New G4 Mini Plushies of Twilight, PP, and RD at Target- Pics!

[Bergamot]

I have several theories on the "Y U NOT PRETTY, HASBRO PLUSH!?" discussion.

The gorgeous fan-made plush that have spoiled us so much would not be well produced on a factory line. I think the whole "fan plush are better, why don't you make plush like that?" sentiment is like saying, "Why doesn't Buick make custom Hot Rods (and sell them at a stock sedan price point)?"

Were such plush produced, the amount of attention they'd be given would entail Steiff-like pricing, and they would end up being a small-run product with a relatively small return for the parent company, I figure. It would put them in direct competition with a custom market that they are unable to undercut, and it probably wouldn't work out for anybody involved.

Interestingly enough, these toys are not manufactured by Hasbro. They're licensed to a company called "Funrise." Like Hathorcat said, these girls aren't made for an audience that demands screen accuracy. Little girls will buy them... And so will adults, for the novelty of it. If you pick one of these toys up, you'll see that the patterning is actually pretty well done, especially for the body! Their faces aren't perfect, but they're hardly uncanny valley material. The hair choice is... interpretive, I guess, but so is the hair that we see on brushable toys.

At the end of the day, I'm glad that these were manufactured, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next. Maybe I'll be proven wrong and we'll be given some super-screen-accurate and official plush toys in the future!

[Fräulein_Kim]

I have to be perfectly honest.. I don't like them. :7
I even liked the 2 TRU plushes better than these... :<

Bergamot: While I think it is true that they could never reach a custom-plush level w/o being as expensive as Steiff etc. Disney generally does pretty decent plushes at an acceptable price, so I don't see why hasbro couldn't do at least a liiiiiittle bit better than this. Heck, even the dreaded Filly Ponies have plush that appear to be better done.

[josiekat]

Meh. They are cute, but I will pass on them.

[Bag of Magic Food]

I think that Rainbow Dash looks the cutest, with those little wings!

[ChenilleTwist]

I am inclined to disagree that this quality has anything at all to do with ease of mass-production, because I have a fantastic Zorua mini-plush (from Pokemon) right here that looks spot-on to his animated counterpart.

Many Pokemon are way more complex in design than the ponies, yet the company Jakks Pacific managed to produce enough complicated, quality plush (with variety no less) for the mass market and keep the price reasonable. It was originally $8 at TRU, yes, but judging by the way the boxes were picked over, people were willing to spend that amount on Zoruas, Tepigs and Snivys, but just not on Wubats and Munnas (Can't blame them there! ). These weren't looked over because they were poorly made, but because they're lame Pokemon!

Hasbro/Funrise could have done much better, and would not have had the same problem Game Freak/Jakks Pacific has with their plushes (shelf warmers) because not only does every pony use the same body pattern, but the mane 6 are generally equally liked anyway. Bottom line is they just didn't care.

It's perfectly fine to like (or even love!) a product for what it is and despite its flaws, but we shouldn't make excuses for Hasbro when they decide to put out a rather flawed product, either. It lets them know we're wiling to be taken advantage of by them and we'll justify it with reasons/limitations that don't seem to apply to other toy companies. I'm just not willing to give Hasbro a pass because I like other things they make, they've really let QC slide on this new gen and they continue to do so. With the money they've saved on no longer giving bangs to ponies, cheaping out on the tails, letting them roll in the dirt before being packaged and printing the Cutie mark on one side, I expect plushes at LEAST on the same level as the Adventure Time plushes!

I have seen hair done much better on cheap anime plushes with much more complicated hair, which would have been even easier than what they chose to do and would have looked less like wet sheepdog hair.

They could get away with this strip hair in previous gens because the hair really was all the same, but the hair on these new 'toon ponies are an integral part of their character designs (and their personality), so this is why a lot of new fans get riled over Hasbro actively ignoring this factor. It's the equivalent of forgetting a character's glasses or giving them the wrong eyes just because it was cheaper that way. 

But I will agree, MUCH better than the last round!

[hathorcat]

I have to be perfectly honest.. I don't like them. :7
I even liked the 2 TRU plushes better than these... :<

Bergamot: While I think it is true that they could never reach a custom-plush level w/o being as expensive as Steiff etc. Disney generally does pretty decent plushes at an acceptable price, so I don't see why hasbro couldn't do at least a liiiiiittle bit better than this. Heck, even the dreaded Filly Ponies have plush that appear to be better done.

Yes but Disney plush are largely more expensive at this scale of item. If I ever found a nicely made Disney plush for $5 I would grab it

Dont get me wrong I am not a huge fan of these - I just think for the target market and the price point they are perfectly fine but hey we each need our own opinions! 

[Fräulein_Kim]

Oh, over here they aren't much more expensive than the Pokemon Plush that ChenilleTwist mentioned (very good example, btw! Those are nicely done as well!), and the Filly Pony plush are even cheaper than anything MLP.
And I have to stress that even those Fillies look better, since the mane and tail are executed in a way similar to the MLP custom plushes. And I hate Filly.
Might be that germany has overpriced MLP merch, tho. :<

BTW, this is a mini Filly-Plush that retails €4.99 in stores (so same price range and size I suppose?)
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And the TRU plushes at 20-25$ for example, I own them and love them, and the eyes were VERY nicely done! - But the mane and tail... just why? :<

[hathorcat]

Seriously jealous of your reasonably priced Disney toys

I wonder if its just me then because I am not understanding what the quality issue is with them then? Is it because they dont resemble the toy line enough or the brushables enough or just their general appearance?

[windsong]

So cute! Need to plan a shopping trip soon. Thanks for sharing!

[StarlightGaze]

http://www.facebook.com/FunriseToys/posts/508434219170825

They're gonna add 5" Fluttershy, 10" Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight. Also 20" Pinkie Pie from Argos Ltd. THAT'S A BIG PONY. Not sure if that's the arcade pony or not.

[Bergamot]

Jakks does make some great plush with the Pokemon line, but as far as I'm concerned, the level of "derp" with these pony plush is, at worst, on par with the Glaceon and Leafeon plush in that line. They looked pretty good, buuuuut... There's something about them.

Shape-wise, these Pony plush are great. Just try to look past that hair, and you'll see a pretty darn nice piece for five bucks.

Disney's plush tend to look pretty good, but I think that for plush toys at a similar price point, we are more forgiving with them in general for reasons that I can't entirely explain. Consider these two situations:

Beanie Baby-style Simba plush. Disney has made them, and everybody was thrilled to have them and buy them. "Yay! It's Simba!"

Beanie-style Ponies. Nobody would buy them, everybody would be mad that they didn't look exactly like the ponies on the show. "Ew! How could you do that!?" (I admit that I probably wouldn't buy one!)

It would be really neat if we knew somebody at Hasbro and could pick their brains about stuff like this, because I am quite interested in learning more about how the industry works and why things are the way they are.

[dxgirly]

Awww man. I want the 20" pony!! I guess I'll have to settle for the 10" ones from Walmart. haha

[hathorcat]

20inch Pinkie in Argos! Me sees some trips to my local Argos stores - considering their on going "lack of pony" I have been impressed with some of the exclusive items they have been carrying recently.

[RAMChYLD]

I didn't see any when I went there today, but my Mom is not letting me buy toys after an incident with the Tamagotchi Melody Charm, because it played a "baby song".

Personally tho, I'm not concerned if a toy play "baby songs". Then again, I'm desensitized against them too, since outside of MLP, I also collect Leapfrog and VTech toys as well as wind-up and pull-string musical toys, most of them made for soothing babies.

They're licensed to a company called "Funrise." Like Hathorcat said, these girls aren't made for an audience that demands screen accuracy. Little girls will buy them... And so will adults, for the novelty of it. If you pick one of these toys up, you'll see that the patterning is actually pretty well done, especially for the body! Their faces aren't perfect, but they're hardly uncanny valley material. The hair choice is... interpretive, I guess, but so is the hair that we see on brushable toys.

At the end of the day, I'm glad that these were manufactured, and I can't wait to see what they come up with next. Maybe I'll be proven wrong and we'll be given some super-screen-accurate and official plush toys in the future!

Agreed. And also, the Animated Storyteller Cadence is by a company called Kid Designs.

And I don't understand the thing about toy accuracy either. I just wish those group of people would stop complaining about them. Accuracy would mean sacrificing durability in many cases (as well as warranting price increase), and well, last thing you want is a child accidentally ripping an uber-expensive toy apart due to rough play.

To be honest tho, i don't think these will turn up anywhere outside of Target, or outside the US for that matter (except for the Argos one, which will turn up probably only in the UK). Malaysia has never seen any MLP plushes outside of 25th Anniversary Jumbo (24") Pinkie Pie.

[FlitterRose]

They seem cute,but I'm not sure I like their haor material