Nicole Dubuc Q&A

[Batbrony 16,087]

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Executive Producer -- Nicole Dubuc

Good afternoon, everypony, and welcome to MLP Forums and Poniverse's latest Community Guest Q&A!  Today we've got a truly special treat for all of you as part of our Making Christmas Merrier festivities this year.  Please join me in welcoming writer and actress Nicole Dubuc, executive producer of a number of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Season 8's, most notable episodes, including "School Daze - Parts 1 and 2," "The Maud Couple," "School Raze - Part 2," and, perhaps most conspicuously of all, "Best Gift Ever," Season 8's post-season Hearth's Warming Eve special that many in the fandom are dubbing not just the highlight of the entire season, but also one of the best MLP G4 episodes ever and an instant holiday classic in its own right!   In addition to her work on MLP, Ms. Dubuc has over 50 writing, producing, and acting credits to her name on shows such as Kim Possible, Transformers: Rescue Bots, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Young Justice, LEGO Elves: Secrets of Elvendale, and Star Wars Rebels, to name just a few.

Currently an executive producer with Wild Canary Animation, Ms. Dubuc is the first writer/producer from MLP:FiM we've ever had as a guest on the forums, and after stellar Q&As with previous guests like storyboard artist Ward Jenkins and actress Elley-Ray Hennesy, I'm sure today's Q&A will prove to be just as special and memorable as those were.  Before we begin, let's just lay out a couple of more ground rules.  While Ms. Dubuc is no longer technically an actual employee of Hasbro Studios, we have to lay some guidelines similar to when we've hosted guests like Ward Jenkins and Elley-Ray Hennesy.  While you should feel free to ask whatever you want within reason, keep in mind that many questions, especially those that pertain to her work on the show, may be ones that Ms. Dubuc is unable to answer on account of confidentiality agreements with the studio and her former employers.  We want to have a great time with our first writer/producer guest, not get her in any trouble with those she's worked with or act like obnoxious or self-entitled hosts.  If you'd like to learn more about her, you can visit her own website here, her IMDB page here, and her Twitter page here.  That's all I've got for ya'll this afternoon, everypony, so without further ado, ask questions of Ms. Dubuc to your heart's content! 

I'll start us off to get the ball rolling: Ms. Dubuc, by this point in MLP G4's run, we've already seen quite a few episodes set in or centered around Hearth's Warming Eve.  With this in mind, what compelled you and the rest of the creative team behind "Best Gift Ever" to come up with a 45-minute Hearth's Warming Eve special in the same vein as some of the all-time holiday classic film and TV specials?

[Quinch 1,158]

Hi, first off, thank you for taking the time to chat with us, or at least to answer an onslaught of silly questions. I have a lot of them, but I think I'll start with a simple one -

What is your favorite kind of FiM episode?

[MangoFoalix 25,060]

I'll ask too!

What do you think of Starlight Glimmer?

[Castle Bleck 19,477]

Congratulations on your recent award, Ms. Dubuc!

And speaking of your resume, when you were working on Star Wars Rebels, how much did you consult Timothy Zahn when it came to writing Grand Admiral Thrawn?

[Will Guide 21,375]

What’s the most important part of being an executive producer?

Edited December 15, 2018 by Will Guide

[The Kaeya Simp 13,996]

What a pleasure it is to speak with a producer of MLP

Do you have a favorite NON MANE 6 charactor

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,606]

Good afternoon, Mrs. Dubuc. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions. Here's mine:

Did your husband, Mr. Brian Hohlfield influence your decision to join Friendship is Magic or vice versa?

[Lord Valtasar 12,708]

Welcome and thank you for making time for this,

Did you seek to work on the MLP franchise or did they seek you?

[Woohoo 35,336]

Greetings Ms. Dubuc. Thanks for taking the time to join us here on MLP Forums.

Now for my question: What made you get into television?

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

Nicole.  It's been awhile since San Diego.  I was the guy who gave youbthe drawings (Including the Starlight vs Tirek seEing)

 

Anyway, my questions are....

 

1) Have your team ever consider doing some MLP youtube shorts like the Equestria Girls youtube series?

 

2) Has Hasbro ever consider a Live Action Celestia movie(Maybe with Nicole Oliver as Celestia)?

[Them's Seeing Ponies 282]

Well... I have a fair number of questions I'm curious on, but I'll start with some of the more notable ones:

When you first joined the show, what was the type of storytelling/tone you tried to establish?

What led to the creative decision to give Spike wings in Molt Down and (as far as you know) was this a planned part of his character arc before you came on board FiM?

Which of FiM's main cast members do you find the most difficult to write for and why?

Were the Young/Student Six as a concept based on Hasbro's demands or were they the outcome of the show's creative staff? If so, were there any plans or concepts for the Six that were dropped during the production stage, or did their on-screen forms remain largely unchanged from their conception?

On a side note, it's a real honour being able to speak with a member of the show's creative staff, particularly coming from a longtime fan of the series. Thanks for doing this.

Edited December 15, 2018 by Them's Seeing Ponies

[NicoleDubuc 211]

Hello!  I wanna thank you all for having me here!  I love the fundraising effort the site is doing for BC Childrens Hospital.  I have to do my disclaimer now and remind everyone that when I reply, I don't speak for Hasbro, DHX, or great uncle Bernie with the flannel hat.  Wait. Bernie just gave me the go ahead to speak for him.  But everyone else...No.  These are just my opinions and ramblings.

[NicoleDubuc 211]

2 minutes ago, Quinch said:

Hi, first off, thank you for taking the time to chat with us, or at least to answer an onslaught of silly questions. I have a lot of them, but I think I'll start with a simple one -

What is your favorite kind of FiM episode?

Thanks for having me!  My favorite kind of FiM episode contains humor, heart, and lore, with great character interactions and a catchy song.

[TheAnimationFanatic 3,606]

Which character is your favourite to write for?

[KH7672 1,604]

Welcome, and hope you're enjoying this holiday season coming from a retail employee. My question is related to the great Twitter thread you did talking about writing, and I was wondering what comes after that? Are all the lines for every episode recorded at once or does it depend on the cartoon's production? 

[Twilight Luna 31,496]

Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to be here with us, Ms. Dubuc.

What made you decide to do a special about Hearth’s Warming Eve and not another holiday like Nightmare Night especially since season 8 already had an episode about it?

Edited December 15, 2018 by Twilight Luna

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

Hello.  I'm lowkey disappointed that you won't speak for DHX lol.  That throws my question of a shameless plug of OCs out the window.

The other question I have, though, is how fun is it to work for the guys in DHX?  Also who's Bernie?

[Quinch 1,158]

Just now, NicoleDubuc said:

Thanks for having me!  My favorite kind of FiM episode contains humor, heart, and lore, with great character interactions and a catchy song.

-snickers- Sounds like all of them, then.

While working on FiM, have you ever gone to Hasbro {or whoever your boss was at the time} with an idea thinking "okay, there's no way they're going to say yes to this" and then they totally did?

[Odyssey 5,719]

Hi! It's so great to have you around for a Q&A.

I'll be asking a non-MLP question myself. With the holidays coming up, do you have any special annual traditions that you do to celebrate them?

[TransitPony 239]

Good evening Ms. Dubuc!  An honor for me to a be a part of this Q&A. I have these questions for you: 

-What is the most favorite episode you worked on? 

and... 

-Have you considered doing voice acting? 

[Ganondorf8 11,759]

Good thing I was able to see this rather than miss out on it entirely.

The only question that I can think of right now would be this. "What are your thoughts on Equestria Girls--As in the series as a whole?"

[NicoleDubuc 211]

2 minutes ago, Theanimationfanatic said:

Which character is your favourite to write for?

It's probably no surprise I love coming up with dialog for the Young Six.  Cozy Glow is a lot of fun too...  And of the Mane Six, writing for Pinkie always makes me laugh. 

[Quinch 1,158]

Also, can you tell us who came up with the line "don't rock it 'till you try it?"

[NicoleDubuc 211]

8 minutes ago, A.V. said:

Congratulations on your recent award, Ms. Dubuc!

And speaking of your resume, when you were working on Star Wars Rebels, how much did you consult Timothy Zahn when it came to writing Grand Admiral Thrawn?

Thank you very much!  I didn't speak directly with Mr. Zahn, but I did reread his wonderful books before I started writing, and when I spoke to him after the episodes had aired, he was so gracious and kind about the result!

[MangoFoalix 25,060]

Sorry to flood you with questions!

But I really want to know, what is your favorite character in animation?