Why I believe MLP:FiM was as popular as it was

[Rosy Moonlight 367]

I have ideas of why MLP FIM was so popular in the early 2010's. I wasn't watching the show in the early 2010's, by the way.

1.) The witty and relatable tone of the show was refreshing for the franchise, and for shows at the time. Also, it was the time when the show's impact on the world started.

2.) The lessons and interactions in the episodes were heartfelt.

It was made clear that the talented people who were making the show and had put their hearts into it, and had a good idea of how to handle the cheesiness.

3.) The show was like an open, clean book that just had so much creativity to be placed in it. It was the same for the Fandom at the time.

Also, the early fandom had no idea how long the show and G4 itself would last, or what great "kid" shows were going to exist so they went extra hard for this show.

What do you guys think? 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Rosy Moonlight

[Venomous 18,813]

@Rosy Moonlight

Altered title for proper context 

[Tom Gallagher 33,521]

I think that's it. Plus, the fact that these beautiful ponies are in it. 

[dead account 2,703]

I really can't add more, @Rosy Moonlight. Perfectly said!

[reesespuffed 27]

 

10 hours ago, Rosy Moonlight said:

I have ideas of why MLP FIM was so popular in the early 2010's. I wasn't watching the show in the early 2010's, by the way.

1.) The witty and relatable tone of the show was refreshing for the franchise, and for shows at the time. Also, it was the time when the show's impact on the world started.

2.) The lessons and interactions in the episodes were heartfelt.

It was made clear that the talented people who were making it put their hearts into it, and had a good idea of how to handle the cheesiness.

3.) The show was like an open, clean book that just had so much creativity to be placed in it. It was the same for the Fandom at the time.

What do you guys think? 

 

 

 

Yeah that makes sense, plus the artstyle is very appealing. Plus for that 3rd reason corresponds with the shows declining popularity after the movie, the world was very fleshed out an now the fandoms popularity is reinvigorated with g5 feeling like an open canvas

[Gaignun_Saratobu 89]

Well I know what originally caught my eye was how adorable the animation was! I started looking up the characters and adored the design of Fluttershy and found myself wanting to watch the show shortly after that. And the more I watched I couldn’t step away. Each character is very unique and they look awesome. And of course, as a child-friendly cartoon, it is very light hearted and I enjoy having a cute show to watch where I know nothing bad is going to happen and doesn’t make me feel anxious. Perfect for right before bed too! Happy dreams. 🥰

[mlploverlizzy 289]

You’re so right! Couldn’t put it better myself 

[Hellfire428 34]

Bingo! Couldn’t say it any better 

[Splashee 28,537]

16 hours ago, Rosy Moonlight said:

What do you guys think?

Very agreeable!

 

If I were to pick a particular thing that made it popular, it was the merged style of 90s Cartoon Network low budget animation with thick outlines style, such as The Powerpuff Girls that Lauren Faust helped her husband with, AND the popular vector graphics animation tool that became such a huge hit on the Internet, Macromedia Flash (later Adobe Flash), that allowed the 2D animation to live for just a little bit longer (when even in the 90s, the 3D movies and shows wanted to fully take over).

To clarify, "low budget" isn't meant as bad here. Hanna-Barbera (Cartoon Network) shows such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and just a basic show like Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines use limited angles on characters, to save money on lesser animation frames, without sacrificing too much of the production.

In the 90s, the Cartoon Network shows like Dexter's Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls use the same limited animation style, but use a new design with thicker outlines which saves again on many thing like the inking process.

With Flash, it is much faster and easier to work with thicker outlines, mainly because they can be scaled unevenly without it looking like...... (like Pony Life), like the frames haven't been redrawn, just twisted in some direction.

But Flash animation had a reputation to it very early on, to not be "the traditional way". Like the show The Buzz on Maggie was completely open about using it, but might have been better if they hadn't said it was Flash animation? Difficult for me to have an opinion on that.

Friendship is Magic could have easily failed. It had the design, and the Internet was ready for it, almost praising it before it was even watched. A few people started promoting it like crazy, and it worked very well as advertising, as normal people on the Internet started using Rainbow Dash as profile pictures on places like YouTube, Facebook, and so on.
Maybe the Internet was just finding ways to expand, and MLP just happened to be the product to use, to reach that goal?

But the show itself, stands pretty well without the Internet's help. It is just that you can't forget that in 2010, it was the Internet that decided to make MLP a thing. If the Internet decides on something, it most likely will be a thing.

 

Also, MLP is quite good compared to anything around that time era.

[Savygriffs 5,021]

idk what else to add, @Rosy Moonlightsaid it perfectly!

[Props Valroa 26,038]

The right time and place. 

[EpicEnergy 22,074]

I think you're spot on, and I would also like to add that the mane six's personalities were well developed and that made them even more loveable.