My Little Pony is an overrated cartoon.

[Colon Leftbracket 971]

To be honest, I agree completely with OP!

 

MLPFIM is Good, but not Great! It is certainly one of the best remaining cartoons, but that's not saying much since its only real competition is Dan Vs, Adventure Time! and arguably The Regular Show.

 

I still love the community and I love the show!

[FlutterDerpy582 89]

Don't get me wrong, I love MLP, but I completely agree with this topic. The reason it's so big in our minds is because of the Brony community. For example, if you are joining a club where you (metaphorically speaking) know everyone, the club will seem much more worth while then being in a club where you don't know anyone. MLP undoubtedly wouldn't be as good without watching an episode, and then discussing what it means/represents with people who have the same interests. If you were the only person you knew who watched the show we would probably end up dropping the show altogether after a few weeks because you would have nobody to confine with that your watching a cartoon about ponys. Unless of course you knew people IRL who watched MLP, but that just comes back to the my point about having a group to talk about it with.

[Champion RD92 8,658]

Well, yeah, of course there were older shows that are better than MLP, but do those shows have a fanbase as great as MLP:FIM's. I dont think so.

[Zenoctilles 102]

Well, yeah, of course there were older shows that are better than MLP, but do those shows have a fanbase as great as MLP:FIM's. I dont think so.

 

You prove my point. The fandom sustains the show's popularity to a degree.

 

And yes, people do have negative opinions of MLP outside of the fandom, but within the fandom, positive feedback bounces off on everyone else who is also a fan.

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

The OP presenter his personal opinion about the show. I disagree with it. There is no need of insults over preferences in television unless the OP can claim that watching MLP is damaging to the general welfare. I supposr I could write why I like the show, but that is unnecessary.

 

What IS necessary is to point out the absurdity of the "rose-tinted glasses" claim. Less than a week ago a member of this forum reported being stopped on the street and screamed at for being a Brony. A while earlier someone reported being denied service at McDonalds and receiving a string of homophobic slurs from employees. While it's rarer, there have been Bronies who reported being physically assualted.

 

If we Bronies are viewed so positively, then why am I too scared to reveal a part of my life to my friends? Why do I clear my internet history whenever I predict someone will be using my computer? Why do I come up with excuses when people ask to use the internet on my iPhone? Why am I so secretive? Shouldn't Bronyism be no more shocking than liking the color green? Rose tinted glasses my flank.

 

I think I'm ready to stop being so secretive. Not because people will greet me with kindness, but because I may receive my share of the hate against this community. To paraphrase Camus: For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I have only to hope that I may wear a pony shirt and be greeted with cries of hate.

[roomforapony 285]

Man, I thought I was the only one who thought this! I love the show, but it just doesn't compare to the better cartoons we have today. Cartoons like Regular Show, Adventure Time, and Spongebob aren't written to be targeted to ONLY children. That is why they do so well is because of the writing. MLP, whether you like it or not, mainly got its huge following because of the internet. I understand there are exceptions, but let's face it. Without the internet it would only be as popular as the other shows on Hub.

 

I do think though that it does have redeeming qualities, it IS a good cartoon, and the animation is great. I am also pleased that there is a girl's cartoon that isn't all butterflies and princesses and the characters actually have a personality.

[Jokuc 8,173]

I have to say that I disagree with you. My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is one of the best cartoons I've ever seen.
Also, I do not think it's overrated.

 

nvm. --brohoofer, unbrohoof-->

Edited September 30, 2013 by Jokuc

[Warbalist 133]

I think one of FiM's draws is that it's brimming with potential. The instant and incessant tidal wave of fanfics about it show just how approachable and well-crafted Equestria is as story framework.

 

This is one of the same reasons I think it's popular, as well. It's a fun and easy place in which to let your mind wander.

 

Other reasons I suggest would be the characters and their subtext (ex: Rainbow Dash and Rarity aren't the type to normally be friends; this is already more deep than a lot of shows), metaphor (something we rarely get in tv shows), and, arguably most importantly, character development. These characters keep their personalities, but change and grow throughout the series.

 

There are numerous times throughout the show where my wife and I point out multiple depths of metaphors, lessons and even similarities between the characters' interactions and our own interactions with others (usually with her facehoofing because Pinkie Pie just did something she always does). The show points at our hidden flaws in order to help us, not damn us like so many other shows.

 

Also, the so-called "new sincerity" movement. Who else is sick and tired of war, power grabs and insults?

[Key Gear 6,663]

I will agree that it's overrated, but not for the reasons you listed. Anything that becomes exceptionally popular is overrated.

 

Popularity has nothing to do with whether or not something is overrated. Think about it.

• Seat belts are popular. Does this mean that seat belts are overrated?
• Shoes are popular. Does this mean that shoes are overrated?
• Jumping off cliffs without any form of recovery is unpopular. Does that mean that it is underrated?

You see, something can be popular and deserve a high rating. Something can also be unpopular and deserve a low rating. To say that all popular things are overrated is to commit a logical fallacy.

 

If you want to determine the absolute truth of whether something is overrated or not, then you will have to gather evidence or present a stronger argument in favor of one side or another.

 

You prove my point. The fandom sustains the show's popularity to a degree.

 

And yes, people do have negative opinions of MLP outside of the fandom, but within the fandom, positive feedback bounces off on everyone else who is also a fan.

 

I think I understand what you are saying now. You are saying that a large component of the value of the show to fans is due to a large network effect. I disagree that this makes the show overrated, but I agree with you that the community does increase the value of the show.

 

Well, let's think about it. If we could create a mathematical model of the popularity of FiM without any network effect, then it would probably say that popularity is some function of quality. (Holding all other variables constant.)

 

If you wanted to add the network effect to this mathematical model, then you would have a slight problem - an endogeneity problem. The network effect impacts both the quality and the popularity of the show at once.

• The creators of the show respond to evidence of popularity by making changes that appeal to the fans.
• These changes lead directly to fans spreading the word about the cartoon.
• Then, the shows creators see even more popularity and increase their efforts to cater to their new audience.
• Fans see even more alterations and this excites them into even more of a frenzy.

It is a feedback loop of epic proportions. So, yes, I think that we can safely say that the popularity of the show has been increased simply due to its initial popularity.

 

I think that this is what many other people in this thread that agreed with you were trying to say as well, but it was confused with an argument about how highly the show should be rated. So, let's talk about that now.

 

I agree that a large component of the value in being a brony is due to the community, but I still disagree that the show is overrated because of this.

 

Even with network effects, the initial popularity of the show was a function of the show's quality. The causal effects do not flow in the opposite direction. Think about it.

 

Let's pose a hypothetical example. Let's say that G4 ponies suddenly became G3 ponies instead. Do you think that the fan community would continue to grow? I doubt it. Most people would say that the quality of the show had deteriorated, and the fan community would probably run for the hills.

 

While the popularity of the show undoubtedly feeds into its perceived quality, the quality itself is still important. What is this quality? Well, it is actually really hard to come up with objective measures of quality.

 

It is important to remember what quality actually is. The quality of a product is determined solely by the aggregate individual preferences of the consumers of the product. In other words, saying that something is of high quality is the same as saying that something is a good match to the tastes of a group or groups of individuals.

 

If quality is a function of aggregate individual preferences, then this would seem to suggest that popularity is an indirect product of these same aggregate individual preferences. In other words, something becomes popular when it is able to appeal to the taste and preferences of people.

 

Oh no..... This is another feedback loop...... I'm stopping here before I dig this rabbit hole any deeper......

 

Do you see what I mean? It is impossible to determine the quality that the show would have if no one watched the show. The number people that watch the show and the quality of the show itself are both hopelessly entangled. There is no objective way to say whether the show is overrated or not.

 

One thing that I am certain of is that the Internet has enabled network effects to rise to a level that could have never been possible before.

 

Man, I thought I was the only one who thought this! I love the show, but it just doesn't compare to the better cartoons we have today. Cartoons like Regular Show, Adventure Time, and Spongebob aren't written to be targeted to ONLY children.

 

I'm going to be honest with you. I consider it a positive thing that FiM was targeted towards young children and their parents. I find the nearly complete innocence of the cartoon to be a breath of fresh air. I actually do not like any of the other cartoons that you listed.

 

That doesn't mean that the other cartoons that you listed are good or bad. It is simply my opinion, and I doubt that I am the only brony out there that is like this. One of the things that I find interesting about the whole "brony" thing is that the community seems to merge together all different kinds of people. I love the diversity of opinions that is on display.

 

Edit: I have to apologize for the length of this. It's just that determining the quality or "rating" of a product in a market is one of the things that I have spent a disturbing amount of time thinking about and researching. I have found that there really is no easy way to say that something is overrated or underrated when it is available in an unrestricted market.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Scootacool

[FlutterDerpy582 89]

Popularity has nothing to do with whether or not something is overrated. Think about it.

• Seat belts are popular. Does this mean that seat belts are overrated?
• Shoes are popular. Does this mean that shoes are overrated?
• Jumping off cliffs without any form of recovery is unpopular. Does that mean that it is underrated?

I love this analogy. Officially using it in every argument involving weather something is under/over- rated! xD

[Homura Akemi 974]

I can see either sides of the argument. For someone who doesn't like the show, for example, seeing it all over the Internet, it can come to a reasonable person impression that it is overrated.

[Itchy Hooves 63]

Popularity has nothing to do with whether or not something is overrated. Think about it.

• Seat belts are popular. Does this mean that seat belts are overrated?
• Shoes are popular. Does this mean that shoes are overrated?
• Jumping off cliffs without any form of recovery is unpopular. Does that mean that it is underrated?

You see, something can be popular and deserve a high rating. Something can also be unpopular and deserve a low rating. To say that all popular things are overrated is to commit a logical fallacy.

 

If you want to determine the absolute truth of whether something is overrated or not, then you will have to gather evidence or present a stronger argument in favor of one side or another.

See, I'm not saying that the fact it is popular alone is what makes it overrated. The same number of people could like it minus most of the drama you currently see in the fandom, and it would be fine.

 

What makes it overrated is the way people act over it, not how much they like it. And that goes for the people who hate it too. No cartoon is worth going into outright war over, but it happens all the time. Popularity leads to fanbases. Fanbases gather some crazies. The crazies give a bad perception to non-fans and make that popular thing just as popular to hate as it is to love.

 

Basically, whether a person loves it or hates it to the extent that they are willing to start flame wars and break friendships over it(I did have a rabid hater friend at one point, who started to treat me badly when I got into the show), they are placing too much importance on it. Rating it too highly, in other words.

 

It's not so much the popularity, but where the popularity can lead. And in fandom, it tends to lead to a big mess.

[Shankveld 4,949]

Can't tell if trolling...

or

>.>

~

[Tom The Diamond 1,830]

You know, I never have liked the words under and over rated. It implies that there is a fixed rating for something. But a rating is someone's opinion on something, which varies from person to person, and you can't really tell someone what they're opinion should be.

 

For example

 

"Wow, this meal was wonderful, I loved it!"

 

"No man, you're overrating this, it sucked!"

 

One person liked it, and one person hated it. Does it mean someone overrated or underrated? Neither. Because technically they are both right. One person loved his mean, and thought it was great, while the other didn't. And you can't tell someone that they didn't enjoy they're food if they did. Because it is an opinion, and no one has the right to tell anybody that they're opinion of something is too high, too little, or just plain wrong.

 

So no, I don't think MLP is overrated. Heck, I don't think anything is overrated, really. Shows and such still have to work hard and have some appeal to get an audience. For example, I don't understand nor see the appeal of Homestruck. I tried it and didn't really enjoy it. However, several people I know greatly enjoy Homestruck calling it one of the best things on the net. Do I agree with them? No. Do I think it's overrated? No. Because obviously to have garnered the Homestruck fanbase, the creator must have been doing something right to appeal to those people and make them think that what s/he created is the greatest thing ever.

[Hatguy 38]

In response to each of the OP's claims (which I won't reproduce, just address by number) I see several flaws

 

1. You can lead a horse to water...but you can't make it a brony, I personally don't think that there is much incentive to join the brony community, it is a group that is viewed negatively by the general public so there is likely little social pressure involved and I don't think I've ever met anyone who wanted to be a brony to seem more socially apt although I do grant that bronies tend to try to spread the show to their friends the community alone does not seem enough of an incentive for most people.

 

2. All of the shows listed in point two were very good cartoons (some of my personal favorites) but I don't think any of those cartoons were significantly better overall some had better characters and some had better writing but compared to the cartoons listed I don't think you can say that MLP:FiM is significantly better or worse than any of them. I would also point out that none of those cartoons have the same style or even genre that MLP has, none of those shows have the same fantasy and "slice of life" elements or the same overall feeling of brightness and innocence, so that even if in terms of content one were somehow proven objectively better it would still be objectively completely different.

 

3. It is quite impossible for any personal subjective observation of qualitative data to be objective, so MLP is not "objectively above-average" and back to the first point, many people likely discovered the show through the fact that it is so common online but once again introducing someone to something does not necessarily they will have a high opinion of it and the fact that something is common on the internet does not mean people have an inherently higher opinion of it.

 

I don't argue that without the internet memes the fan community would likely have been much smaller but that doesn't imply that the show is overrated it just means that the community surrounding it is larger that the communities of older shows of similar quality. There seems to be a fundamental flaw equating "rating" with the rabidness of fans, the show is of a quality that I believe to be on par with that of many of the cartoons listed in point number two that would be my rating of the show, to point to which I defend it and even try to suggest it is a function of the fan community but this applies generally to any community, if someone is part of a community centered on one thing and someone insults that thing they insult the community and by extension the person this problem is inherent in any fan community (put some TNG and TOS fans near each other and then say that Kirk is better) and is something that does not necessarily imply that anything is overrated but simply that some fans are overzealous and forget that an attack on the show is not (usually) an attack on their person. Is it overrated: no, is it just a show with some over excited fans who make far to big a deal out of it: yes.

 

Can't be bothered to proofread this behemoth but I think it is at least coherent.

[SpectrumUK_D 45]

I don't think it's that overrated. (Obviously the meme/phenomenon thing has helped, but it's still a great show) I mean I started watching the show because a good friend who I trusted on this subject (he is a very artistic person who likes cartoons animation etc.) and I checked out a couple of episodes.

I think that the quality of the show reflects the amount of effort the production team put into it, and the fandom reflects this.

Also, although I enjoy having such and amazing community immensely, I had watched every single episode of the show before I even contributed to the community. When I discovered the community it just made it even better!

[DJ MUFF1N D3RP 322]

If this show is overrated, so are most of the shows you listed, XX55XX. I watched all those shows in my childhood and can say with up most certainty that MLP has just as much quality and then some. MLP has both fantastic animation and relatable characters, most things shows in the 90s had either one or the other of. Sure all the fan work on the internet helps, but that is just a testament to how good the show really is. When this many people outside the target audience have fallen(and are still falling) in love with the show, you know that the show deserves every bit of praise it gets and is in no way overrated. Edited April 6, 2012 by super muffin derpy506

[Cynic 336]

Somehow, I can see this thread turning into a real shitstorm (if it hasn't already, that is.)

 

My opinion is....rather mixed on the topic.

[1Fluttershy 411]

Meh, calling something "overrated" is nothing more than an opinion that can't be proven. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic became popular simply because it's a show that many of us happen to find entertaining, and enjoy watching. Nothing wrong with that at all, and just because you may like other shows more than MLP doesn't make it an overrated cartoon.

 

2. My Little Pony is a good cartoon, but not a great one. I can easily name a few other cartoons which exceed it in terms of writing and characters: The Angry Beavers, Rugrats, Invader Zim, Hey Arnold!, Courage: The Cowardly Dog, and even Lauren Faust's own Powerpuff Girls.

I've seen every single cartoon you named, and I prefer MLP...not to say that I don't think those are good cartoons, as they are. Every single one of those shows was cancelled years ago, so there's not really much material left for fans to even discuss...hence the lack of huge fandoms with new fanmade content (fanfics, music, etc) almost every day for those shows.

 

Oh, and Lauren Faust didn't create PPG.

Edited April 5, 2012 by Pinkamena Diane Pie

[Bronypupfan 30]

This is an interesting topic.

 

Good points have been made by both the original poster, and by others.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure how the fandom got so big, and in some ways, perhaps the fandom is starting to get a little too big...In that sense, I think Hasbro and the Hub are starting to embrace Bronies a little too much. That is the only danger I see. (Look what happened with that "Derpy" thing, it blew up in their face, and some bronies totally over-reacted to it.)

 

At the end of the day, its just an entertaining cartoon.

 

On that note, MLP is not the only entertaining show on the Hub, if I may say so, the 2010 Pound Puppies is a good show, and it has humor that is just as sharp as MLP, and characters that can be just as funny as Pinkie Pie. So I just wish that other shows got as much attention as MLP.

[Jadefire 2,797]

Cool story bro.

[Nah 3,182]

Overrated? On YouTube and DeviantArt, yeah it is. In real life, has to catch up with some people. Eventually, we will be at our peak, like Trekkies.

[halcyonharlot 372]

implying invader zim doesn't have a nauseatingly huge fandom and isn't grossly overrated

 

why cant we just let it DIIIIIE HOT TOPIC WHY

 

Care to elaborate on why MLP isn't as good as the shows you mentioned though? Or why it's undeserving of it's fanbase? I mean, it's totally fine to think that, but could we maybe get some meat behind your argument?

[roomforapony 285]

implying invader zim doesn't have a nauseatingly huge fandom and isn't grossly overrated

 

why cant we just let it DIIIIIE HOT TOPIC WHY

 

Oh my god, this. Even Johnen Vasquez hates Invader Zim. It had its moments, but god it wasn't nearly as funny as the fans made it out to be.

 

And now they have meme crap all over the Invader Zim stuff at Hot Topic. Makes it x2 better, right?

[Stoner Spike 185]

Most posts here are long and give a hell of a headache to read. I don't think the show is overrated.

 

It's cute, it's cheerful, it's fun, and it's just overall a great show, and the former things are just what I needed at the time. Some of you may think the other cartoons are better, and while I admit they were pretty damn awesome, I think FiM beats them.

 

By the way, you forgot to mention Code Lyoko. That and FiM are tying for my favorite. When I heard the theme of CL play on a video I was watching, my brain almost imploded from too much remembering.

 

EVERYONE IS IN LOVE WITH CODE LYOKO, NO EXCEPTIONS.

 

Oh, and may I add:

Edited April 6, 2012 by Stoner Spike