A G1 Animation Project

[Al-1701]

Hello.  I'm not sure if this topic goes here, but if it doesn't, could it be moved to where it should be.

Anyway, I am heading up a non-profit animation project featuring the Generation 1 ponies in the FiM style.  We are currently in the early stages of developing concept art and we have a for the most part final script of the pilot.  It will feature Wind Whistler, Fizzy, Tootsie, Gusty, Shady, and Flutterbye as the main characters.  It will also feature Majesty as the (mostly) kind, old queen of the ponies.  Just about all of the Year 2-4 U.S. released ponies as well as the Big Brother Ponies, U.K. Mountain Boys (as unicorns,) and some OC stallions and colts will also be making some kind of appearance as minor characters or in background cameos.   Megan and her family (including her father and mother) will also appear as a family moving out of the city to restart of a foreclosed horse ranch in Northern Indiana that happens to be connected by rainbow to another dimension populated by colorful ponies.  Many of the ponies' classic foes will also be making a return.

We're hoping to get permission from Hasbro to use the My Little Pony brand legally.  However, we might need help.  For Hasbro to consider giving us permission, they probably want to know how it would benefit them.  One of my thoughts is this could be a way to raise the profile of the G1 ponies without Hasbro first putting down money to trademark them.  If our pilot episode goes over well, it could reveal the demand for G1 ponies I've seen here and elsewhere and generate more demand.  If the demand is great enough, it would convince Hasbro it would be profitable to trademark the old ponies.  That would mean more ponies to sell which would mean more money for Hasbro.

It would help if we could get proof there is a demand in the first place.  I know there are many G1 fans here.  If we could get support from the collector community (particularly collectors who are parents of little kids,) Hasbro might see they have something to gain by giving us permission to use their brand.  We're getting some support in the brony community (many of the current staff are bronies,) but I think the voice of the collectors and parents will ring louder with Hasbro.

We could also use staff.  We're looking for animators, storyboarders, background artists, and particularly female voice talent (as well as some male voice talent) at the moment.  We have a site in the works (I'll post the link when it's presentable) and we're working on vectors of the main characters.

Thank you for your time and any help (even if it's just moral support) you can give us.

[Archer]

This is one of the coolest things i've seen in ages lol It sounds awesome ^_^ And so much kudos for using Flutterbye, she's one of my fave G1 ponies ^_^

Also don't know how many Va's you need, but if you want someone to do some voices i certainly wouldn't mind (especially flutterbye lol)

[SALTY5621]

i would love to help out in any way i can!

[Al-1701]

We need quite a few female voice actors (I want to say a dozen) and maybe four male voice actors.  We currently have one female voice actor and Flutterbye has not been cast as of yet.

If you're interested, I will need your Skype account and email address.  You also need a dropbox account.  I would suggest sending these to me in a PM instead of posting them in public.

And I again want to thanks everyone for their time.

[Malicieuse]

Honestly, i doubt you will get permission of Hasbro. They just shut down "Fighting is Magic" and that one had a ton of fans behind it. Why not just make it? There are quite some G4 animation projects going on that didn't ask their permission.

Also, i'm a traditional animator. Would love to help out if i can.

[Dragonflitter]

Honestly, i doubt you will get permission of Hasbro. They just shut down "Fighting is Magic" and that one had a ton of fans behind it. Why not just make it? There are quite some G4 animation projects going on that didn't ask their permission.

I was going to post this but Malicieuse beat me too it!

Very sad to hear about Fighting is Magic (which was a very long-term non-profit project, just like this animation would be). Hasbro waited quite some time to spring it on them.... I think they were in the final stages of development of their online game when Hasbro sent them a cease and desist order. And this was hardly a hidden project, many of the online brony sites talked about it and featured information on the upcoming game, and they had demo videos on youtube.

It would be sad if your efforts were cancelled after you put a bunch of time and work into them, but it would also be sad if you worked for years without asking permission and then Hasbro ordered you to take the finished product down as soon as you revealed it...

That being said, I was just at Magfest in Washington DC in January, where they publicly aired a fan-made combination live action and CGI Sonic the Hedgehog movie, about 20 minutes in length. The animation team had been working on the project for three years. It looked great, and in the Q&A afterward they said SEGA hadn't been after them at all for their project.

...of course, SEGA and Hasbro are two entirely different entities...but it's food for thought.

[Tirac]

I'd be interested in helping with this endeavor.
When is it scheduled to start?
I could work on music and possibly contribute my animating skills (I do traditional animation) or even voice acting. (I can do child voices if they would come in handy, unfortunately my voice has not deepened as of yet so no male voice for me. )
Only problem is is that I'd be fairly busy until August this year and that I don't think Hasbro would be on-board because of what happened with Fighting is Magic.

I'm really liking the idea though and would love to be a part of it.

[cacopony]

I really love the idea!
it sounds great, I hope you guys get  permission from hasbro °v°

[OLumeVaSti]

Cool idea! I couldn't see myself lending my voice. I don't think there is a pony who would have a West Virginia accent tinged with a bit of Montana. 

[Kazzellin]

I would be interested in helping as a potential voice, but I've neither Skyipe account, web cam, or even a mic for my compy, so don't know if I'd be able to.

[kakenterprise]

I don't care to much for traditionally animating(I can but it's not my cup of tea) but I've done tons of story boarding.  Depending on what I'm doing at the time I'd be willing to help out.

[CarnationTwirl]

I'd be on board to contribute some voice work.  I have a fairly generic female voice...
Don't hold your breath on Hasbro giving you the green light though.  HOWEVER.  They lost the trademark to the old ponies to begin with.  Also there are several fan project animations on youtube that very obviously were never given permission but have not been nailed with C&D's.
It would be much easier to beg forgiveness than to seek permission.

[Jordan]

I'd love to help.
So if you ever need a male voice I'm in!

[Dragonflitter]

HOWEVER.  They lost the trademark to the old ponies to begin with. 

I'm not sure if that's really true or just something people online say. After all, Hasbro contributes official art to the MLP Fair each year which has Firefly and other G1 ponies on it, so they obviously can still produce art with the G1 characters.

[Evening_Moonstone]

I'd love to help with VA work.  Sent you a PM.