Did G5 flop?

[Leave a Whisper]

I was surprised to actually see ponies on Walmart shelves. Of course it was just 3 versions of Sunny and one version of Moonbow, so it was nothing to get excited over.

[lalalei2001]

I've seen a couple ponies around but nothing major or new and nothing really big, just small ponies.

[brightberry]

I think it did flop.  I thought the first special was ok.  I didn't really like the premise, but the ponies were cute.  The toys are not interesting to me though. 

I'm sure the biggest reason I liked G4 is because it has about the same atmosphere of Rescue at Midnight Castle and Escape from Catrina. Those are the shows that drew me into ponies as a kid.   But the characters in all of them are kind of generic.   

I feel like every children's show or toyline come up with the same type of characters over and over again.  The bold one, the crazy one, the shy one, the vain one and the smart one.  And if they need more, the "country" one, the "mean" one and so on.  We can say "X" inspired "X" but, it's less that and more "we need these types of characters to make an interesting show." 

[tailrustedtealeaf]

The final animated episode for G5 has been uploaded today. The series was cut short. The only remaining G5 media that we're waiting on is the comics. China is doing some figures that look much better than anything we got released domestically.

As far as the animated series goes, I'd suggest watching Cxcd's video here. As someone who's been following G5 closely at the start and had contact with a few insiders, this seems to be pretty correct and a good summary of what happened corporate-wise to cause such a disaster.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

The final animated episode for G5 has been uploaded today. The series was cut short.

It's over and done with. Anything G5 will fade into obscurity from this point on. The animation was the driving force behind the toys, and if there are no toys to sell there is no need to invest any further in animation. That's how I see it.

2025 will probably be all about merch to keep the brand name alive, while they (hopefully) work hard on a reboot for 2026.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

The reboot for 2026 leaked a bit ago. It's lame. I don't know if it's currently hosted anywhere on the internet since Hasbro gently asked people to take it down, but it's really disappointing.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

The reboot for 2026 leaked a bit ago. It's lame. I don't know if it's currently hosted anywhere on the internet since Hasbro gently asked people to take it down, but it's really disappointing.

 what is it, what is it?? spill!

Edit: Found something called "camp cutie mark"..? I don't believe for a second that's legit.

[TheClassCalico]

The reboot for 2026 leaked a bit ago. It's lame. I don't know if it's currently hosted anywhere on the internet since Hasbro gently asked people to take it down, but it's really disappointing.

I found a forum thread on another forum hosting some of the content. If legitmate, it looks like G5's .5 generation/some other spin-off rather than a full blown, distinct generation. I hope so, anyway. 

[Taffeta]

The final animated episode for G5 has been uploaded today. The series was cut short. The only remaining G5 media that we're waiting on is the comics. China is doing some figures that look much better than anything we got released domestically.

As far as the animated series goes, I'd suggest watching Cxcd's video here. As someone who's been following G5 closely at the start and had contact with a few insiders, this seems to be pretty correct and a good summary of what happened corporate-wise to cause such a disaster.

I did watch the video (and lol'ed at the fact he had to do random recaps for people not capable of understanding a few minutes of dialogue, hehe). It is interesting because I think we've seen a shift very definitely - maybe because of G4 - towards the media-centric show-core type of MLP.

Spoiler

I don't agree with him in everything - whether G4 was the best generation is obviously subjective and he's clearly a brony, so that's by the by, but I don't like his omission of G2, and I also don't like the suggestion that G4 rebooted G3 and G3 rebooted G1. In reality, they rebooted the IP but NOT the generations. I remember the concept art for rebooting G4 as the same characters, and that's totally different from what we saw with any other generational introduction. In fact, G5 is much closer as a reboot to G4 than any prior reboots have ever been to any other generation, which for me is it's biggest fundamental problem. Trying to ride G4's coattails.

BUT with the added context around the media side and Hasbro's shifting focus, you can see why it's a mess. G4's animation will probably remain cult status - like Jem - for years after the toyline is forgotten, but it's shifted what MLP was originally and what made it successful.

I'm a biased G1 person so I think that G1 is the most successful generation - largely because here we are, 20+ years after it ended and there are a ton of retro licensing products around G1 themes although by rights it should be dead and buried. That longevity is also the real heartbeat of MLP's continued existence...so maybe by shifting across to animated media, Hasbro have really stepped from a world they had control into a world they don't massively understand.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Camp Cutie Mark is exactly it. It's legit. It looks awful and disastrous for the brand. I'm hoping they saw the backlash and changes it, but it might be too late for that.

[DreamvalleyMLP]

It sounds like an unimaginative fanfic cooked up by bronies who can't let go of twilight sparkle.

[Lady Frostbite]

It sounds like an unimaginative fanfic cooked up by bronies who can't let go of twilight sparkle.

It comes across as this, but more that Hasbro can't let go of the monster hit they had and are so desperate for the same amount of mega-money they'll do anything to recapture it.

It just feels lately that, if a 'successor' in a franchise or IP doesn't reach the absolute mega-billion sales mark or become a dominant pop-culture force, companies and watchers just declare it a bomb and get rid of it. Doesn't matter to them that there is an audience happily buying things related to the product, if it's not every single speck of money, they're not happy. Nothing is allowed to grow, if any risks are taken and aren't immediately successful, the company panics and goes back to what was huge before and often they just ... re-do that version again and again. It's a horrible cycle for an IP to get into, and I can think of a fair few caught in that swirl. G4 MLP was a giga-hit and pulled in an audience outside the intended audience, and G1 has a renaissance for older adults who love buying IPs from their childhood (heck, I do it with one franchise myself!).

A lot of bronies I saw looked down on G1, and it wasn't a franchise that really depended on story; it was a sandbox sort of thing were you were given the tools and your imagination had a greater part. It was made to sell toys, and the disdain for the 'lack of story' is pretty rich coming from the fact so many other pop culture icons ALSO were made simply to sell toys with a vague story that either remains free-floating or gets one fleshed out later. For my franchise, I didn't know there was an animated series to go with it, I wasn't exposed to it, I went with backcard info and my own imagination. It doesn't help Lauren Faust also seemed to have this dismissive mindset of it being made to sell toys and all the ponies did was have tea parties and simple problems (I would question if she's forgotten that girls' imaginations can come up with the most intricate and twisted storylines with toys) and she wanted to make something 'better' and got annoyed whenever Hasbro wanted to make it marketable. Because, surprise, toy company wants toy franchise to sell toys. Shocker.

I can't name any of the G5 characters, I can name a lot of G4 but I live on the internet and it was such a dominant force. G1 I can name quite a few from being on here, it's not difficult or strange. This might need to go back to the drawing board and looking at other toys to see what's missing. LOL Surprise still isn't dead or rebooted as far as I am aware, just new 'lines' under the same umbrella, so it can be done.

(I'm not going to lie, I'm genuinely shocked that's still going. How?!)

My thoughts are messy as it's been a long day but hopefully some points come across. I'm aware parts of this are hypocritical as I'm a giant G1 Monster High person and really dislike the changes they make for G2 and G3, but it's more they step away from their target demo than anything to do with character or story, as stepping away from the core demo is what leads to a lot of story and character changing. Frankie is pretty consistent as a character in that she's enthusiastic, bright-eyed, a bit naive but always cheerful and ready to embrace others. Wither they give her her clumsy gene, give her Ghoulia's trademark smarts or give her prosthetics doesn't take away from that when done right, i.e. not giving her smarts because they deliberately cut Ghoulia out

[Taffeta]

I think the difference between G1 MH and G4 MLP is that G4 is already a reboot of a reboot of a reboot of an IP that existed way back. G1 MH is the original, and it's like book to movie adaptation.

I think there's also an issue whereby nothing much now is that original, and so moving away from a 'sure thing' like G4 is a big risk. But while bronies are the best placed to talk about the shift from G4 to G5, they're not well placed to talk about how MLP has worked overall, and yes, they do dismiss the toyline, probably because G4's toyline was more for kids or collectors and not so much the 'fandom' the bronies consider themselves.

...It doesn't help that the bronies keep telling themselves they invented the concept of a my little pony fanbase and thus are the only ones with an opinion. But that's another issue.

[lovesbabysquirmy]

Hasbro doesn't care to admit that the massive influx of money they got during G4 was from internet-absorbed adult male collectors who were expecting to be influential, playing a part in directing the merchandise, conventions, fandom, and TV show.  and that cannot co-exist with preschooler entertainment.  MLP won't reach that level of profit ever again, probably.

G1 was magic in a bottle - with so little fantasy animal toys on the market, of course Hasbro was going to be the gold standard.  And they enjoyed it for 10-15 years.  That gave other toy companies more than enough R&D time to find things that could compete with MLP. 

Today's toys have a struggle Unless there is some tech tie-in:  kids are done with toys by the time they are like, 8.  .  Most toys that are marketed to children (preschoolers) have all sorts of marketing limitations when it comes to the internet.  It's all about multichannel marketing these days.

Pokemon have video games and a CCG and a TV show.  and that is only popular among a wide audience because it's a combat game.  yes yes there is friendship and other stuff, but in the end, it's a competitive combat game. 

Hasbro is also limited by the retailers, unlike in previous years, where it was "here is what is available for order".  That's why Basic Fun didn't make the Flutters - retailers told them they were not interested in selling them.  Most of us collectors would have happily bought them but we weren't given the opportunity.   I would love to know if BF considered the Celestials a success or not, given that Amazon was the major way that they were sold. 

I really feel like I am repeating myself endlessly when the subject comes up and newbies are like, "when are we getting more?"  :/ 

[Taffeta]

I think that's a pretty good overview, tbh. I do think there's a way to tie MLP into tech while still keeping it fresh and not stagnating, but I don't think Hasbro have found that yet. And I am honestly ok with MLP not being there for a while. The bronies are all still "MLP cannot survive without us" but it has been doing just fine doing exactly that for years without them, and the real fans will stick with it.

Whether pony transitions from just a toy that our generation loved to one that becomes a historical artefact in museums in the future is unknown at this point xD.

Basic Fun sold Celestials extensively in Toymaster franchise stores here in the UK. Just they're not well distributed in all areas anymore. 5LD also had them, albeit that's also an online retailer. Though I accept that they will be mostly looking at the US sales and not their exports.

BF did mention something happening still in 2025 with retros but we'll wait and see what it is, if it happens. I think we've been spoiled so much already that I don't mind if it ends. I never thought I'd have a Medley plush <3.