My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Discussion

[Buzz_Bumble]

Apparently there's a My Little Ponies: Friendship is Magic movie coming ... sort-of ... BUT don't get too excited because Hollyweird and Hasbro have done their usual silliness to make sure it's as far away as possible from the original.

The fools in charge have decided to change the little ponies into human high schol girls and call it Equestria Girls. 

This is from The New York Times ...

A New Direction for a Hasbro Stalwart
A film titled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls will introduce Hasbro's teenage offshoot of its popular pony brand.

Hasbro, the toy company that brought its Transformers and G.I. Joe properties to movie theaters, has set its sights on its next summer blockbuster: My Little Pony.

The ponies, a Hasbro staple for 30 years, have experienced a resurgence of popularity lately, thanks in part to the TV series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Hoping to build on that interest, Hasbro recently revealed plans for brand extension called Equestria Girls.

The new property will get the red-carpet treatment when it premieres as a full-length animated feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June. The movie, created by Hasbro Studios, the company's production division, will then be released in more than 200 theaters nationwide; its trailer will start appearing in theaters on Wednesday.

"We are responding to the desire by our fans to experience the brand in more ways," said John A. Frascotti, Hasbro's chief marketing officer. "They imagined themselves as which pony they would be or which pony they identified with the most."

So Hasbro created Equestria Girls, a parallel world in which the My Little Pony characters were reconceived as teenage girls in high school. To maintain continuity, Hasbro retained the same creative talent, animation style and message of friendship.

"Our goal is to stay true to who those characters are," said Meghan McCarthy, the head writer for the movie, adding that the high school setting allowed for new storytelling possibilities. "It's new but still an extension of our mythology."

The movie — titled My Little Pony: Equestria Girls — will be released on DVD later in the United States and other markets worldwide, followed by a television debut on the Hub network in the fall.

"It is a major strategic initiative for us," Mr. Frascotti said, one that will feature toys, apparel, publishing and accessories. Multimedia components include an interactive Web site, content on YouTube and a partnership with Stardoll.com, a fashion Web site for girls.

Hasbro does not break out revenue for My Little Pony, but in its earnings statement in April, the company said its girls' category rose 23 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year, growth that was helped in part by the My Little Pony brand.

Equestria Girls offers an opportunity to build on that growth, said Michael Vogel, vice president for development at Hasbro Studios. "This is a bold new direction," he said.

Note: Aparently that image is concept art. In the movie the girls are normal humans and don't have horse ears and wings.

In reality of course the change has been made simply so Hasbro can sell a whole new range of toys to girls. 

[Film Reel]

I hope that Hasbro still works on season four and doesn't abandon it for Equestria Girls. If they do... *enraged tableflip*

[Romsca]

They're... actually... considering... ABANDONING... SEASON... FOUR?!?!?!?!?!??!

[Buzz_Bumble]

Disney cancelled The Clone Wars animated series, despite the fact that a lot of espiodes for the next season were already completed or near completion. 

[Romsca]

Why?

[Buzz_Bumble]

Supposedly Disney cancelled The Clone Wars (and the entire LucasArts gaming company) because they wanted to concentrate on the new Star Wars movies ... but the reality is more likely that they didn't want to be making a show that plays on a rival channel (Cartoon Network) and the style of the show doesn't fit with the Disney channels. This is further proven by the fact that there seems to be a new animated Star Wars show now in the early stages of development.

[Dannflower Reguba]

Supposedly Disney cancelled The Clone Wars (and the entire LucasArts gaming company) because they wanted to concentrate on the new Star Wars movies ... but the reality is more likely that they didn't want to be making a show that plays on a rival channel (Cartoon Network) and the style of the show doesn't fit with the Disney channels. This is further proven by the fact that there seems to be a new animated Star Wars show now in the early stages of development.

They had better not actually be cancelling! (Clone Wars) There'd be a LOT of angry fans (myself included) there is WAYYYYYYY too much left un-answered.

[CrazyPug37]

Well, that's Disney.  I won't be suprised if Mickey Mouse is the new hero in the next Star Wars movie.

[Buzz_Bumble]

They had better not actually be cancelling! (Clone Wars) There'd be a LOT of angry fans (myself included) there is WAYYYYYYY too much left un-answered.

Too late. Disney already cancelled the show about a month ago. Many episodes from Season 5 were already completed or nearing completion. It's unlikely those episodes will ever be seen in public, although the guy in charge of them is trying to get something done, whether it's a DVD-release of the season or a combbled together DVD-movie.

Disney today announced a new animated series called Star Wars Rebels that will start with a TV-movie and then be followed by a series (on Disney channels). It's due in "Fall 2014" and the stories are set in the time period between Episode III and Episode IV.

I won't be suprised if Mickey Mouse is the new hero in the next Star Wars movie.

He already was. Disney released a trailer on April Fools Day with Mickey Mouse and friends taking over the roles in the movies. It's probably on YouTube somewhere. 

[CrazyPug37]

I won't be suprised if Mickey Mouse is the new hero in the next Star Wars movie.

He already was. Disney released a trailer on April Fools Day with Mickey Mouse and friends taking over the roles in the movies. It's probably on YouTube somewhere. 

Oh no....

That's a bad sign.

[Buzz_Bumble]

It was only an April Fools joke.

Disney-fied versions of the Star Wars characters have been around for years - there are Hasbro figures with Mickey Mouse as a Jedi, Donald Duck as a Stormtrooper, etc. plus various posters, badges / buttons, soft toys, etc. I've got a soft toy Jedi Mickey Mouse in my collection. There's also a "Build A Droid" shop at Disneyland where you can mix-n-match Hasbro droid parts to build custom astrodroids, and some of the parts include things like Mouse ear hats.

[Tannsrall]

Only 87 day 21 hours and 16 min. till season 4 everypony!

[Kitsune]

I don't know if I can wait that long!

[Iamthatis]

about time started to talk about my little pony I watch it with my little sister

[Blaggut]

I like mlp but the dolls and the older versions are WAY to girly. Fav character is granny smith, I am not obsessed enough to change my name but I do, I admit, LOVE the show, specially the history, like the story of discord or the rise and fall of equestria. But... I am obsessed with redwall, and when I says obsessed, I mean OBSESsED with redwall!