Does it have to be ponies?

[whitemagemog 21]

So I've been thinking about what genuine things I'd like to ask while here at this forum as someone who isn't really involved in the MLP fandom in a big way and this is something that sticks out in my head first!

Would you still have liked my little pony if it were, lets say: My little doggy? or any other kind of animal, meerkats or elephants you name it 

[whitemagemog 21]

Just now, Venomous said:

@whitemagemog

Just so you are aware, I have altered this thread's title to give it more proper context. I have also moved it to Sugarcube Corner where it will receive the appropriate attention.

Oh thank you very much! ^^

[CypherHoof 26,483]

I suspect whatever Faust chose to populate her world with would be FiM as we know it today - but by choosing ponies, she had a pre-existing lore of unicorns and pegasi to fall back on, which really no other creature has - not that her world is limited solely to ponies of course.

[Le Trotteur Sauvage 13,051]

@whitemagemog

Wow that's actually a great question ! And a hard question. I think I can answer you because I'm not a hardcore brony like you asked. In fact I don't even like horse that much, I'm more a canine/feline person

So I think that my little doggy or else, will be as good as pony to me ! What makes the show great is not the pony form, it's the show itself ! Sure producer make pun on their pony form (like using word like "everypony" etc)

I think I would have love it no matter what species it is.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,161]

Really, for me, it's not so much them being ponies, but stylized ponies. If the series was "My Little Doggy" it would also have to rely on whatever art style is chosen. Back in 2010-11 when the fandom was catching on one of the things that caught the eyes of people was the art style of the ponies. It's possible that if the art was more reminiscent of G1 or even G3 that MLP might not have appealed to as many people as it did.

So yeah; if My Little Doggy or My Little Griffin were a thing; art and depiction are key.

[Once In A Blue Moon 895]

I've had the thought a few times, and I will be honest and say that the appearance of the ponies was a major factor in drawing my attention to MLP - I suspect that other cute animals would have worked too. Equestria Girls is a good example of something that I don't watch - it looks a bit too... weird.

[Ivan The Adorable 304]

Interesting question. The design of the series carried a lot of the momentum in gaining its unique fandom. You might compare to shows like pound puppies and littlest pet shop, which each had similar revival attempts but were not able to survive the decline of the Hub network. Both the weight of the preceding MLP series and the enthusiasm for subverting the tropes in them did matter a lot in the early days of the fandom

I think one thing you also need to recognize about the brony fandom is it is not completely unconnected from the general audience for the show. Having daughters, sisters, nieces etc who enjoy the show sustained many of the older members and also adjacent celebs who helped support the base and who aren't necessarily interested in all the juvenile memes and shitposting

[CypherHoof 26,483]

29 minutes ago, Trotteur Sauvage said:

@whitemagemog

Wow that's actually a great question ! And a hard question. I think I can answer you because I'm not a hardcore brony like you asked. In fact I don't even like horse that much, I'm more a canine/feline person

So I think that my little doggy or else, will be as good as pony to me ! What makes the show great is not the pony form, it's the show itself ! Sure producer make pun on their pony form (like using word like "everypony" etc)

I think I would have love it no matter what species it is.

Not sure, now I think about it. So much of the plot in the early seasons would not have worked without the split between earth, sky and magic. I am sure Faust could have made a GREAT show no matter what animals she chose, But it wouldn't have had the same feel.

[Spilight98 166]

To me it doesn't really matter if it has ponies or not. ( 2 of my favorite characters Spike and Discord aint even ponies ). I got drawn to MLP by the likeable characters and the active community. As long as the art style doesn't change I would be up for My Little Dragon or My Little Draconequus.

[Le Trotteur Sauvage 13,051]

13 minutes ago, CypherHoof said:

Not sure, now I think about it. So much of the plot in the early seasons would not have worked without the split between earth, sky and magic. I am sure Faust could have made a GREAT show no matter what animals she chose, But it wouldn't have had the same feel.

Sure horses are important but I'm sure she will have find something else ! I mean look in mlp there are dogs, and diamond dogs. That's already 2, she could have made something as cool as pony world

Edited November 6, 2017 by Trotteur Sauvage

[Guest]

My Little Dolphins would have had me hook line and sinker.

[CypherHoof 26,483]

1 minute ago, Trotteur Sauvage said:

Sure horses are important but I'm sure she will have find something else ! I mean look in mlp there are dogs, and diamond dogs

Sure. And the core of the show is anthro animals, living in human-like townships, and learning friendship lessons (and/or kicking butt without having to depend on some boy to save them). That wouldn't change. But the actual feel of the show WOULD change - it is hard to imagine (say) a domestic canine character in the role Celestia plays, or Luna - Although maybe a wolf, given it would need to be majestic (any pun accidental, there) although the mane 6 could probably work with that. Feline? maybe, but felines aren't really known for friendship, but aloofness.

2 minutes ago, Sunset Rose said:

My Little Dolphins would have had me hook line and sinker.

That could work; it would be hard to have a "earth pony" equivalent given all dolphins can "fly" underwater, and the toy aspect might work too (although its harder to have dolphin playsets and brushables than ponies)

[ShootingStar159 2,156]

23 hours ago, CypherHoof said:

I suspect whatever Faust chose to populate her world with would be FiM as we know it today - but by choosing ponies, she had a pre-existing lore of unicorns and pegasi to fall back on, which really no other creature has - not that her world is limited solely to ponies of course.

That’s a good point. Maybe if they were dogs, it would include stuff like wolves and foxes? Lots of different canine species out there. Of course, wolves and foxes don’t have quite the same mythical element to them. Hmm... I guess the show really would be greatly different without ponies. 

[whitemagemog 21]

Thank you everyone for the great discussion! Brought up alot of points I never thought about, going into asking this question I had a theory that ponies worked so well because the concept of loving ponies is typically seen as a feminine one but what FiM did was help include more people and branch out who liked them, thus making a degree of freedom and acceptance for loving the show. Thats something everyone craves in my opinion. I can't say I feel the same way anymore, I think going in I was focused too much on the mlp fandom making a statement rather than just being genuine fans! This has left me with alot to think about! but I feel like I understand alittle bit more than I did yesterday. Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to ask this question!

[Aosera 28]

No, because ponies are magical. Lots of people admire the horses. I've never understood why so many like lions so much because its not so cool when its drawn except for Lion King. But ponies are always nice looking often.

[TS Lightner 269]

Well to be honest, the art style is what appealed to me at first glance, so I honestly don't know if I would've gotten into the show if it weren't ponies, but I watch it for the story and characters now.  However, if my ever growing list of 50+ episode ideas for the show never manage to get out there somehow, I might just shelf the ideas and generalize them for a live-action general audience TV show (different characters and they'd be humans of course), taking place in a small Midwestern town in the US.  So I guess now I wouldn't really care if MLP were about a group of late 20s friends living in like...Smithville, NE or something.

[n1029 229]

You may as well be asking if you would you like the show if it wasn't My Little Pony. The characters being ponies is part of their identity, for better or for worse, and if Faust had instead decided to create a show about dogs or sparrows or sea lampreys or whatever, the whole mythology of the universe and the character traits would have to have been different as well.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

It might have been a far more innocuous if it’s hadn’t been My Little Pony. Certainly it would have probably still had a fanbase for being a cute, well made cartoon.

But it was a big deal because it was it was a good cartoon about MY LITTLE PONY, which had garnered a rather poor reputation as shallow nonsense in the past. The very first generation had had some stakes and conflict, but with every iteration it had gotten worse.

And then suddenly came G4, and BOOM!! Adorable designs, eternal night, slapstick, sonic rainbooms, hydras, dragons, interesting characters, chaos deities, on and on! People had started watching it as a joke, but then suddenly realized... wait, I’m actually invested in this.

[Ganondox 899]

The ponies are barely even ponies, kinda look almost as much like cats. The specific animal doesn't really matter, but the setting and aesthetics are very important. 

[ZethaPonderer 2,199]

To reply to the OP.

 

No, I don’t think it would make a difference. What gets to me personally is the art-style of MLP Gen 4 which takes inspiration from Gen 3’s creepy art-style.

 

That and the stories of MLP Gen 4 are pretty generic and JRPG levels of cliched where the Mane Chosen Six must use the “POWER OF FRIENDSHIP” to defeat godly level beings. Wish there was an episode dedicated where there wasn’t a godlike villain, but instead a villain that embraces Loneliness over Friendship and influences the rest of Equestria to be Forever Alone and Self Dependent. That would make an interesting final villain.

[Jeric 46,852]

Nah. Considering I'm a massive fan of DuckTales and other shows like that ... it certainly didn't have to be ponies. Visuals, characters, dialog, story, and world matter far more to me. 

[Diamond Dynamite??? 71]

On 11/7/2017 at 1:05 AM, whitemagemog said:

 

Would you still have liked my little pony if it were, lets say: My little doggy? 

I'm a huge dog fan so if it were My little doggy, I would've started watching this show from the beginning!

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

Maybe, but I like it being ponies the most. I guess it would depend honestly. I would definitely be interested if they were my favorite animal, which I have mentioned quite often

Edited November 15, 2017 by Foxy Socks

[AlbaTross 1,586]

Well, yes and no.  I mean, I like Equestria Girls too, but I don't know if that counts since I wouldn't be into that if not for the Mane series.  I didn't get into MLP because I was looking for a series starring ponies.  I just found a lot of things about I think appealing.  On the other hand, ponies are perfect for also having unicorns and pegasus ponies, and all the lore surrounding the three races, as well as just much of the show's premise in general.  It just kind of works.  I don't know if Hasbro would have made a show about another type of animal that would be quite like this one.  Also, if I did end up watching whatever show it was that starred a different animal I would probably still have random thoughts, but probably not the same ones, such as "are there unicorn necromancers?", and "why do pegasus ponies have stairs?"

[EpicEnergy 23,219]

I probably wouldn't have liked it if it were about a different animal.