Would aging the CMC be a bad idea?

[SunsetBaconDrive 169]

I really think the show should age them to the age of the Mane 6 from season 1. I want to see how far they get with their counseling in their young adult years, or what about teen hood? They're not even teenagers yet. Do you think Scootaloo flying at an older age would be satisfying? What about Applebloom taking more responsibilities in the Apple Family? And Sweetie Bell? Not sure about her.

[BastementSparkle 20,312]

The Mane Six seem to have been Young adults even back in season 1. I'm not sure aging the CMC straight up to their age right away would be a good idea. However, maybe aging them to that over time would be good, if the show goes on that long. I'd definitely like to see them age at least a bit in the next season, even if it was just physically doing something like they did with Alicorn Twi and making them a bit taller or something.

 

 There's some more potential for stories about growing up with an older CMC that I'd certainly like to see. However, if they do this, they have to commit to aging some other characters too. The rest of the CMC's classmates would have to age a bit. Also, Pound and Pumpkin Cake and Flurry Heart. Especially Pound and Pumpkin, because those two practically seem like they're going to be babies forever.

 

 Wouldn't mind Spike finally showing a bit of natural non-greed triggered growth too.

[cider float 2,535]

I don't see anything wrong with it. If they imply certain years are going by it would be weird if they stayed perpetually fillies. I would say they have gotten an year older and were going on their first Grand Galloping Gala. And I think them getting their Cutie Mark is a sign of them getting older as well.

Edited October 5, 2016 by cider float

[SunsetBaconDrive 169]

I don't see anything wrong with it. If they imply certain years are going by it would be weird if they stayed perpetually fillies. I would say they have gotten an year older and were going on their first Grand Galloping Gala. And I think them getting their Cutie Mark is a sign of them getting older as well.

Maybe have the CMC's voices get a little deeper to show maturity, just little stuff like that.

[cider float 2,535]

Maybe have the CMC's voices get a little deeper to show maturity, just little stuff like that.

It would be weird if their voices don't change. But since females don't get that much difference in voices during and after puberty they don't have to put too much concern on it.

[SunsetBaconDrive 169]

It would be weird if their voices don't change. But since females don't get that much difference in voices during and after puberty they don't have to put too much concern on it.

I didn't mean "deeper"... Deeper isn't a good choice of words.. I guess more mature voices would be appropriate.

[cmarston1 5,952]

I would like to see their models look a little bit taller and more adult to show that they have grown up over the course of the show, but it doesn't need to be to that of the mane 6 levels yet.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

Yeah, I agree that they should age a bit. Not all the way to Mane6, but some point in-between. Like whatever the teenager-equivalent is for ponies.

[Merion 783]

Childhood friendships face tons of problems when the friends hit puberty. Aging the CMC a little bit would give the writers new friendship issues to explore, right?

[Odd Ball 230]

I don't want them to age in the show. If Arthur, Bart and Lisa Simpson can stay young for over 20 years, so can the CMC.

[Guest]

Yeah, aging them a bit wouldn't be a bad idea actually. Not too much, but keeping them the same way isn't a good idea either imo.

[Kings&Hooves14 616]

I like the idea of the CMC getting older, but I doubt that it will happen.

 

I think the Crusaders have always been intended to give the youngest viewers characters that they could identify with; if they "aged-up" the CMC they would have to create a new set of fillies. 

 

From the writers' point of view, what would be the point?

[Colt 45 148]

I think it would be strange to age them, since none of the characters have aged for the last 6 seasons, so it would seen odd to implement that after all of these years.

[Justin_Case001 4,857]

I have always been in favor of aging the characters, but only if it's the whole universe.  You can't age the CMC without aging everypony.  I'd love to see them, as well as Diamond Tiara and all of the other school ponies as mane 6 sized young adults.  This means that Turbulence Cardioid would have to be aged to CMC size.  Maybe that would be a good thing.  Perhaps I'd actually end up liking the little sh*tling if they did that.

 

Unfortunately, it's too late, really.  If they were going to age them, I feel like it would have needed to happen already.  I think it could still work, if they were willing to do something incredible bold and risky, like having a 5 year gap between S6 and recently confirmed S7, but you know they'd never do something like that.  I wouldn't mind it at all, honestly.  I think a bold move like that would be better than maintaining the status quo and having the show start to stagnate, which has already happened.

 

It's also worth noting that almost every live action sitcom that starts out with young children is way better towards the end when the kids are grown.  I wish they'd take a risk and try implementing that concept in animation.

[SunsetBaconDrive 169]

I have always been in favor of aging the characters, but only if it's the whole universe.  You can't age the CMC without aging everypony.  I'd love to see them, as well as Diamond Tiara and all of the other school ponies as mane 6 sized young adults.  This means that Turbulence Cardioid would have to be aged to CMC size.  Maybe that would be a good thing.  Perhaps I'd actually end up liking the little sh*tling if they did that.

 

Unfortunately, it's too late, really.  If they were going to age them, I feel like it would have needed to happen already.  I think it could still work, if they were willing to do something incredible bold and risky, like having a 5 year gap between S6 and recently confirmed S7, but you know they'd never do something like that.  I wouldn't mind it at all, honestly.  I think a bold move like that would be better than maintaining the status quo and having the show start to stagnate, which has already happened.

 

It's also worth noting that almost every live action sitcom that starts out with young children is way better towards the end when the kids are grown.  I wish they'd take a risk and try implementing that concept in animation.

The Mane 6 wouldn't physically  change their age unless they were age 50 and above( which will never happen in the show) So the CMC being older would look physically the same as the mane 6, take people getting used to.

[LyricaDreamy 42]

I would love to see the cmc's in their early teens (i think they are like 12 now but puberty never came lol)

[silvadel 1,393]

So you want generation 4.5 because a timeskip where the CMC age to young adults (filly pound and pumpkin cake) would essentially bring about 4.5.

[Justin_Case001 4,857]

The Mane 6 wouldn't physically  change their age unless they were age 50 and above( which will never happen in the show) So the CMC being older would look physically the same as the mane 6, take people getting used to.

Yup, yup, that's true.  I wouldn't see any problem with that, though.

[SBaby 660]

Sweetie Belle's VA comes to mind here.  Any time you have a kid voicing a character for a long time, you always have to think about the time when they inevitably will stop sounding like a kid.  It's happened many times in the history of the Entertainment Industry.

 

It happened in Chowder (this series actually ended because of it).

 

It happened in Dora (they tried replacing her VA, and got tons of backlash from parents, so they eventually just decided to air a new show with a grown-up Dora).

 

And it happened in Kingdom Hearts (with two of the lead characters).

 

And it would've happened in SatAM, but the show got cancelled before it could (it would've happened because Tails was voiced by a kid). 

 

But with FiM, it's likely that the show will last long enough for this to be an issue, and we're drawing closer to the point where it might not only be a good idea, but it might be a necessity.

 

 

I don't want them to age in the show. If Arthur, Bart and Lisa Simpson can stay young for over 20 years, so can the CMC.

 

In every one of your examples though, the characters are voiced by adults.  But some of the CMCs are voiced by kids.  When you have kids voicing characters in a long running series, this is something you're eventually forced to think about.

Edited October 7, 2016 by SBaby

[Victoria Sponge 1,014]

I always like to imagine G5 as being the CMC as the same age as the mane 6 were with Flurry Heart and Twilight taking the princess roles. 

 

I know G5 will be completely different but it's just something I like to think about sometimes.

[Guest90210 3,567]

It'd be a great idea, in my opinion.

 

Remember who AJ looked in "Where the Apple Lies" (Bigger than a filly, but smaller than the Mane 6 from season 1)? I think it'd be cool to age the CMC up to around that size and have them progress into a new arc. I'd have the Mane 6 age up a bit too, perhaps change their appearance somewhat to make that apparent. With season 7 on the way, the writers have exhausted pretty much every main storyline for each character.

 

Rarity owns several boutiques, Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, Dash is a Wonderbolt, AJ holds down the farm as usual, Fluttershy has overcome most of her issues and is now able to stand up for herself when need be, and Pinkie Pie is still running Sugarcube Corner. Their arcs are pretty much done. They need to do something to make season 7 interesting and fresh - aging up the characters would be a good step. Maybe have some of the characters move somewhere else, or pursue new interests, or continue to introduce new characters

Edited October 9, 2016 by Rivendare

[Truffles 2,033]

it's likely that the show will last long enough for this to be an issue, and we're drawing closer to the point where it might not only be a good idea, but it might be a necessity.

Exactly. I feel like it's already a necessity after listening to Apple Bloom speak at the beginning and end of the latest episode. She sounds a lot older than she did 2 seasons ago, and it's becoming silly to pretend she's still a tween.

[Balt 108]

They can help with the new generation (no I don't mean G5) of the crusaders

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,304]

With some of the issues the CMC's have been facing lately, like difference in interest and whatnot, I think aging them a bit would be a natural thing to do at this point, considering the show has been around for nearly 6 years. Doesn't have to be anything drastic, just different subtleties would work fine. Make them a tad taller, things like that. Couldn't hurt to do that at this point.

[Baykush 328]

After 6 seasons, 140+ episodes, and a group of writers that proved not to be afraid of the status quo, that might be a necessary change soon. Perhaps when that change happens we could have a change of focus and have more episodes about the CMC, like a small transition for a G5 having them as the main characters.