Rainbow Ponies Cartoon?

[MJNSEIFER]

Hi.

I realize that this is real shot in the dark, but does anybody have any information about the apparently scrapped G1 Special that was supposed to be about the Rainbow Ponies (assuming there actually was one, and it's not just bronies mistaking a G1 commercial for lost cartoon footage)?

Like is there any information on what the storyline would have been, specifically (I have already heard that it would have supposedly included some of the Rescue at Midnight Castle ponies, though I don't know who, as well as the Rainbow Ponies, and would have apparently introduced Danny.)

Sorry if this isn't an actual episode in the end.

[Ponyfan]

I found this Youtube clip with the advertisement for the "next adventure" starting at 3:44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-M2D5B0nO4


I know most of it was used in the Rainbow ponies commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDzsHC-HFf0


I don't know if it was intended to be the next special or not.  Maybe Carrehz  or Wildshadow can shed some more light on subject?


Ponyfan

[Gator]

I wish more specials/shows would’ve been made in this animation style.  I have always loved this rainbow pony animation😁

[Taffeta]

I think there are always more questions than answers, but I'm wondering if it was simply that by the time they got around to doing another animated special, the toy line had moved on. Or maybe they just used animation they had for the rainbow ponies commercial as a prequel, thinking they would be the line focus. I think I am right that only Starflower (?) is in the Escape from Catrina special.

The big flourish in that clip with the mane does seem more "from a commercial" than an actual tv series "look at her HAIR!".

[Carrehz]

I don't know if it was intended to be the next special or not.  Maybe Carrehz  or Wildshadow can shed some more light on subject?

Haha I'm honoured to be thought of so highly!

All I really know is that the animation comes from the Rainbow Ponies TV commercial.

But my opinion is that there is no long lost "Rainbow Ponies special" and it's just a rumour spawned from misremembering old VHS tapes/from only having half the story, so to speak (i.e. people having copies of the video but no access or information on the original commercial and not realizing the animation isn't exclusive to the RaMC ad).

I think it's just a generic "stay tuned for the next adventure" sort of spiel and they just happened to use that animation. Might have been that it was the most current ad they had at the time so they used it, or maybe they wanted to promote the Rainbow ponies at the time? There is the theory that that's why this girl exists:
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- because Hasbro wanted some Rainbow pony rep in the special.... who knows. Sounds plausible to me. Between that and the usage of the Rainbow ad animation, it definitely seems like Hasbro were focusing on the Rainbows at that point?

But I 100% think the animation was created for the toy advert FIRST and just reused for RaMC for whatever reason. (Or well, they were probably animated concurrently, I mean, the one shot is near identical to the opening shot of Medley and Firefly sliding down the rainbow in RaMC, right?)

MJNSeifer, you mentioned Danny, I think you're thinking of the concept art floating around for Catrina? Lemme see if I can find it...

Okay lessee. The MLP n Friends press pack has what I was thinking of - from Greeby's site (hope it's okay for me to direct link to the pdf!):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yuujZZV340joWWyKPN_RJ_d5-R4NEVtw/view

I think that's what you're referring to? It has the art w/ blonde Danny and winged Spike, etc.

That art was also used for the original US VHS release of Escape from Catrina:
https://vhscollector.com/movie/my-little-pony-escape-catrina

No idea what's up with that one. Early concept art, I guess. Heck maybe there isn't a story behind it and they were just noodling around with ideas, who knows.

fake edit: Taffeta ninja'd me again xD
The only Rainbow ponies that appeared in the cartoons were the RaMC one *points upwards*,
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Skydancer

and
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Starflower

the press kit does have Flutterbye though, so I guess they were toying with including her at some point too?

[dippindot]

I know most of it was used in the Rainbow ponies commercial.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDzsHC-HFf0

I'm almost 40, why is this commercial still so effective on me

Immediate urge to find and purchase Rainbow ponies, brb heading to ebay

[MJNSEIFER]

Thanks for answering, everybody.

I think there are always more questions than answers, but I'm wondering if it was simply that by the time they got around to doing a

nother animated special, the toy line had moved on. Or maybe they just used animation they had for the rainbow ponies commercial as a prequel, thinking they would be the line focus. I think I am right that only Starflower (?) is in the Escape from Catrina special.

The big flourish in that clip with the mane does seem more "from a commercial" than an actual tv series "look at her HAIR!".

The first thing you say is possible, thinking about it, seeing (at the time?) G1 based its animated cast on the toys being promoted, right? So it is plausible that they planned on a Rainbow Pony cartoon, but they were no longer the toys they were promoting...

However, your second point about the moment with the mane looking more like a commercial makes more sense - I don't know why I didn't think of this, but it does look like a strange thing to do in an actual episode (even taking things like "Maybe she's a pony who takes pride in her mane?" into account), but in an advert, it fits in more, I guess.

All I really know is that the animation comes from the Rainbow Ponies TV commercial.

But my opinion is that there is no long lost "Rainbow Ponies special" and it's just a rumour spawned from misremembering old VHS tapes/from only having half the story, so to speak (i.e. people having copies of the video but no access or information on the original commercial and not realizing the animation isn't exclusive to the RaMC ad).

I think it's just a generic "stay tuned for the next adventure" sort of spiel and they just happened to use that animation. Might have been that it was the most current ad they had at the time so they used it, or maybe they wanted to promote the Rainbow ponies at the time? There is the theory that that's why this girl exists:
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

- because Hasbro wanted some Rainbow pony rep in the special.... who knows. Sounds plausible to me. Between that and the usage of the Rainbow ad animation, it definitely seems like Hasbro were focusing on the Rainbows at that point?

But I 100% think the animation was created for the toy advert FIRST and just reused for RaMC for whatever reason. (Or well, they were probably animated concurrently, I mean, the one shot is near identical to the opening shot of Medley and Firefly sliding down the rainbow in RaMC, right?)

Yeah, that's very likely the case. That people probably took what they had, and made assumptions based on lack of, and unintentionally misleading information (such as using footage from a commercial out of context in a "Check out the next adventure!" style promo) as you essentially said. The thing is, I'm sure I remember correcting people who thought it was a cartoon, that it was just a commercial back in the day, or at the very least saw these comments, and was sure they were wrong, but I got so wrapped up in "What if?" and how much it inspired me, that I ended up hoping.

And yeah, I too noticed the similarities between both animations (such as the waterfall scene), as though they're reusing from each other, or something.

MJNSeifer, you mentioned Danny, I think you're thinking of the concept art floating around for Catrina? Lemme see if I can find it...

Okay lessee. The MLP n Friends press pack has what I was thinking of - from Greeby's site (hope it's okay for me to direct link to the pdf!):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yuujZZV340joWWyKPN_RJ_d5-R4NEVtw/view

I think that's what you're referring to? It has the art w/ blonde Danny and winged Spike, etc.

That art was also used for the original US VHS release of Escape from Catrina:
https://vhscollector.com/movie/my-little-pony-escape-catrina

No idea what's up with that one. Early concept art, I guess. Heck maybe there isn't a story behind it and they were just noodling around with ideas, who knows.

fake edit: Taffeta ninja'd me again xD
The only Rainbow ponies that appeared in the cartoons were the RaMC one *points upwards*,
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Skydancer

and
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

Starflower

the press kit does have Flutterbye though, so I guess they were toying with including her at some point too?

Yeah, that's pretty much what I'd seen, like people seemed to be using the fact that the cover for Escape From Catrina not only had Danny appearing too early, but also featured two of the Midnight Castle ponies (and another Catrina VHS cover showing at least one Rainbow pony) as "evidence" that there was a lost Special - as though the (presumably non-existent) Special was scrapped before they could change the VHS art or something?

So yeah, it's probably the case that there was no lost Special in the end, which is a shame, but thanks to all who answered me (I'm toying with writing a G1 story or something of how it could have gone, though...)

It is indeed something how the press pack talks about Flutterbye as though she's an animated character, so yeah, maybe there was a plan to include her? As a bonus, thanks for linking to it - I love looking at pre-animation and behind the scenes stuff like that.

Also, regarding the press pack, does anybody know who the light purple pony on the Midnight Castle picture is supposed to be?

Thanks.

[Carrehz]

as though the (presumably non-existent) Special was scrapped before they could change the VHS art or something?

Eh, they've never really cared about MLP VHS/DVD art making sense or representing what's actually on the tape Half the DVDs have stock G2 art on 'em, the Shout Factory release has stock retro G1 art of ponies that were never in the cartoon (June Rose etc)... don't even get me started on the video tapes

No idea who the blue pegasus in the concept art is meant to be. My first thought was maybe prototype Sprinkles? That or a miscoloured Medley, maybe. It's hard to say since there's so many other odd things going on, like the army of gargoyle dudes and Habit looking completely different to how he did in RaMC (to be fair he did end up having three different designs in the end, so I guess this was just the start of that?).
(God I love those gargoyle-looking dudes, though. The amount of detail in this art just blows me away.)

Vaguely-related aside: The narrator for the RaMC rainbow ad cracks me up. They sound so bored 

[Ponyfan]

I just checked my VHS tape of Catrina and it has a copyright date of 1986 for the special. RaMC has a date of 1984 for the special and 1985 for the VHS tape.  I don't know when the Rainbow ponies came out, but maybe that helps a little bit?  I've heard not all VHS copies of RaMC have the advertisement at the end.  I don't know if that's true though as mine has it and I can't remember if copy my grandparents had at their house had it or not.

Medley is featured on the back of the VHS case for Catrina, even though she doesn't appear in that.

It looks like Megan might be riding Flutterbye in the art?


Ponyfan

[Carrehz]

It is Flutterbye, one of the pics in the press pack confirms it

I would be interested in knowing which releases of RaMC have the ad, just for curiosity's sake. I've got two copies, the UK Dreamland tape with RaMC and Catrina (no ads) and this US tape which I believe is the original release? And that does have it.

Honestly I wouldn't put much stock into the art used on the VHS boxes. Look at this collection of home video art:
http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Audio_and_Video
Sometimes they have something to do with the episodes, other times they just went "Eh, it's a pony, that'll do" and slapped whatever art onto it

(Although I do sort of wonder about this VHS.... the back of it it has descriptions of each ep and it claims the Party Ponies [TAFs] are in "The Great Rainbow Caper". which obviously isn't true, but you have to wonder where they got that idea from...)

[brightberry]

My DVD copy of season one MLP&F which contains RaMC has G2 ponies on the cover and inside art.  Definitely confusing!

Most likely Hasbro made some artwork available to Rhino and they just went with it.

[Carrehz]

My favourites are the ones that actually put effort in and drew the G1 characters in G2 style. I saw one once with a G2-style Morning Glory (complete with flutter wings!) that was just darling.

[Leave a Whisper]

I miss when ponies looked like that

[Taffeta]

My favourites are the ones that actually put effort in and drew the G1 characters in G2 style. I saw one once with a G2-style Morning Glory (complete with flutter wings!) that was just darling.

I was going to say, I know I have pony DVDs somewhere where the art is all G2-style.

[Ponyfan]

My DVD copy of season one MLP&F which contains RaMC has G2 ponies on the cover and inside art.  Definitely confusing!

Most likely Hasbro made some artwork available to Rhino and they just went with it.

Rhino also released some Jem DVDs.  On the back of at least one of the sets Synergy is spelled Cynergi and the artwork while recognizable as the characters they portray is a little offf on all the designs.

I would be interested in knowing which releases of RaMC have the ad, just for curiosity's sake. I've got two copies, the UK Dreamland tape with RaMC and Catrina (no ads) and this US tape which I believe is the original release? And that does have it.

Honestly I wouldn't put much stock into the art used on the VHS boxes. Look at this collection of home video art:
http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Audio_and_Video
Sometimes they have something to do with the episodes, other times they just went "Eh, it's a pony, that'll do" and slapped whatever art onto it

(Although I do sort of wonder about this VHS.... the back of it it has descriptions of each ep and it claims the Party Ponies [TAFs] are in "The Great Rainbow Caper". which obviously isn't true, but you have to wonder where they got that idea from...)

My VHS copy of RaMC is in the slipcase instead of the clamshell case.

That is a little odd about the Party Poines/TAF ponies being mentioned in the Great Rainbow Caper.  It reminds me a little of the descriptions for the RaMC Viewmaster reels.  There's some stuff in there that looks like the person who wrote either had an early draft with some of the ideas that were eventually cut or wasn't really paying attention to plot of the special.


Ponyfan