What would Hasbro need to do with the franchise in order to keep the fandom afloat?

[Plonkett 341]

We all know the current show created the Brony fandom. Question is, what would G5 need to do to keep fans interested in the franchise? Also, what would generations after need to do to still keep fans invested? Hopefully Hasbro has realized that the MLP franchise has finally found its identity, same for GI Joe with A Real American Hero. Granted, each show doesn't have to have the same setting and main cast, it can still be different, yet equally interesting for the audience.

[Denim&Venöm 16,517]

Basically link it to G4. Make it either a sequel with the next gen of students learning friendship or even make it a prequel, having it be about a young Celestia and Luna. Assure the fans that the show, the world, the characters which inspired them are not gone. 

If it has to be separate, then perhaps a bigger focus on G5 as a media franchise rather than a toy one would be a good start. Invest more into production. Go beyond flash into more traditional animation. Take a que from anime and hire a studio on par with Mad House or Kyoto animation to make something visually stunning. Another que from anime would be to test the waters with printed media. Release books, comics and graphic novels about G5. If the reception is positive, then build a show around the graphic media. If it doesn't then you can try something else without having sunk so much into TV production. 

Basically make a show that looks as stunning as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron, The Moon Rises fan vid or even the Midnight Mares project. And then content wise, have a more broad aim than just little kids. Make it a family show, but don't be afraid to go deep. Aim for TV-Y7 and treat the audience like they're smart. Talk to kids. Not down to them. But do try to keep the educational and life lesson elements. Just consider that the audience isn't just kids anymore.  

While the competition among cartoons for quality isn't what it used to be, there's still a few shows that came close to raising the bar. Adventure time, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Star vs. the Forces Of Evil and the like. They became successful because they pushed the envelope and took risks. If G5 is to surpass G4 and maintain a good will with the fans of the latter, Hasbro needs to let the producers, writers and animators do the same. 

[Fhaolan 4,468]

This may seem mean-spirited, but I honestly believe they should do nothing. G5 should be something completely different from G4.

Basically, in my experience, all the big stable fandoms based on corporate-owned IP exist because the IP owner 'abandoned' the franchises. The fans saw something in them worthwhile, and stepped up to keep it alive. Discussions, theories, critique, and new content came from the fans, not from some board of directors with veto power. That fallow period where a corporation leaves an IP alone is pretty critical to the future of a fandom. It's when the fanbase gets the chance to become it's own thing, rather than just an extension of a marketing plan.

The big problem is when these corporate IP owners come back and try to cash in on the existent fanbase. (Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, etc.) You don't just have 'Gatekeeper Fans' then, you have the IP owner acting as gatekeeper in order to turn profit: 'You can't be a true fan unless you own this series on Blu-ray!', 'Those novels aren't canon anymore, as they will conflict with our planned new series of movies!', etc. If fans get the idea that they are *dependent* on the corporate content, then no matter how big or popular the fandom is; it starts to wither and die.

In my opinion, fandoms are healthier when the fans realize that 'official' corporate-produced content is really just fanwork with more money behind it. It's welcome as more 'grist for the mill', but it's not *needed* anymore.

[Sepul-Coloratura 756]

Make the show good. The best and the only way.

[EpicEnergy 22,083]

In my opinion, I think it's best for Hasbro to avoid making g5 like g4. Make g5 something new, not a g4 remake or extension. Get rid of any ideas of having the mane six in g5.

[Plonkett 341]

On ‎1‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 4:19 PM, Denim&Venom said:

Basically link it to G4. Make it either a sequel with the next gen of students learning friendship or even make it a prequel, having it be about a young Celestia and Luna. Assure the fans that the show, the world, the characters which inspired them are not gone. 

If it has to be separate, then perhaps a bigger focus on G5 as a media franchise rather than a toy one would be a good start. Invest more into production. Go beyond flash into more traditional animation. Take a que from anime and hire a studio on par with Mad House or Kyoto animation to make something visually stunning. Another que from anime would be to test the waters with printed media. Release books, comics and graphic novels about G5. If the reception is positive, then build a show around the graphic media. If it doesn't then you can try something else without having sunk so much into TV production. 

Basically make a show that looks as stunning as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron, The Moon Rises fan vid or even the Midnight Mares project. And then content wise, have a more broad aim than just little kids. Make it a family show, but don't be afraid to go deep. Aim for TV-Y7 and treat the audience like they're smart. Talk to kids. Not down to them. But do try to keep the educational and life lesson elements. Just consider that the audience isn't just kids anymore.  

While the competition among cartoons for quality isn't what it used to be, there's still a few shows that came close to raising the bar. Adventure time, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe, Star vs. the Forces Of Evil and the like. They became successful because they pushed the envelope and took risks. If G5 is to surpass G4 and maintain a good will with the fans of the latter, Hasbro needs to let the producers, writers and animators do the same. 

While I agree that it should spawn even more media than G4 has done, I think it would be better if it was set in its own universe and not in Equestria. Also, as much as I'd love the show to be hand drawn animated, I think it would still be fine being animated with puppets, just on Toon Boom this time instead of Flash. Everything else I agree with.

[The MegaBrony 218]

Don't be as formulaic. Also, similarly to DC Comics and Scooby-Doo, this franchise needs plenty of standalone direct-to-video non-EqG films, each of which only involves specific ponies.

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,412]

Just make it good. Isn't that why us bronies love G4 so much, because it's good?

[Twilight Luna 30,941]

Some new merchandise would be a good idea. No new toys have appeared in stores since the movie.

[Denim&Venöm 16,517]

21 minutes ago, Bas said:

I guess the names are YT projects? Are they good, how long are they?

Well Spirit is this: 

Great movie. I highly recommend it. 

Moon Rises is this:

And Midnight mares is this:

 

I actually have the entire plushie collection based on this series. 

21 minutes ago, Bas said:

They actually did that with FiM already, tbh. Also according to Lauren Faust (?), IIRC. She didn't want parents to watch embarrassing kid shows and wanted them to be able to enjoy them as well while watching the children (watching TV shows).

Not really. I mean what she did was great, but it was still within the constraints of TV-Y. Imagine what could've been accomplished had the entire series been given the same leeway as the movie? 

[Denim&Venöm 16,517]

4 minutes ago, Bas said:

In which matter? Visually?

In terms of maturity and subject matter. What can be addressed. What lessons can be learned. What kinds of characters could we have? The types of action and adventures we could witness.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

H-Bro would need to pull a 200 IQ god save, but they wouldn't even if they could cause we're not that important to them. That said, we should not stay on the surface. We need to build submarines and venture into the deep. Think a bit bigger than pony.

[BornAgainBrony 2,395]

4 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

That said, we should not stay on the surface. We need to build submarines and venture into the deep. Think a bit bigger than pony.

 

I don't think the Deep Ones like Ponies.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

52 minutes ago, BornAgainBrony said:

I don't think the Deep Ones like Ponies.

You know, for the sake of cute deep sea monster designs I'd be quite willing to "Storegga effect" the entire eastern coast of Equestria. Then I'd claim it with an armada of giant crabs and be like:

Spoiler

 

 

[SoftHive/Apriline 19]

I think it’d be nice if G5 was centered around other characters in the series, like Luna and Celestia (as @Denim&Venom mentioned). I also want to see what kind of pony Flurry Heart is when she grows up, because I think it would be a nice twist if she had a less-like able personality. But maybe that would be a mission for the Mane 6 in season 9. 

Edited January 6, 2019 by SoftHive/Apriline

[Justin_Case001 4,857]

I dunno.  Buy a big life raft?    Seriously, though, just make it good and creative and fresh, not derivative, good complex characters, etc.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,152]

IMO, there are two things that are quite important.

For one, G5 needs to takes lessons from what made G4 such an attractive little show in the first place: place emphasis on interesting characters and how they interact with each other, the characters around them, as well as the world they inhabit. From there you can have interesting stories that attract a new fanbase and can keep an older one around. It doesn't need to be a continuation of G4; nor does it even need to be connected to that timeline in anyway. It just needs a solid base from which to build; as well as genuine love and care from those who work on the show.

Secondly, and possibly more importantly, corporate shouldn't meddle too much with G4 once it ends. I keep pointing to classic Battlestar Galactica and I will continue to do so; if that series from the late 1970s with only one season (not counting Galactica 1980) could keep a fanbase all through the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s until the reimagined series started, MLP G4 can surely do the same. Universal barely, if ever, did anything for the series during that time, yet there was a dedicated and passionate fanbase who continued to support it, and I can see the same happening for G4. The fanbase would indeed contract, but still remain.

[Guest]

For me it’s really simple: continue to make quality content. I mean every trick in the book to maintain the fandom won’t mean much if it’s not quality. Make a quality show and people will show up to watch it; it’s what made G4 so successful.

[Megas 27,065]

Just make good content, if people truly did like MLP they'll give G5 a chance and they'll stick around if it delivers

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

I don't know about the fandom as a whole, but me personally? Hasbro can drop Tara Strong.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, KillerKingBakudan said:

I don't know about the fandom as a whole, but me personally? Hasbro can drop Tara Strong.

The leaks suggest they are doing exactly that.

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

5 hours ago, Key Sharkz said:

The leaks suggest they are doing exactly that.

 

Good to hear. Because I don't want my niece looking up to that anti-American BITCH anymore than she has with Twilight. 

[Monsoon 1,648]

I feel like if they take the G4 formula and improve it they'll be fine. 

If they make episodes less pridictable and have a massive impact on the characters and world around them, it'll be a massive improvement as I find myself easily predicting the end of an episode before even watching it, which as a result makes the ending less satisfying and less impactful a way they could improve this is by being less safe for example instead of resolving a problem at the start and end of a season have the problem not be resolved perfectly or correctly for example at the end of S8 maybe make it so the magic is still drained for a substantial amount of time and show how it affects various characters etc.

A show that is predictable is less memorable in my opinion 

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

4 hours ago, Bas said:

Care to explain?

How old is your niece? If she is a kid she prob don't even know who voices TS.

Tara Strong's just another unhinged, far-left asshole who's been running her mouth off at people that don't agree with her socialist viewpoints. Like many people working in the entertainment industry, if you're not constantly bashing Trump, you're a target to them. I don't want to derail the thread, so I'm just gonna leave this here.
 

 

 

Anyway, my niece has been watching the show since she was three. She's six now. I used to play footage taken at con panels around her, and she said she'd like to meet all the Mane Six's voice actors sometime. Well, now I'm gonna have to think of a good excuse for why she can't, because she's too young to understand why the voice of Twilight Sparkle's a bad influence to kids.

Edited January 31, 2019 by KillerKingBakudan