EqG canonicity to FiM. Word of God

[ManaMinori 4,145]

 

There seem to be some things that are kind of difficult to explain if Equestria Girls really isn't canon to Friendship is magic, as some people vehemently insist. The first one being Flash Sentry's pony. He was first seen in Three's a Crowd, but WHY is he there? The EQG movie actually explains why. Why does he give a look to Twilight? Again, the Eqg movie explains why.

 

But no amount of picking scenes from both the show and EqG will leave people convinced. So instead, maybe the word of God will. (No, not Faust or the writers, but the president of Hasbro himself, and the owner of the franchise). In this interview, he states clearly that EqG (and the comics) are very clearly meant to be canon to FiM.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/hasbro-magic-branded-play

 

The backbone is the episodic series 'Friendship is Magic' that planted the seed for a much bigger story that we wanted to tell about the characters and their world. We extended it into all licensed categories" meaning that while the episodic series is the backbone, it's not the entire body of canon. A backbone without other limbs, flesh, and muscles, is just a supporting structure with nothing to support.

 

"We give kids and consumers the opportunity to relive the story, but what sets us apart is that we are not quite interested in telling you what happened in a particular episode, but more interested in telling you what happened between episodes," explains Michael Kelly, director of global publishing, Hasbro. "When the TV goes off and the movie theater goes dark, those characters are alive in your imagination. We build that story out and give you stories that happen in between the episodes and movies. "A big part of our success is, from a content standpoint, that we deliver not just an interpretation or adaptation, but provide original content that is expanding that universe and giving a different experience of characters," he adds.

The word canon comes from a theological context where in the past the Pope (and the bishop synod) decided which texts were part of the Holy Scripture and which weren't. The accepted parts were called canon and the rejected texts were called the apocrypha.

This concept can be applied outside religion too, in this case works of fiction. Canon is always what the "Pope" says is canon, the Pope being the owner of the fiction. Usually the onwer of a fiction is also the author, but this doesn't need to be the case. In the case of MLP for example, Hasbro is the owner, i.e. the "Pope", and DHX/IDW/Berrow/... are not. Therefore, whatever Hasbro says is to be taken as the Word of God.

 

 

With all that said, what do you guys think? Since ultimately, Faust, the show writers, the artists, the movie/ book/ comic/ etc writers, artists, etc all work for Hasbro, is the final word on what is canon and what is not determined by the owner of said franchise?

[cmarston1 5,959]

To be honest, I kinda want the EQG films to be canon, if only to spite the people who harassed the show staff because of the movie's sheer existence, despite it not even being released at the time they did so.

Edited March 12, 2017 by cmarston1

[ManaMinori 4,145]

To be honest, I kinda want the EQG films to be canon, if only to spite the people who harassed the show staff because of the movie's sheer existence, despite it not even being released at the time they did so.

ummmm...They there are canon. The very owner of the franchise says so. Did you not read the OP?

[Jeric 46,850]

I think everyone on here knows what cannon means. We are a smart group of individuals you know.

 

I've always seen MLP as having a very fluid application of cannonical content. It operates, in practice, very differently than other IP's with a tighter definition of what is and isn't cannon. One notable example is how Disney approached the Star Wars brand, specifically categorizing what is and is not cannon, and holding all creators it partners with to that definition.

 

If Tobin and others are to be believed, their version of cannon does invite inconsistency, especially as he seems to include licensing and official merchandise in his approach to the expanded narrative.

 

Either way, my view on the cannon argument is derived philosophically from literary postmodernism. Imma quote this again.

 

Barthes makes the point that the origin of a work may lie with the author, but its destination is with the reader. “… The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author.”

In short, if one subscribes to that philosophy, that they have some freedom of interpretation, and Tobin and Hasbro C-level execs and Officers are putting themselves out there as creative guides, one is free to simple go, 'Nope, I don't pray to your God.'

 

Those are my thoughts on this.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,320]

At this point, nothing will make me consider EqG to be canon. The quality of the films are there, minus the first one, but the concept is stupid. The premise is stupid. The setting is stupid. The creativity isn't there and the movies solely exist for toys. FiM might share that aspect, but at least it isn't so damn obvious. I just cannot consider an obviously inferior product to be in line with FiM and I feel EqG simply should not exist.

 

EqG is not referenced at all in FiM and EqG's boring, dull high school setting is an insult the the fantastical world of FiM, so in my book, the EqG films are on a seperate island entirely.

[cmarston1 5,959]

ummmm...They there are canon. The very owner of the franchise says so. Did you not read the OP?

Despite the word of the President of Hasbro, which is something that I doubt many members of the fandom would take as serious prove EQG is canon, the whole debate on whether or not the series is canon within FIM has always been iffy.

Even given what Mccarthy, the show runner has said about it on the topic.

So I guess the only real proof of it being canon to me would be if either Sunset Shimmer appeared in an episode, or if Twilight or Spike had some kind of line that would specifically reference events that took place during the films in an episode.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

At this point, nothing will make me consider EqG to be canon. The quality of the films are there, minus the first one, but the concept is stupid. The premise is stupid. The setting is stupid. The creativity isn't there and the movies solely exist for toys. FiM might share that aspect, but at least it isn't so damn obvious. I just cannot consider an obviously inferior product to be in line with FiM and I feel EqG simply should not exist.

Objective. Objective. So does the show, fyi. Objective.

There have been piss poor episodes of FiM, too. You can't really put down the movie when it's taking its first steps into new territory between episodes.

Despite the word of the President of Hasbro, which is something that I doubt many members of the fandom would take as serious prove EQG is canon, the whole debate on whether or not the series is canon within FIM has always been iffy.

Even given what Mccarthy, the show runner has said about it on the topic.

So I guess the only real proof of it being canon to me would be if either Sunset Shimmer appeared in an episode, or if Twilight or Spike had some kind of line that would specifically reference events that took place during the films in an episode.

whether they take the highest possible authority on their word that it's Canon or not is up to them. But it's a lot better than grasping at straws using Faust or the writers on their word, when they are all under contract and work for Hasbro, and go by the big boss's decisions. As I said in the OP, the episodes are the backbone, not the entire body, so having EqG characters in the episodes, I feel won't prove anything when it's all canon as a body, anyway. Besides,, if eqg isn't canon to some people would mean SS didn't exist at all- not as a human, and not as a pony in Equestria, which we know for a fact can be true, because her pony toys exist, and we know that Sunbutt had former students.

[Ganondorf8 11,285]

The reason Flash Sentry appeared in Three's a Crowd is that the animators snuck him in without the rest of the staff knowing about it until they saw the finished product. His appearance in Twilight's Kingdom Part I was meant to be a special circumstance though I don't know all of the details. It's been a while since I read what Big Jim Miller had to say about it on his Twitter account at the time. Now, with regards to Equestria Girls, I do see it and the comics as being canon to the show, but then I didn't need to hear it from Stephen Davis, who is the C.E.O. of Hasbro Studies, and the one who is likely to have the most influence over anything related to the show.

[Vixor 80]

But that's wrong, nothing whatsoever in that article proves anything as canon. It's all just marketing talk and buzzwords, and Hasbro boasting about how they've expanded their IP on a variety of different fronts, but in no way does it say that anything is canon. All it really says is that they have a variety of products for fans to enjoy, but it does not in any way suggest canonicity any moreso than some random fanfic being a 'product' that fans enjoy. Hasbro's marketing makes no real distinction between what's actually canon and what's not, it's all just an expansion of their IP to them, making them more money and raising brand awareness and so on. Doesn't mean it's canon.

 

EQG I can see the argument for canonicity (to an extent, I still see some fair debate over it) due to other factors. But the comics? No, absolutely not, anyone who thinks those are canon is frankly just being unreasonable, to put it bluntly. And as far as quality goes, they've had some good parts/moments and good issues, but they've also had no shortage of really bad or awful parts/issues and some stuff that's just downright insulting (the show also obviously has some moments/tidbits or episodes with really bad or awful writing too though, mind you). And not just the big things, it can be a bunch of little things that add up, for a variety of reasons. There's definitely plenty of bad there, on multiple fronts. Sometimes it can be a whole issue, other times it can be a few tidbits that are awful, sometimes even in an issue that would otherwise be alright, or both. I'd rather not go into details, but you get the idea.

 

Anyway, I'm sorry, but this thread is pure clickbait. You've misunderstood the marketing buzz and intend to use it as a bludgeon to try and argue for something being canon, but in reality there's no real proof of that at all. Again, EQG, I can understand, for reasons completely unrelated to what you've linked though, but the comics? No. If you enjoy them, that's fair enough I guess, suit yourself, but they clearly aren't canon. Anyway, I'm really tired, so eh, maybe gonna take a nap soon.

Edited March 13, 2017 by Vixor

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,320]

Objective. Objective. So does the show, fyi. Objective.

There have been piss poor episodes of FiM, too. You can't really put down the movie when it's taking its first steps into new territory between episodes.

Oooh trust me, I can put down the movies, especially the original, fairly easily. The original movie wasn't venturing into anything new. It was venturing into a totally generic high school setting away from a fantasy setting. So it then became a generic teenage girl cliche with a tiny bit of fantasy elements. Most of the first movie is forced, contrived nonsense and 'forced' is the exact word I would use to describe the entire movie series. For me, to consider them canon would be an insult to FiM itself.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Equestria Girls is pretty entertaining! But I really don't care if they're canon or not. It's actually whether one's point of view might be! Like I consider the Star Wars Legends to be canon still, and no one can take that away from me. The Legends are so far much better than most of what Disney released, besides Rogue One which I LOVED!

[Lil Pip 775]

I like Jeric's thoughtful post.

 

Its like a bunch of pseudo-canon I suppose. 

And that causes discussion amongst peers which adds more value to it than a cut n dry piece of work.

In a friendlier environment its healthier, but in a hostile environment or more nitpicky lets say, it can cause people to become disinterested.

 

The reason why Disney Star Wars probably kept canon organized is due to stylized differences already causing criticism, so even more problems with canon could alienate the first audience which is huge, or so nerds can nerd out with a consistent canon to bring solidarity.

 

I mean it could go either way, solidarity or discussion. But ultimately it may be due to the difference between science fiction and fantasy. Fantasy doesn't mind being unrealistic (magic (case and point(lol))) where sci-fi thrives on believability involving loose futuristic technologies, I mean they even have fictional vehicle parts for petes sake for hard-core fans perhaps those of engineering.

 

So I can see why they would require more consistency.

 

Actually some people had plot issues with FiM also, but considering how drastic styles can change based on author, it shouldn't come as a surprise when canon is less valued, also because younger target audience means less emphasis on realism which means more artistic freedom.

[AlbaTross 1,586]

There seem to be some things that are kind of difficult to explain if Equestria Girls really isn't canon to Friendship is magic, as some people vehemently insist. The first one being Flash Sentry's pony. He was first seen in Three's a Crowd, but WHY is he there? The EQG movie actually explains why. Why does he give a look to Twilight? Again, the Eqg movie explains why.

But no amount of picking scenes from both the show and EqG will leave people convinced. So instead, maybe the word of God will. (No, not Faust or the writers, but the president of Hasbro himself, and the owner of the franchise). In this interview, he states clearly that EqG (and the comics) are very clearly meant to be canon to FiM.

http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/hasbro-magic-branded-play

The backbone is the episodic series 'Friendship is Magic' that planted the seed for a much bigger story that we wanted to tell about the characters and their world. We extended it into all licensed categories" meaning that while the episodic series is the backbone, it's not the entire body of canon. A backbone without other limbs, flesh, and muscles, is just a supporting structure with nothing to support.

"We give kids and consumers the opportunity to relive the story, but what sets us apart is that we are not quite interested in telling you what happened in a particular episode, but more interested in telling you what happened between episodes," explains Michael Kelly, director of global publishing, Hasbro. "When the TV goes off and the movie theater goes dark, those characters are alive in your imagination. We build that story out and give you stories that happen in between the episodes and movies. "A big part of our success is, from a content standpoint, that we deliver not just an interpretation or adaptation, but provide original content that is expanding that universe and giving a different experience of characters," he adds.

The word canon comes from a theological context where in the past the Pope (and the bishop synod) decided which texts were part of the Holy Scripture and which weren't. The accepted parts were called canon and the rejected texts were called the apocrypha.

This concept can be applied outside religion too, in this case works of fiction. Canon is always what the "Pope" says is canon, the Pope being the owner of the fiction. Usually the onwer of a fiction is also the author, but this doesn't need to be the case. In the case of MLP for example, Hasbro is the owner, i.e. the "Pope", and DHX/IDW/Berrow/... are not. Therefore, whatever Hasbro says is to be taken as the Word of God.

With all that said, what do you guys think? Since ultimately, Faust, the show writers, the artists, the movie/ book/ comic/ etc writers, artists, etc all work for Hasbro, is the final word on what is canon and what is not determined by the owner of said franchise?

Hi, as this topic is about the Equestria Girls series, it has been moved to the appropriate board.

[Slozy Ponyash 12]

At this point, nothing will make me consider EqG to be canon. The quality of the films are there, minus the first one, but the concept is stupid. The premise is stupid. The setting is stupid. The creativity isn't there and the movies solely exist for toys. FiM might share that aspect, but at least it isn't so damn obvious. I just cannot consider an obviously inferior product to be in line with FiM and I feel EqG simply should not exist.

 

EqG is not referenced at all in FiM and EqG's boring, dull high school setting is an insult the the fantastical world of FiM, so in my book, the EqG films are on a seperate island entirely.

This is an exactal to how I feel.  This Equestria Girls is a hard to digest because of distalness to original pony storyline and of the humanicity of the characters which make this even frequently distal to pony universe.  What is this have to do with Canterlot?  Nothing!  Pony is not in high school girl canon sequence which can make this possible.  Pony is not young women!

Edited March 13, 2017 by Slozy Ponyash

[Concerned Bystander 2,902]

It's all very well for some guy in a suit to declare from the corporate boardroom what is and isn't canon, but if that isn't translated in-universe through references to the other media then it's a fairly shallow statement.

 

Case in point, if the comics are canon, then the whole Nightmare Rarity arc actually happened, and happened prior to DPDoMS.  Why then it was it not mentioned?  Seems like it would have been a very good time for Rarity to bring up her own experience to help Luna deal with her own issues.  The most obvious reason for nothing being said is that the whole event never happened.  I love the comics, but I don't see them as being canon to the cartoon where they contradict it either actively or by omission.

 

I would have (mostly) no problem with the extended universe being canon, but everything up to this point shows that the writers are trying to keep the cartoon as a standalone product by not referencing the extended material, even when it would useful to the plot for them to do so, or in the case above, pretty much essential.  They can claim whatever they want to be canon but until they put their money where their mouth is and make it happen in-universe then I'm not buying it.

Edited March 13, 2017 by Concerned Bystander

[Lonely Fanboy48 28]

I know this is not canon because they just sometimes want to have both series apart since after Rainbow Rocks. Rainbow Rocks was the last movie to feature Princess Twilight as a main Character and after that she's only in delete scenes, cameos, and mentions. If they keep doing this way I probably get burned out from this spin off series. I get people prefer to have both series apart because they either hat EG or prefer it that way but for what I see in the ending of Legend Of Everfree it shows to us that this is really canon. I bet in future EQ projects (Like the specials) will have both series come to gather (Like Human Twilight and Princess Twilight talking to each other). I know it might cause chaos but just looking at the ending this Spin Off series might be close to come to an end and they should have people (Like the Mane 7) are shocked that the statue by the school is getting out of control.

[Steve Piranha 29,419]

Ugh, I can't believe so many mistake canon to being mutually independent   . In the case of the comics it's more complicated though. In many cases, some of the comic stories fit perfectly in FiM, but FiM sometimes contradicts the comics. This case is justified though, as it's both hard, and inefficient for FiM to be bound on the comics.