What was MLP FiM based on?

[Scootadress 361]

I know mainly the MLP franchise, but I was curious. I keep getting reminded of the Powderpuff Girls a little too much. This started ever since I played Chemical X traction I suppose. (Bubbles basically said what Pinkie said for backed bads.) I also rewatched the series and kept taking notes about it and concluded its like the Powderpuff Girls so much. That and when I went and read forums here about topics like Derpy and the whole "homosexual couples", it also reminded me that despite this series entering the 2000s, it had adult jokes. Just curious about the comparison, you?

[Party Cannon 876]

Indeed the show like any other piece of art has inspirations and influences from preceding works. They range from film references, to historical references to pop culture. There isn't one single base that the show pulls from. That's what adds to why the show is so great, but it is also because it is highly original all things considered.

[hawkflame 3,310]

Their biggest inspiration:  Lauren Faust's inner 8 year old. 

 

Lauren Faust based a lot of her ideas about the show on the way she played with her favorite My Little Pony toys when she was a kid.  In fact, the characters are based right off her favorite G1 ponies: Twilight(Twilight Sparkle), Firefly (Rainbow Dash), Surprise (Pinkie Pie), Posey (Fluttershy), Sparkler (Rarity), and Applejack (take a wild guess).  Elements of those characters personalities made it into their G4 counterparts. 

 

Additionally, she wanted to explore what she called "icons of girliness" - the tomboy, the waif, the debutante, the bookworm, etc.  and used that to try to break past the kinds of stereotypes offered by girls' entertainment and make itso that everyone has a character they could relate to. 

 

So at its core, the show is based on the kinds of stories and characters Lauren Faust would have enjoyed as a kid.

[RockinRarity 1,605]

In addition to what hawkflame posted, Lauren Faust worked on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. She is also married to Craig McCracken, the person who created both of those shows. So if MLP reminds you of those cartoons, remember that she worked on them in the past, and therefore her experience in working with cartoons is based off of them.

[Fhaolan 4,486]

A lot of the people Lauren brought in to work on the show bible had long histories in animation and TV, so you'll see flashes of their styles as well. Beyond Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends which have already been mentioned, these people also worked on Dexter's Laboratory, Rocko's Modern Life, Samurai Jack, Animaniacs, I am Weasel, etc.

[RrVPfX9cPtw59FpC 1,304]

I'd say it was original, but based off Faust's other shows, such as the Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Home for Imaginary Friends.

[Mr. Critical 434]

It was Lauren Faust. By now everyone has said this. Lauren loved my little pony as a kid. And when it came time for her to be a producer for the show, she based the stories off of her adventures with her ponies. Its no wonder her deviant art page is named fyre-fly.

[IronPonyApplejack 318]

Looks like everyone else has already said it. The great cartooning mind of Lauren Faust is to blame. She's worked on a ton of great cartoons over the past years, and there's little bits of them sprinkled into MLP:FiM.