioned shows they think have similar quality.  Jem remake in live action has the potential to have been made with this level of quality.  Not that I think it will have the quality, but it might.