Spongebob and other kid's cartoons have garnered adult fans long before MLP.

[caesar15 231]

Is spongebob meant to be a girls show?

[Tom 891]

Is spongebob meant to be a girls show?

 

Nope.

[Pinkazoid 3,493]

They're jelly... just cause MLP is better than their shows that are supposed to be better :3

 

Also Tom, pretty much explained it :3

[MVC NVMXD JVRXD 2,406]

Well... My explanation: It's more "socially" acceptable for guys to watch shows like Spongebob,or more recently, Adventure Time, than a show called My Little Pony: Friendship. Plus, everybody has seen or heard of the previous-gen shit, so that's where most of their judgement comes from, and with that, the "notoriety" of the male followers.

[caesar15 231]

Nope.

 

 

Yup, thats the difference between spongebob and mlp.

Edited May 26, 2012 by caesar15

[BetaWolf 97]

The big difference is that nobody expected it. Expecting something to be horrible or a cheap cash-in increases the magnitude of the effect when something is actually entertaining. You can always expect boy's shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spongebob Squarepants, Phineas and Ferb, etc. to have an adult following if the franchise is good enough. My Little Pony being popular has more of that underdog effect.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,309]

Kim Possible had an adult following. Not as large as MLP:FIM, but it was there.

[spas-ticShotty 3,584]

Is spongebob meant to be a girls show?

 

I remember I used to think SpongeBob was a girl AND a piece of talking cheese when I was young .

 

I also got to agree on the fact that SpongeBob and some other shows were made completely originally when they started becoming popular with the older folk, unlike MLP, which had been around since the 80's and everyone knew it as a piece of cheap, girly, crap meant for 3 year olds. Then Faust basically said "Fuck that shit " and really proved everyone wrong with G4. Of course, most people instantly think of older generations when MLP is talked about today, which means that most people think its still a piece of crap (TBH, earlier episodes sorta showed that it was still very meant for little girls, but the brony fandom has made passing episodes more and more teenage-oriented, so to speak, but still targeting young girls for marketing reasons, I guess ).

[Swit Swat 536]

I didn't even try to avoid it. I embraced the broniness. And, because when they think of MLP they think of that out dated pony crap.

[Pizzly 57]

It's the parental bonus trope

[GuillermoGage 246]

A lot of not-explicitly-adult cartoons with adult fans have that same type of gross-out or dark, macabre humor that is really meant to appeal to kids. Such as Invader Zim, post-movie (at least post-movie) SpongeBob SquarePants, and many other Nicktoons.

 

WHat I liek about MLP:FiM is that it really isn't very edgy in any way, (most episodes are the common kiddie morals formula) yet the show is still very entertaining.

[Confetti Nova 58]

Because they realize that the main goal of a series isn't to provide boring lessons, but to show the day to day life of sweet people in a town warm and fussyThis includes MLP and SpongeBob. Personally a show that's main plot is about reaching a goal seems a bit dull. I like cartoons that have a overall plot of just hanging and enjoying life. Cartoons that make you feel positive will always be the best in my book. This is why SpongeBob and MLP are so popular in my opinion.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Unlimitedcha

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

Because as far as I know Spongebobies (?) don't have conventions/make fanart/make original animations as long as Spongebob episodes/make original music/number in the hundreds of thousands or millions.