TyT VS MyM

[J.J 918]

I will try attempt to make this as short as possible, bare with me, I know some people see my long posts, sigh and keep scrolling, but genuinely, I have a "hot take", and may be a very unpopular opinion in this fandom.

FIRST, I think ESPECIALLY with the Tell your Tale design of Sunny Starscout, and Pipp Petals, I think these gen.5 renders are adorable, yes these are my favorite ponies and I do still think the Make Your Mark CGI ponies are still cute, it's just an area I wish they had not tried their lot in, I know we still need to see the full series, but ppl are already complaining about the animation from one episode.. in my honest opinion, I believe that the Tell Your Tale renders are the second best pony renders in the MLP franchise only second to Friendship is Magic. People are calling them cheap, but with the release of "Starscout Code", a lot of other bronies are starting to agree that some of these TyT episodes deserve a longer runtime than 5 minutes...

Which leads us to our next area of comparison/hypotheticals... I'm not sure the exact runtime that they agreed to with Netflix for each of the episodes of MyM, but I imagine the standard 43-55 minutes, meanwhile we are given 5 minutes an episode for a very rushed TyT plot that is still trying it's hardest to deliver a moral/teach a lesson... My unpopular opinion, is I would have rather had a 15-20 episode season of 20 minute episodes in the same exact vain as the TyT art style/portrayals.. instead of (x) amount of 5 minute shorts (I don't know how many TyT episodes they are making) and instead of 8 50 minute Netflix series episodes...

Since everyone claims how cheap the animation seems/looks for TyT, I really don't think it would have been hard for Hasbro to give us more than they are currently giving us, even with the Netflix shows costs.. and not having this giant spread with different voice actors, a movie VA, a cartoon VA, a Netflix series VA, we would have just one voice associated with our favorite characters, one plotline that we can be certain everything within it is canonical and we don't have to make cynical comparisons to details missed by the writers when comparing the events of two series set in the same world with the same characters...

I love the Tell Your Tale art designs, a lot... I am part way becoming obsessed with them, they are cute, they more than suffice from the perspective of a hardcore brony, comparing them to the gen.1-3.5 and comparing them to the CGI renders, I really think they missed a good opportunity EVEN IF they would have decided to do both either way, they missed an opportunity by over simplifying TyT... I think it's one of the cutest animations I've ever seen, watching the ponies dance in specific lol, there still a lot of expression in the art style,

But your thoughts? Maybe the animation isn't smooth enough for you for a full scale adventure or for an action packed episode against a magical foe, but I think the potential is still there, I just, when I get my Gen.5 merchandise, WHEN, not if, it's going to probably mostly be Tell Your Tell renders on the clothes or pictures or whatever... Those are cute and inviting, I mean so are their MyM renders imo, but I don't think they gain something from simplicity like TyT ones, I think we are more likely to excuse a cute cartoon than a featured Netflix series production that ppl are frothing over it's animation months before it's release.. speaking of "excusing something cute" I never finished Pony Life lol, 

Yeah the POINT IS we want a STORY, but the writers of TyT would be completely different if they were writers tasked with the job of producing 20 minute plotlines and not 5 minute ones, we've seen the potential now for these plots in the TyT adaptation...

Anyways I still think the Make Your Mark character renders are adorable to... Just not the same type of beautiful hypnotic aesthetic MLP has been able to achieve with FiM and in my case things like TyT... Which is honestly kind of funny bc at first when I went into catching up on the TyT series I thought it seemed silly and was probably irrelevant to the actual series(we'll see I hope not) but I'm so glad I ended up watching it. I'm addicted to "The Pony Hip Hop" lol.. I'm addicted to ponies in general.. anyways let's see what happens with MyM maybe I'm speaking to soon... Maybe I will be very impressed by Sunny vs Opaline..

Edited August 27, 2022 by KingCorvus

[The Nth Doctor 652]

I unironically enjoy the TYT style more because, yes, it's simple and evocative of the infamous CalArts style, but at least it's consistent and not filled with the kinds of errors that plague Make Your Mark, which has things like incomplete character lighting, lighting changing drastically from shot to shot in the same scene, empty scenery, barely any background ponies, which meant they had to put the models they did have in places that didn't make sense, like why would Posey be in Zephyr Heights, where she's part of like six ponies that came to watch the sisters sing for all the hours ever?

Yes, 3D takes time, and it has gotten better, but the slow release hamstrings any real excitement towards what's coming next

Izzy, please, go get some sleep

[Tacodidra 59,798]

While I prefer the stories and episodes in MYM by far (not unexpected), I also like the TYT designs and style more than those in MYM. The 2D style is cuter and more unique (3D animation tends to always look somewhat similar to me), and it also allows for wilder, more cartoonish expressions and movements. Like Pony Life, I think TYT's designs work better in motion than I would have thought based on still images.

Some of the TYT designs can admittedly sometimes look off to me, mostly with Izzy and Hitch (it's something to do with their head and face shapes). But for the non-Mane 5 characters, I almost always prefer their 2D version. I think especially Opaline's design works a lot better in 2D, it looks a lot less garish. Sparky is genuinely cute in TYT. And Dahlia (one of my favorites) goes from just another background pony to sheer adorableness.

[Misty Shadow 7,085]

MYM is definitely the better show to me in regards to its writing and storytelling, but there's something strange that captures me about the cheap animation and simple humor of TYT. I even saw a reviewer who's usually very critical of G5 praise a TYT short and say that the episodes could be better if they were longer. TYT may be a supplement series, but it feels like so much more, especially when you're watching some of the best episodes of the show like Alicorn Issues and Starscout Code. 

I also notice a good chunk of people are very harsh on the animation of both shows...and some of the criticism is deserved. However, even after what I said about being weirdly captured by TYT's cheap animation, I prefer MYM's 3D animation. As I've said before, I have a guilty pleasure for bad CGI and this show has nothing on true 3D horror hilarity.  

[Megas 27,065]

There's definitely more life given to the characters in TYT

[Sparklefan1234 161,877]

36 minutes ago, Megas said:

There's definitely more life given to the characters in TYT

 

I feel like Izzy Moonbow is inconsistant depending on the show and if G.M. Berrow is the writer of an episode.  

[Props Valroa 26,046]

TYT would be better off if it was longer. The animation doesn't bother me that much anymore, the length of it does. It's too short for me to properly enjoy. MYM has long periods between new content, which is a negative to me, especially compared to how G4's upload schedule used to be.

[Misty Shadow 7,085]

1 hour ago, Megas said:

There's definitely more life given to the characters in TYT

That's just 2D animation compared to 3D for you. Cartoon characters have always had more freedom to do cartoony things in 2D shows.  

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Oh, a thread I haven't come across.  The short answer is, I don't really have a preference animation-wise, as they both have pros and cons, and at the end of the day, I prefer FiM's animation style.  However, TYT is more or less what comes to mind first when I think of the characters, as that is the series we see almost every week (we didn't seem to get a short this week, as far as I know).  The MYM episodes are much longer, but they're released only every so often and I'll watch them over a short span of time.  Plot-wise, I don't think either is fantastic, but there have been some standout moments in both.  I think having a more consistent upload schedule benefits TYT in this category as well.

18 hours ago, Tacodidra said:

(3D animation tends to always look somewhat similar to me)

Same here.  I think some good quality 3D animation looks great, but it's like a nice silver car, or if you would prefer a more fandom-relevant reference, that one dress Rarity makes in Canterlot Boutique.  It looks great on its own, but next to a bunch of others that look just like it, it loses much of its aesthetic appeal for me.  I too wish there was more in the way of modern 2D Western animation.

5 hours ago, Props ValRoa said:

TYT would be better off if it was longer. The animation doesn't bother me that much anymore, the length of it does. It's too short for me to properly enjoy. MYM has long periods between new content, which is a negative to me, especially compared to how G4's upload schedule used to be.

Yeah, I do miss when there was a new pony episode every week for almost half a year, and it was a full 22 minute episode (with there being two for season premiers and finales).  Both TYT and MYM sacrifice something with the current upload schedule IMHO, with one consisting of very short episodes, and the other being released far more sporadically.  I'm going to have to chalk that up to one of multiple issues likely associated with Hasbro trying to ride the wave of the switch to streaming as the primary means that people consume media.