What do you think about the older generations

[TwilightPomegranate 324]

Generation 1 and 2 were my favorite. But I really hated how they added random characters and humans instead of just ponies.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

Generation 1 and 2 were my favorite. But I really hated how they added random characters and humans instead of just ponies.

there WAS NO generation 2. Not as a cartoon, anyway...

[TwilightPomegranate 324]

there WAS NO generation 2. Not as a cartoon, anyway...

Oh yeah. It was just the toyline. ;/

[Leave a Whisper 703]

Oh yeah. It was just the toyline. ;/

Your Minty avvy is very cute.

[~Natural Beauty~ 323]

I actual use to have my littlest pet shops brutly murder the old gen.

[ChocolateCrane 156]

G3 was surprisingly good. G1 was a big disappointment. G2 was sometimes fun but often trashy. G3.5 we shall never speak of

 

I really wish they'd crossover the different gens in G4. I wanna witness the Mane 6 as they explore outside of Equestria and stumble upon these forgotten pony colonizations. Would be so damn cool to see a season or two wherein Twilight and her friends were on the road the entire time, expanding the world building potential of the series as a whole 

Edited March 22, 2017 by ChocolateCrane

[~Natural Beauty~ 323]

I love that idea, meeting lost pony civilation

[ZethaPonderer 2,199]

Eh... Old post, but I might as well give off what I think about the previous generations along with Gen 4 just because I find it an interesting topic,

Gen 1 (1984): Modest, but nothing special in comparison to cartoons of that time even with the dark and edgy atmosphere. It was the Silver Age of cartoons where making cartoons just to sell toys was perfected, but the cartoons from the 80s in general came off too experimental for my tastes though I do admire the hand-drawn animation and the villains as they are the only good things in the show. 1980s had the best designed villains IMO.

Gen 2 or 1.5: Divisive. Hate it with a burning passion. Plus I just don't like the typical slice of life cartoons unless you do something very wacky and outrageously bizarre to the concept e.g. Ed Edd n Eddy, Beavis and Butthead.

Gen 3 and 3.5: Horrible Abominations. The pony designs are freaky, nightmarish and unsettling. That's saying a lot since I watched some very macabre and horrifying images in my life e.g. the Death Scenes of Waxworks for the Amiga 500 released in 1992 it may look funny in nowadays standards, but I assure you if you were a child you'd be scarred for life so I'm asking you as a Warner don't watch the Death Scenes of Waxworks. I'm justified in my position to hate cute things in TV shows forever thanks to this and I ain't changing that position anytime soon (I rather just stick to cute things IRL). The whole thing just makes me want to vomit in sheer disgust.

Gen 4 (2010): I have to appreciate the previous generations to truly find pure enjoyment out of this cartoon which I have mixed feelings (indifferent to hate) since I don't bear any nostalgic connections to it. As a standalone cartoon, it's just as modest as G1 thus nothing special, but for an MLP cartoon it's a miracle indeed after Gen 3 and 3.5. One thing I did notice however, is that the pony designs of Gen 4 looks eerily similar to G3 and 3.5 to some extent which might explain why I still have an unnatural urge to hurl at the design of the ponies. Plus, it took all the failures of the previous generations into account into making this so it does explain a lot as to why I couldn't get invested into this show no matter how hard I tried.

Edited June 13, 2017 by ZethaPonderer
Do people who edit their posts are mentally challenged? Idk, but its fun to speculate.

[Tacodidra 61,212]

I didn't like the old MLP as a kid; it was actually one of the few cartoons I didn't watch back then. I think that didn't really have much to do with the quality of the show itself, but my refusal to watch what I regarded as a show for girls. Seems silly now but that's how many kids think. As an adult (and being much more open-minded), I still don't particularly like the older MLP cartoons (I've only watched some clips but the style doesn't appeal to me). However, I have newfound respect for the older generations, as without them, we wouldn't have FIM.

[LightningMana 146]

G1's are bulky and ugly and the cartoon had hidden bondage fetishes in it 

 

G2's look like dinosaurs 

 

G3's were actually cute 

 

G4's look like donkey mice 

 

BUT I TAKE THEM AAAALLL

I like them all

[HorsesandMOARGaloar 300]

On 9/8/2017 at 11:37 AM, LightningMana said:

G4's look like donkey mice 

If only they were small enough to keep them as horsey hamsters ... 

[GlitterMoon 225]

G1: I love the movies! 

My Little Pony Tales: I actually quite like the series!

G3: I grew up with this one, and I still think it's cute and fun!

G3.5: The redesigns are okay, but all the episodes of it are an exact copy of the G3 ones!

Newborn Cuties: I actually think it's cute!

G4: My all time favourite!

[MasterSpark95 430]

G1's really great but the others I don't really like. (Not counting G4).

(Especially G3 and G3.5, which is honestly the stuff of nightmares).

[waddleswan 3]

I adore g1 ponies but I haven't actually watched a episode of g1 yet and I  also have a soft spot for g3/g3.5  because seriously the g3.5 commercial babies and the older ponies when drawn right look totally adorable. It's really sad that all g3.5 is known for is that bad cartoon and the hell spawn g3.5 baby that's freaking horrifying and not cute like the ones in the commercials. 

In fact the current design for mlp babies are pretty similar to the commercial g3.5 babies. 

Which is good because those  were cute unlike the horrifying demon spawn that was in newborn cuties. 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by waddleswan

[Jordan D 149]

I haven't watched much of the Generation 1 cartoon, I've only see two episodes in fact. "The Would Be Dragonslayer" and "Baby, it's cold outside". "The Would Be Dragonslayer" was really fun, especially with how unexpected it was (the ponies just beat up a kid in the first few minutes, I found that hilarious for some reason) and "Baby, it's cold outside" was actually a pretty good adventure story with a fun villain. Can't say how the generation on the whole was but the cartoon didn't seem half bad. The G1 comics on the other hand were pretty bad..

I actually really want to watch My Little Pony Tales. It seems pretty interesting from what I've seen. 

I don't really know much about G3 other then the fact that I played the video game on GBA once...that was a thing.

[KarentheUnicorn 218]

What I find interesting is FIM centered fans seem to focus they're opinion 'mostly' on the cartoon when sharing they're thoughts on MLP pre-FIM. As a person who has been into My Little Pony since 1983, I do not consider the cartoon my first go to for how I feel or think about My Little Pony. I have enjoyed most of it so for me to think I hate or dislike MLP is for me to deny what I have loved for the past  35 years. As a fan who has been here since pretty much the beginning, I don't view it as anything other than MLP, it's not really a separate thing to me, there are just fans who are determined to make it that, but that is there problem not mine.

[Total Lunar Eclipse 516]

I love the art style of gen 3 (not the baby ones). The animation is so pretty. Those shadows and highlights, detailed hair, and bright colors were so shiny and nice, and they move so fluidly (the hair, too). 

Never been a fan of Flash animation. 

I also like Star Catcher. It'd be nice if they brought her into gen 4.

That's it for me though. 

[KatonRyu 1,033]

G1: The Movie was awful, but Escape from Midnight Castle/Firefly's Adventure was a pretty good special IMO. Other than that, I don't really know much about it.

G2: No clue. Never saw or heard anything about it.

G3: Just bad.

G3.5: Absolutely horrific in every way, from the animation to the voices to the subjects of the episodes.

[Prospekt 11,018]

I did just finish watching my first bit of G1, Rescue at Midnight Castle. It was alright. The story could have been fleshed out so much more in a two-part episode. And Megan is one of the most glaring Mary Sues I have ever come across in a cartoon. Quite uninteresting, if you ask me.  But it's actually not all that bad. I can now see just how much Lauren Faust and co. borrowed from that one episode:

Spoiler

 

G1 Tirek is the model for G4 Tirek, Nightmare Moon, and the Storm King. G1 Spike is... well... not much different from G4 Spike, based on the little bit of him that we do get to see. Firefly is Rainbow Dash. No question. G1 Applejack is just G4 Applejack without the fleshed-out country girl personality. G1 Twilight's design is clearly the inspiration for Twilight Sparkle's mother, Twilight Velvet. The Rainbow of Light is the inspiration for the Elements of Harmony. And the Moochick's pet rabbit reminds me of Angel.

 

And I can't get the seapony song out of my head.

[omgamapwny 51]

On 2/10/2018 at 6:59 AM, Prospekt said:

I did just finish watching my first bit of G1, Rescue at Midnight Castle. It was alright. The story could have been fleshed out so much more in a two-part episode. And Megan is one of the most glaring Mary Sues I have ever come across in a cartoon. Quite uninteresting, if you ask me.  But it's actually not all that bad. I can now see just how much Lauren Faust and co. borrowed from that one episode:

  Hide contents

 

G1 Tirek is the model for G4 Tirek, Nightmare Moon, and the Storm King. G1 Spike is... well... not much different from G4 Spike, based on the little bit of him that we do get to see. Firefly is Rainbow Dash. No question. G1 Applejack is just G4 Applejack without the fleshed-out country girl personality. G1 Twilight's design is clearly the inspiration for Twilight Sparkle's mother, Twilight Velvet. The Rainbow of Light is the inspiration for the Elements of Harmony. And the Moochick's pet rabbit reminds me of Angel.

 

And I can't get the seapony song out of my head.

Haha perfect summary! I haven't watched it in years, but I watched it repeatedly when I was little. Interesting to see it from an adult-watching-for-the-first-time perspective. When I was little it seemed much longer than it probably would now and probably more terrifying too!

I STILL get that song stuck in my head randomly! Call upon the seeeea ponies when you're in distress......

On 9/8/2017 at 4:37 AM, LightningMana said:

G1's are bulky and ugly and the cartoon had hidden bondage fetishes in it 

 

Whaaaat? I don't recall this! Please explain! (I'm not doubting it, just amused me and wanna know wtf I was watching when I was little now haha)

[FizzyWind 64]

I don’t know I’ve seen some of of each generation. G4 is definitely my favorite, but G3.5 is god awful. The animation is shitty, the designs are rediculous and the writing seemed to be aimed at children below the age of 10. I think there were some good things concerning the 1980s MLP ( I think G1 ) such as how the villains brought a sense of fantastical elements to the series as it came to be. MLP has come a long way from being primarily a young girl tv show so kids will want the toys to a series that from a story driven aspect can go on it’s own path without having to cater to girls to want to but miniature coloured horses. Lauren is the reason Mlp is as big as it is and she grew up with those older cartoons.

[KarentheUnicorn 218]

On 3/21/2018 at 10:56 PM, The Whiteraven said:

I don’t know I’ve seen some of of each generation. G4 is definitely my favorite, but G3.5 is god awful. The animation is shitty, the designs are rediculous and the writing seemed to be aimed at children below the age of 10. I think there were some good things concerning the 1980s MLP ( I think G1 ) such as how the villains brought a sense of fantastical elements to the series as it came to be. MLP has come a long way from being primarily a young girl tv show so kids will want the toys to a series that from a story driven aspect can go on it’s own path without having to cater to girls to want to but miniature coloured horses. Lauren is the reason Mlp is as big as it is and she grew up with those older cartoons.

Actually the G3 cartoons...were aimed at children under 3-4. Hasbro confirmed this at the collectors convention years ago when we asked about it.

You've got to realize there is a difference in cartoon centered generation FIM and G1 generation. G1 fans are more toy centered. It's probably good to realize that Faust more than likely got more of her ideas from her own toy ponies than she did from the cartoon.  As I've explained many times, the original cartoons were more of an accessory, the toy was first and cartoon was secondary. 

[Earl Grey Ghost 446]

I have never watched, nor do I play to watch any of the other generations. I have seen photos and clips and just, no, the art is terrible, the animation is cheap, and the toys just tip the uncanny valley for me. So no thank you. The marketing ploy was not only obvious, but it was slap you in the face with a tuna obvious. I think I'll go with a little less obvious pandering, if I have to go with pandering at all. But this is Hasbro so be prepared for it.
 

[FizzyWind 64]

On 3/24/2018 at 9:30 AM, KarentheUnicorn said:

Actually the G3 cartoons...were aimed at children under 3-4. Hasbro confirmed this at the collectors convention years ago when we asked about it.

You've got to realize there is a difference in cartoon centered generation FIM and G1 generation. G1 fans are more toy centered. It's probably good to realize that Faust more than likely got more of her ideas from her own toy ponies than she did from the cartoon.  As I've explained many times, the original cartoons were more of an accessory, the toy was first and cartoon was secondary. 

Yeah I’ve seen more and I can see that. I do however think that G1 is the best old series imo. The ponies were cute including the 1986 film. I’ve found that in G4 the ponies just seem to be older and most of the mane 6 feel like women instead of baby ponies and even the cmcs don’t act as childish compared to the originals. I still don’t like G3 or 3.5 as they are quite bland compared to the styles of things like my little pony n friends.

[KarentheUnicorn 218]

On 3/26/2018 at 10:35 PM, The Whiteraven said:

Yeah I’ve seen more and I can see that. I do however think that G1 is the best old series imo. The ponies were cute including the 1986 film. I’ve found that in G4 the ponies just seem to be older and most of the mane 6 feel like women instead of baby ponies and even the cmcs don’t act as childish compared to the originals. I still don’t like G3 or 3.5 as they are quite bland compared to the styles of things like my little pony n friends.

I don't really get adult women from the main six, I get a teenager vibe from them, MAYBE 18-20. Or they're sort of written more in a perspective of how children would see/view adults. A lot of the storylines, sure, as adults we can watch the G4 cartoon and enjoy it but it does come across as a kids cartoon, with adult ponies who look like adults but it's more of how a kid would see an adult. But then again, this opinion is coming from someone who is in her 40's so I'm probably jaded in how I view most cartoons now. As much as I enjoy friendship is magic, it's reached a point in the last year to year and a half where I don't particularly care if I miss an episode or not. 

Edited April 9, 2018 by KarentheUnicorn