What Happened to all the Slapstick in MLP?

[Azureth 686]

 

He makes some excellent points I had never thought of. It's really true. Seems like the slapstick went away.

[Mirage 24,045]

It's true - the show has evolved into more melodrama than comedy. However, I disagree - I'd love to see Twilight smashed by various heavy objects again.  XD

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

The show has become more like a drama show than a comedy show. They take everything seriously nowadays, do you want to see Moon Dancer or Rara to be smashed by some heavy objects? The cruelty and mean-spirit are counted as negative nowaday, the slap stick wont work anymore, 28 pranks later is a example of slap stick is no longer the standard of the show's comedy. I remember the time everypony become crazy just because of a gala, and here we are right now, we watch episode about dead parents... 

There is no going back.

Edited July 29, 2017 by Lambdadelta

[CypherHoof 26,479]

I think it still works for Pinkie though, because, well, Pinkie...

She is still over the top at times - Rock Solid being the most recent blatant example of course, but almost ANY scene with Pinkie in it has the potential of being a "wait, what?" moment - from her vacuum cleaner in Celestial Advice to the general acceptance that "well, it's Pinkie" is a perfectly valid excuse for ignoring the fourth wall, continuity, physics, and so forth.

[Megas 27,049]

Tbf, there are more ways to do comedy than just slapstick. I mean I like slapstick as much as the next guy, but slapstick isn't really well liked in the fandom, and you can tell by how bad people usually react to it here. To say MLP has become more of a drama is laughable, it's still very much a comedy, but it's just that that particular form of comedy isn't its strong point 

[cmarston1 5,951]

I am not really that big a fan of slapstick, so I am kinda okay with it not really being all that prevalent in the show anymore.

[Thrond 3,257]

4 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

do you want to see Moon Dancer or Rara to be smashed by some heavy objects?

Yes. Moondancer especially. 

 

4 hours ago, Lambdadelta said:

28 pranks later is a example of slap stick is no longer the standard of the show's comedy. 

I still think that "28 Pranks Later" was pretty funny. The problem there was that the character writing is off. 

 

 

It doesn't really matter to me what kind of humour the show employs, as long as it's funny. 

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

21 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Yes. Moondancer especially. 

Wait, what 

4 hours ago, Whompy Whomperson said:

I mean I like slapstick as much as the next guy, but slapstick isn't really well liked in the fandom, and you can tell by how bad people usually react to it here.

Thanks to that, Spike is treated better now... i want to see cartoon characters get hurt (non-serious ways of course, they do that a LOT in animes ) but sometimes it crosses the line and become torture porns (which are not really funny). 

[Thrond 3,257]

29 minutes ago, Lambdadelta said:

Wait, what 

Slapstick is funny. And I'm not super fond of Moondancer.

[ManaMinori 4,143]

I do miss the slapstick. Anvils falling on Twilight or RD slamming into mountains. The characters haveprogressed and matured, so now, sadly, no one can imagine an anvil hitting PRINCESS Twilight in the head, or Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash pulling slapstick on Applejack, like in Fall Weather friends. And Dr Wolf is right- we asked for this. WE asked for their character progression and development, so we only have ourselves to blame that slapstick and comedy has been toned don to the point where it is almost nonexistant in the show.

[Mirage 24,045]

4 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

It doesn't really matter to me what kind of humour the show employs, as long as it's funny. 

Yes - we always have Rarity...

 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

3 minutes ago, Mirage77 said:

Yes - we always have Rarity...

Indeed. Season 7 gives us:

I think this might count too:

[Mirage 24,045]

Yeah, well, maybe season 7 shouldn't count...

[CypherHoof 26,479]

23 minutes ago, Mirage77 said:

Yeah, well, maybe season 7 shouldn't count...

The problem with finding Rarity humor in S6 is that in the three main eps she is featured in there is also a lot of Pinkie Pie - so its almost by definition PP slapstick (which is too much of an easy target, really). That said, it is hard to quantify amounts of Pinkie Pie as almost any amount exceeds your recommended daily allowance...

So, yeah, this was Pinkie:

And of course so was:

[CastletonSnob 3,024]

MLP is no longer a comedy? Um, what? What do you call episodes like Discordant Harmony or Hard to Say Anything? 

Edited July 29, 2017 by VG_Addict

[Jeric 46,834]

I am posting my thoughts from another topic to save time since I'm still chilling on my last minute adventures 

Quote

Lost? May be a stretch, but yes the earlier seasons had more zaniness. Take a look at some of the concepts in season 1. A bunny stampede, Twilight getting the Wile E Coyote treatment, and a pie war were obvious attempts at a stronger slapstick approach. 

It still exists to some extent. Parental Glideance had a few wacky moments. They have dialed it down though. I can't say it's a good thing, or even a bad thing. Each era had it's own feel, and early seasons had a tad more Bugs Bunny in them. 

... 

Basically same view. Replace zaniness with slapstick (semantics really).

 

I also now suspect that Wolf is getting video subject ideas for various brony forums and blogs. This is about the fifth time I have seen an idea posted elsewhere that popped up in a video from him within a few months of me reading said idea. Don't have an issue with that, but it's an interesting observation. 

 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

I know it is bad of me to laugh at sad Flutters there, but I just can't help it

Sorry. I will go hand in my good guy card immediately.

 

[Mirage 24,045]

I for one didn't mean to imply that the comedy has left like a step function...only that as the OP/video pointed out, it's just not the same concentration of silliness, however it's defined. 

Not what I meant:

 

Rarity's comedy transfer function:

So periodic, but not flat. 

[CypherHoof 26,479]

Well, yeah. the fourier transform applies everywhere but Australia - because the laws of mathematics don't apply there

[Luminance 2,181]

The slapstick isn't gone but it's just not seen often times anymore. Maybe the show would like to "grow" away from that. With the amount of seriousness alone in Season 7, I think it's a good change.   

[CT-1138 3,179]

MLP has turned into more of a situational comedy like "The Simpsons" or "Modern Family" than it was in the beginning. It's a shame, I liked the more Looney Tunes style slapstick of falling pianos and slamming doors.

[Singe 2,109]

It would be funny for Applejack to do the Sideshow Bob rake gag.

[FlareGun45 2,221]

Well, Slapstick can be funny if EVERYONE had that. Like the Three Stooges, or Ed, Edd n Eddy. If everyone was getting hurt, then yeah, it would be funny! Unfortunately, there were times when all the slapstick was being aimed towards one particular character, and that's where the Spikeabuse comes to the picture! While everypony is out being developed and making new friends, they turned Spike into a punching bag fool with little to no development! Was that right considering he had a hard time fitting in as it was? No, it was not. That was cruel. At least in A Flurry of Emotions, both Twilight and Spike were getting beat up by Flurry, and that's what it made it more fair!

[Star Petal 215]

Remember that episode where Rarity kept treating her little sister Sweetie belle as if she were just a little filly? Remember how she just "expected" Sweetie belle to enjoy little children puppet shows when she had already long moved onto much more mature things like Experimental Theater? This is what you are doing. YOU are being rarity right now. Sure there is still a little of that old slap stick comedy, but our show is no longer the little filly and colt it use to be. It has moved on to more mature comedy such as insult comedy. Case in point, when apple jack asked strawberry whatever it was if she liked apples. The characters act more mature because they too have grown, and so haven't you! 

 

So rejoice that this has happened. Growing is a good thing! 

 

[Mirage 24,045]

But...I don't wanna grow up. I want Pinkie Pie!