Does anypony even like the old generations?

[Fhaolan 4,468]

I have watched the original G1 features and series, and while they've got some pacing issues they're pretty reasonable for the time they were made. The animation is a bit rough, but that was again common for the time. The age group aimed at appears to be pre-teens, with adventure and darker themes mixed in with singing and the like.

 

The second G1 series 'My Little Pony Tales' however is a mess in my opinion. It seems to talk down to the viewer and is oddly chauvinistic in places.

 

G2 didn't have animated features.

 

G3's animation was... odd. It's cleaner, and with complex mane and tail animation, but the exaggerated hair movement gets distracting somehow. It also appears to be aimed at younger audience than before, with vastly simplified stories more appropriate for very young children rather than pre-teens.

 

G3.5 is an odd duck. You can see the animation moving towards what G4 would be, while retaining the younger demographic aim. It's also a period of experimentation by Hasbro with a lot of confusion now as to what exactly is in G3.5.

[Buttonmash1973 1,024]

I had grown up with G1 way back then since I was a teen in the 1980s, and I had also loved G3 since I had discovered that last year.

[simba86 1,541]

I like my little pony tales and g1, but g3 is just to bad! But season 4 is the best by a long shot! Which I guess is one reason it is also the longest running

[Mand'alor Dash 2,224]

Generation 3 is fun if you just wanna MST3K the living crap out of something. 3.5 is even better, in that respect.

 

I haven't really tried G1 or Tales, though. I'm just not a fan of 80's style animation.

[V1RUS_ 85]

Can't stand any of 'em.

Especially G3. That generation was pretty awful.

I mean, those gens were only created to sell toys, no real care was put into the story, characters, voice acting, or animation.

That's a show for little girls guys, come on.

[starlight_wish 15]

hehe, i was really little when gen1 was in reruns, and they were really old then! i think my like for them is because of nostolgia. <3 i used to watch it with my brother and i loved it so much. now that i'm older, the style isn't as pleasing, but i can't help loving how familiar it is. plus it's fun to find all the animation mistakes! : D

[MJNSEIFER 55]

I adore every generation, and don't find them that different from Friendship is Magic, which was actually the point - as My sig points out.

[Powderpuff 390]

One thing I've really noticed that's different about bronies and general/old gen pony fans, is that when bronies say My Little Pony, they're only talking about the shows. But the show was never really an important part of the MLP franchise until FiM. It's the toys that really made a name for themselves, and the toys that snuck their ways into little girls' hearts. The shows were basically commercials to sell plastic equines, and it was a very, very, very small part of what the entire franchise was about. I can see how bronies only look at the shows, though, since G4 basically did something completely and totally new for the franchise - it shifted the perspective completely from the toys to the television show. I'm not trying to say that really seeing the franchise through the shows is a bad thing, It's just a difference in perspective that I always get a bit confused about.

 

I love the old gen toys. And when I start looking at MLP from a toyline perspective, I actually like G1 and G3 better than G4, because they had variety and they were of better quality, and I find them much more aesthetically pleasing. And I don't have to try too hard to explain how they are ponies But I'm not as fond of G2 and 3.5, for aesthetic reasons, however I think I can easily warm up to G2 - I've got a few of them kicking around here.

 

But if I'm watching the shows, eh I'll admit there just isn't that level of quality that G4 introduced. I've only actually watched G1 and some G3, and G1 was charming in its own (very dated) way, but I do love the G4 show much more.

Edited March 24, 2013 by Powderpuff

[MJNSEIFER 55]

One thing I've really noticed that's different about bronies and general/old gen pony fans, is that when bronies say My Little Pony, they're only talking about the shows. But the show was never really an important part of the MLP franchise until FiM. . The shows were basically commercials to sell plastic equines,

 To be honest. I kind of dissagree about this. I'll admit that I mainly talk about the show as I missed out on the toys (but wish I hadn't), but I ulimately view the whole thing as My Little Pony.

 

I don't really view the shows as "basically comercials to sell plastic equines" - even if that's what Hasbro themselves intended it doesn't come across as that to me for the most part at all.  G1's show and toyline existed side by side at some places. and were stand alone at others - they helped inspire each other, and the show itself had a storyline and could have easily have been made first, and doesn't seem like one big comercial to me - the only time the toyline domiated the show was Hasbro's reluctance to settle on a main cast, but both G1 and G3 have exactly what FIM has - characters with relateable personalites, and interesting thought provoking, sometimes even heart-warming storylines.

 

The only reason FIM does it better in most people's eyes is because it is done from a fan's perspective - it was a G1 fan who created FIM, and she also looked to G3 episodes for inspiration too.

[Loona 287]

I actually thought G3 was kinda decent.

 

G1 is always pretty good looking, I've seen a little bit of it. G2 doesn't even look appealing.

[Derpular 90]

I definitely like the older generations! I grew up with G3, so, despite all the hate it gets, I really, really love it. G1 and G2 are before my time, but I do like what little I've seen of the G1 cartoons, and I collect toys from all the generations.

[Sir.Flutter Hooves 2,953]

The only other generation I would watch would be the 1st. It looks well done, but never generation 2, 3, or 3.5!

 

Never 3.5, their mouths don't even move when they talk! It looks horrible!

 

 

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[FruitRiver 355]

I collect g1 and g2 ponies. I think their adorable. G3 and g3.5 is....eauhdigb

But really, I cant stand when people are majorly against g1, if g1 didnt exist neither would g4. And g1 and Tales really arent ALL THAT painful to watch, actually Tales was pretty entertaining.

(some g3 TOYS are pretty cute too, just not the show)

(also by the way g2 is not MLP tales. Tales is g1. And just for anyone that thinks the crazy pinkie face in Too Many Pinkies was g1, its not, its G3.)

Edited March 24, 2013 by Pinkie

[Homura Akemi 974]

I like G1! The dolls are super cute and the show is pretty much as 80's as it can get. I am neutral on G2 and do not care for or like G3.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Twilie Sparkle

[FatPat 77]

I saw the two G1 movies long ago when I was a kid since my sister would rent them.

 

I was really surprised by "Escape from Midnight Castle." It was actually interesting and had some cool villains. Unfortunately none of the ponies really stood out. And that Sea Pony song has been stuck in my head ever since.

 

Too bad the other movie fell flat. I looked at it again about a year ago, and geez is it painful to watch! I can't believe I sat through it 3 times when I was younger. Once again none of the ponies manage to stand out, and this time the villains weren't enough to help.

 

I'm still impressed with that first movie. I guess the team knew that everyone was expecting mindless girly crap, so they decided to throw a curve ball. Really awesome of them to take a chance like that.

 

I like to think it went something like this

Edited March 25, 2013 by FatPat

[MJNSEIFER 55]

G2 was a poor experiment in making all the ponies teenagers (this was before Ben 10, Teen Titans, Danny Phantom, and other cartoons where the main characters are teenagers and face issues like any teen in real life). All the girls talk about boys and the boys talk about girls.

There was no G2 show, and if you mean "Tales" the ponies were all supposed to be around 10, which isn't a teenager age.  The stuff about girls talking about boys, and boys talking about girls was the focus of just two episodes, and even then it wasn't the main point. 

[Lady Leopardess 393]

I just did a swap with someone for some of my g3s for some older gen plush ponies. I'm rather surprised that fans don't praise the older style of some of the plushes, since it's molded hair.

 

[Stormwind 53]

The older generations were terrible. My sister was in love with G3 and i cannot stand it at all. Basically from g1 to g3 the show got progressively worse and then G4 (the current one) made it 2000% cooler

[Wingnut 6,732]

As an '80s kid, I have a few things to say about previous generations. Back then, it seemed like Hasbro's big three was Transformers, GI Joe, and My Little Pony. Yes, there were other toy lines too, but those were the only ones I remember getting their own cartoons. Sunbow Productions provided the animation and voice talent for all of three so they even look and sound similar. It should be remembered that the '80s MLP cartoon was called My Little Pony and Friends. This cartoon also had short segments for other Hasbro products like Glo Friends and Potato Head Kids.

 

Because I was a boy, I hardly ever watched that cartoon and I never got an MLP toy. But I was well aware of them. I remember the MLP toy commercials almost as well as the Transformers and GI Joe ads. I even seem to vaguely recall talking about Hasbro with a female classmate. She had MLP and I had Transformers. I was drawing Chipmunk fancomics at the time and I even toyed with the idea of Brittany buying a My Little Pony toy but I never got around to it. As Fhaolan said in another thread, it's possible today's young Bronies experience culture shock when they see G1 toys and cartoons. Even though I wasn't a fan of G1, I am nonetheless familiar with it.

 

I don't have as much to say about stuff between G1 and G4. Can somebody tell me why My Little Pony Tales is considered G1 and not G2 or G1.5? The cartoon for Tales was totally different from the Sunbow cartoons. It was sorta like an animated sitcom for kids set in a typical North American suburban community instead of Dream Valley. They were all earth ponies and the only ones I recall are Bon Bon, Sweetheart, and two colts named Ace and Teddy. This one actually had the most even sex ratio of any MLP cartoon.

 

I never saw anything, toy or cartoon wise, in the 2, 2.5, 3, or 3.5 range, so I can't comment on any of it.

 

 

The only reason FIM does it better in most people's eyes is because it is done from a fan's perspective - it was a G1 fan who created FIM, and she also looked to G3 episodes for inspiration too.

 

Exactly. And all she did was spice FiM up so it would be appealing to a broader audience. Lauren had already worked on several cartoons with fanbases beyond the target demographic.  So to do this with MLP also came quite naturally to her. And because her penchant for drawing older fans with her work was well known, panic immediately set in when she left MLP:FiM for other projects. Some Bronies were worried the cartoon would regress to something only a 6 year-old could watch. Yes, I know they did some things Lauren wouldn't have gone for, especially Twilicorn. But all the elements that made MLP:FiM attractive to an older audience like wide-reaching story arcs, some fairly serious themes, and character complexity and development are all intact. Sheesh, people need to get a grip.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

I don't have as much to say about stuff between G1 and G4. Can somebody tell me why My Little Pony Tales is considered G1 and not G2 or G1.5? The cartoon for Tales was totally different from the Sunbow cartoons. It was sorta like an animated sitcom for kids set in a typical North American suburban community instead of Dream Valley. They were all earth ponies and the only ones I recall are Bon Bon, Sweetheart, and two colts named Ace and Teddy. This one actually had the most even sex ratio of any MLP cartoon.

 

 

Due to the nature of MLP, the different generations are categorized by the toys, not the series/movies. The G2 toys were smaller and more horse-like, with long necks and legs, posable heads, and 'jewel' eyes. While the Pony Tales series was different from the previous series story-wise, the character designs hadn't changed much and it had ended before the G2 toys came out.

 

There wasn't any animated series or movies produced when the G2 toys were being made. The next animated movie was in 2003, when the first G3 toys were released.

[NavelColt 22,876]

I appreciate them for being the basis for what we have today, and the first generation had its' ups to be sure, but in general, I haven't watched much of the previous generations, and don't plan to.

[RageonJonesy906 7]

Seen one G3 episode for comparison. I must tolerate it though! There are a lot of people who liked the previous generations, but other 'bronies' ward them off by saying it sucks. So they tend to steer clear from us.

[Hdc 155]

I don't think I will ever touch the older generations. I don't see anything about them that would appeal to me. They scare me a bit, to be honest.   Somehow, I have this fear that if I watch any of it, I won't be able to shake it out of my mind if it is truly horrible, and think about it whenever I watch FiM.   A bit exaggerated, perhaps.

[Wingnut 6,732]

 

While the Pony Tales series was different from the previous series story-wise, the character designs hadn't changed much and it had ended before the G2 toys came out.

 

For real?  I thought that series was accompanied by a whole new toy line.  Why would they launch that cartoon without relaunching the merchandise also?  Oh well, you learn something new every day!

[simba86 1,541]

I collect all the generations except g3, I have a dream castle which looks like this 

and a paradise estate" it is huge! 3 foot x 3 foot!"

these are some pics i found online, I don't have pictures of mine set up

For real?  I thought that series was accompanied by a whole new toy line.  Why would they launch that cartoon without relaunching the merchandise also?  Oh well, you learn something new every day!

there was very little pony tales merch released in the USA because pony tales was not popular in the usa, it was a huge in over seas so there was a lot more merch released over there, the toys are very close to the g1 style