Why did Friendship is Magic become immensely popular in the first place?

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,016]

This may have some overlap with threads asking how people have personally come to like the show and became involved in the fandom, but I am focusing on the popularity of the show more broadly; I do not fully understand why MLPFIM has become as popular as it did.

What I am aware is that the 2010s was a sort of revival of Western cartoon after a sort of dark age of the later half of the 2000s -- Adventure Time probably suitable as a mark of a new era -- and MLPFIM was a part of this. But other than that general context, I do not understand why it was not the case that MLPFIM was simply a good show that aired for a few seasons enjoyed by some people, but instead that the series would last nearly a decade, and would have a very large fandom surrounding it (at least in the first half of the 2010s) with numerous conventions dedicated to it.

Edit: An additional question: if MLPFIM aired, say, in 2020 as opposed to 2010, would it have still gotten a large following, or was there something specific about the early 2010s that contributed to the immense popularity of the show?

Edited February 7, 2022 by Luna the Great of all the Russias

[Metemponychosis 1,262]

I blame the internet. People got shocked that they liked a cartoon meant for children and then there people repeating exactly that like it was a mantra. "It's a children's cartoon that is so good that adults like it!" I can speak for myself... That only became a thing to me after I was already hooked to it. The cartoon took it's own mythology seriously (at least in the earlier seasons) and the characters were interesting enough, additionally to the fact that I like cartoons with anthropomorphic animals.

Honestly, I think that the cartoon's fame was more due to its following than the quality of the show itself, especially as it went on. Memes, memes and more memes. The fandom almost grew around itself more than around the cartoon. I don't mean that it didn't deserve, but that the growth of the fandom was more of a chain reaction than due to the cartoon.

Anyways, my opinion... I'll look forward to reading what other people have to say.

[Tom Gallagher 33,600]

Because it’s a darn amazing show, that’s why. 

[phantompone1148 126]

It's probably cuz of 4Chan

[Stancet 689]

PhantomPone is right.

In 2010 Lauren Faust was hired straight from cartoon network to make Friendship is Magic. A certain news article by Amid Amity (sorry if I spelled the name wrong) claimed that Faust being connected to My Little Pony was proof that animation was failing.

On the website 4Chan there was a heated discussion between old Cartoon Network fans who wanted to defend Lauren Faust's honor and the trolls who wanted to shoot My Little Pony down. The fight was so extreme that Ponies were actually banned from the site.

Because so many fans discovered each other this way there were organized efforts to make Pony safe places like Equestria Daily. And because Ponies remained such a contravercial topic, all we Bronies had were each other, until much of that drama died down. 

So to make a long story short, the show would have always have its fans, but extraordinary circumstances really propelled it to greater heights than were ever expected.

[HereComesTom 2,269]

Well, what got me hooked was the pilot and the characters:  the pilot bordered on self-parody with how Twilight was reacting with disgust to the eccentricities of the rest of the mane six, but then she actually warmed up to the other characters and had a worth-watching adventure.

For me, it was the worldbuilding that got me hooked.  For a lot of other people, it was the fact that the cartoon was designed to be enjoyable for adults as well as for kids.

I think its staying power came from how much we learned to love the characters themselves.

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,016]

11 minutes ago, Stancet said:

PhantomPone is right.

In 2010 Lauren Faust was hired straight from cartoon network to make Friendship is Magic. A certain news article by Amid Amity (sorry if I spelled the name wrong) claimed that Faust being connected to My Little Pony was proof that animation was failing.

On the website 4Chan there was a heated discussion between old Cartoon Network fans who wanted to defend Lauren Faust's honor and the trolls who wanted to shoot My Little Pony down. The fight was so extreme that Ponies were actually banned from the site.

Because so many fans discovered each other this way there were organized efforts to make Pony safe places like Equestria Daily. And because Ponies remained such a contravercial topic, all we Bronies had were each other, until much of that drama died down. 

So to make a long story short, the show would have always have its fans, but extraordinary circumstances really propelled it to greater heights than were ever expected.

This explains how Bronydom began. But from this explanation as is, it strikes me that the fandom could have easily remained as a fairly small and obscure one. But that is not what happened; this fandom would not remain obscure for long.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Luna the Great of all the Russias

[Stancet 689]

21 minutes ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

This explains how Bronydom began. But from this explanation as is, it strikes me that the fandom could have easily remained as a fairly small and obscure one. But that is not what happened; this fandom would not remain obscure for long.

Well, the only thing I really explained were events as we know they happened, as well as the best way to interpret those events. 

For my more subjective option, My Little Pony really had everything a good show should have. Secondly, it is really cute, but not annoyingly so. Thirdly, most men have a lot of trouble expressing their feelings, so My Little Pony was the perfect way for men to open up about their feelings without being bullied. Fourthly, a large percent of the fandom is on the autistic spectrum (including myself) and this show has everything we enjoy in a show.

[JMTV99 1,358]

Well, from my perspective (to keep it shortly), it was writing, characters, designs, and world-building that got a lot of people hooked.

Plus, everything that @Stancetmentioned above.

[Splashee 28,571]

2 hours ago, phantompone1148 said:

It's probably cuz of 4Chan

Sad truth. But it is the truth (insert a mix of emojis here)

[Stancet 689]

6 minutes ago, JMTV99 said:

Well, from my perspective (to keep it shortly), it was writing, characters, designs, and world-building that got a lot of people hooked.

Plus, everything that @Stancetmentioned above.

Well... I was there in 2012. I lived the golden days of the fandom. I'm sad it couldn't last, but life is still good.

[JMTV99 1,358]

7 minutes ago, Stancet said:

Well... I was there in 2012. I lived the golden days of the fandom. I'm sad it couldn't last, but life is still good.

I was there in 2013. 

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,016]

12 hours ago, Stancet said:

Well... I was there in 2012. I lived the golden days of the fandom. I'm sad it couldn't last, but life is still good.

I miss those days. The fandom was so large that it was, in a way, capable of continuing the show on its own if it really wanted to; there were quite a bit of skilled animators such as Duo Cartoonist and Jan Animation. Unfortunately, from what I am aware,, the fandom has since lost that capability;  Duo Cartoonist's The Moon Rises is the last major animation project I remember the fandom producing which was, I think, published in 2016 (though I would like to know if there were any other ambitious animation projects after that one).

Edited February 8, 2022 by Luna the Great of all the Russias

[Misty Shadow 7,985]

There was both a strong, ironic appeal and a strong, unironic appeal to it. Ironically, it was fun to troll your friends who didn't get the joke about how something like My Little Pony was actually a hip, cool, awesome thing now. Unironically, it was fun to talk to your friends who were in on it about how a show this good could come from My Little Pony. 

[Northern Star 1,024]

That article made it further than 4chan and 4chan spread it. So across the internet people tuned in to see if it was true or not, some wanting to see it fail, others not, and other still just to see what all the fuss was about. Quite a few stayed as they liked it. 

On the satellite and cable TV world, it was one of the first New New shows to air on the supposed new "home for cartoons and shows of all types and ages and brands" "the hub", which from what I read most got whether they wanted it or not, as it was part of Discovery Communications. We didn't have a clue what the heck "the hub" was, just that one of Discovery's many "Discovery x" channels disappeared again.

Then the cartoon it self was like no other at the time, as in it actually wasn't just a "smiles and cake and happy endings" and started off...somewhat dark.

Then the internet kept spreading it and people kept trolling it and so on.

For something that started out as a horse doll for ones that couldn't have horses...its definitely came a long ways and had its ups and downs. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by TheGleaner

[dead account 2,715]

8 hours ago, Luna the Great of all the Russias said:

(though I would like to know if there were any other ambitious animation projects after that one)

Maybe Minty Root? The Beginning of Harmony was uploaded over 1 year ago. And there is a trailer with Starlight for an upcoming animation.

Back to topic.  I wasn't around at the time. I became a brony and fan when the show just ended. But it's very interesting to read through this topic and to learn more about the history behind it. FIM is genuinely an excellent show, it has everything that I ever wanted from a media. If it was just one season, I would have probably moved on. But there is enough content, so that I can always repeat watching it or look for new fan-created content, so that it will never become boring. People watched it for different reasons, most of them moved on. But to me it was always more. I'm glad it did have the success it had.

[Flying Pencil 3,025]

Probably because the Internet was getting more popular during that time

[Splashee 28,571]

6 hours ago, Flying Pencil said:

Probably because the Internet was getting more popular during that time

Kinda true

 

Internet needed like 2-3 years of iPhone 1 technology and 5 years of Facebook to become popular. (And Napster, bittorrents, and 4chan)

[Orchid_Fiore 200]

Interesting plot + cute ponies = total success.