The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Mana Minori on August 18, 2018, 09:56:28 PM
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In an era of technology and everything animation produced digitally or in CGI, could Hasbro bring a sense of nostalgia and a breath of fresh air if they continued the 80's nostalgia trend from their Retro toyline and brought the concept back to their animation, by doing it with their next MLP incarnation, in a traditionally animated style?
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In an era of technology and everything animation produced digitally or in CGI, could Hasbro bring a sense of nostalgia and a breath of fresh air if they continued the 80's nostalgia trend from their Retro toyline and brought the concept back to their animation, by doing it with their next MLP incarnation, in a traditionally animated style?
I know it's not going to happen, because I know the direction everything is going in these days. But I would like to see a pony generation without any form of animated series defining it from the outset.
Maybe once the line is established, then an animated series might be worth considering. But more than the animation style, my issue with the modern approach to animation/toy relationships is that the animation is the stronger partner and defines/stifles the toy line into repetition, rather than the toy line inspiring the animation to promote a range of diverse products.
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It's too expensive.
Traditional animation costs a lot and I thinks Hasbro actually did fine with what they done (specially for the movie).
But I would not be against ponies who actually really looks like ponies, like the G1 or the G3 did.
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I like the idea and would encourage it in spades, save for one issue that I have with G1.
The main thing that stops me from really wanting it is Megan and Molly. I am not a fan of humans being in the talking pony world, and a lot of retro lovers are going to want the whole kit and caboodle of that nostalgia.
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Personally I thought the style of the 2017 movie was great. It looked like traditional 2D animation but I believe it was really 2D over a 3D frame or something like that. I couldn't tell the difference between that and real 2D, except the airships.
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Perhaps... if they didn't use vector outline! That is probably one of the most obnoxious, atrocious features of animation during the last 2 decades, IMHO.
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No. Hasbro has boiled down everyone's personality traits to barebones and given them no nuance. Would I mind some of them popping up in the next gen? Sure, that'd be great! But I mostly just want a ton of brand new characters.
For such "advanced animation techniques" animators are doing almost nothing but turning out a bunch of simplified, butt-ugly crap. Aside from a few like Voltron, Korra, Dragon Prince and Castlevania.
I don't want MLP subjected to Faust's brand of fugly anymore, or Gods forbid, Thundercat Roar's sheer awfulness.
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But I would not be against ponies who actually really looks like ponies, like the G1 or the G3 did.
Agreed. I stopped buying new MLP not long after the G4 toys came out. They were just unappealing to me for the most part.
The main thing that stops me from really wanting it is Megan and Molly. I am not a fan of humans being in the talking pony world, and a lot of retro lovers are going to want the whole kit and caboodle of that nostalgia.
I just want a retro release MIB Sundance & Megan.
I am possibly in the minority here, but for me MLP was always more about the toy product than the actual cartoon. Maybe that is part of why G4 was unappealing because I wasn't watching FIM (I did watch a little of the 1st season online when it started) and simply was looking at the toys as stand alone products in the store.
Hasbro could bring nostalgia back with a cartoon using G1 characters but in a slightly updated style while still having them resemble their former selves. They have done this with Transformers so it could be done. The question is if it would be marketable/appealing. I find that walking through the toy aisles gets very repetitive, same as watching kids cartoons. Many of the products/shows are all very similar and look the same.
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Toyjunky, you are not in the minority at all about the toys vs. show. At least not here. This is where most of us fuddy duddies who where kids during the 80’s hang out. I like the current show though it has been lack luster recently. But I still get annoyed when out in the wider web and newer fans talk about “my little pony” the brand as if the cartoon was the only thing, even when talking about past gens.
In regards to the op, hand drawn animation just isn’t profitable any more. It takes too much work and man hours. Even Disney has abandoned it. But in terms of setting/ story, I would love a more fantasy based show that ditches the more modern concepts like major cities, taxies, a fashion industry, etc.
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I am possibly in the minority here, but for me MLP was always more about the toy product than the actual cartoon.
Totally agree. That is pretty much what I was getting at with my post. The line relying on animation of any kind is a problem for me, more than the style of animation used.
I don't think that the OP literally meant repeating G1 down to the exact characters and storylines, but I also agree on the NO MORE MEGAN AND MOLLY aspect. I don't mind all the fairy fantasy type humanoids that used to show up in the comic, because most of them weren't real people...they were also mythical like mermaids and wizards and such like. But I always hated Megan. Molly wasn't sold here, thankfully, but I remember actively choosing against asking for Sundance when I discovered she came with a vapid blond doll. Megan wasn't a big deal in the comic but in the one or two episodes I saw as a kid with her in, she was a bossy nusiance. So yeah. No humans please.
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I'd prefer if future gens would keep humans 100% out of it. After a brief stint with EqG and other dolls, I just can't collect and stay interested in them. Horse fantasy world only, please!
Traditional animation is nice, but as long as the animation is pleasant to look at I'm happy.
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Weirdly I am fine with EQG. I think it's because it's a completely segregated world through the mirror...
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NO MORE MEGAN AND MOLLY aspect. . . . No humans please.
I agree. I hate the human characters, but most of all Megan. "Hello, I'm Megan, I'm in charge here." (Because??? Dude aren't you like 12. Why aren't you in school.)
But isn't this topic about animation TECHNIQUES, not retro characters? That's my understanding of it.
My guess is that the next MLP animation will come from Boulder Animation, as I've heard Hasbro has some kind of deal with them. They're an Irish company, and I will admit that does make me more comfortable than a "send everything to Korea to be animated" (like Sunbow), which has an unsavory sweatshop feel to it. Drawing every cel by hand sounds like a brutal slog for the people actually doing the work.
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I did LOVES the actual animation show, but the toys are like meh. We sure don't have the quality it used to be, as the ponies I collect are only the main character for the show/fandom, but really accessories and playset are cheap and without charm.
The real balance would be: such a quality animation and story, with new characters, looking more like ponies and a huge improvement on the toys quality (it's still possible, they should just match sylvanian standard).
But such a perfect world sure is not going to happend :blush:
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I am possibly in the minority here, but for me MLP was always more about the toy product than the actual cartoon. Maybe that is part of why G4 was unappealing because I wasn't watching FIM (I did watch a little of the 1st season online when it started) and simply was looking at the toys as stand alone products in the store.
I agree totally, maybe because we only had two channels of tv in the swedish countryside when I grew up, so I didn´t get to watch any mlp cartoons until MLP Tales came, and then I was already a teenager.
And I also think human characters have no business in the pony world.
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Meh.
To be honest, the original animated TV show wasn't high quality. So why bring a more than ever expensive lower quality medium back?
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I would love to see a new traditionally animated pony cartoon, preferably a G1 reboot. But that's just wishful thinking. :(
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I'm a Luddite when it comes to animation, sadly it seems 2D is largely dead. Only thing that would come close is the Tangled show and of course the newest MLP movie.
Yes, it might be a great boost for the brand. However only if it stayed away from the G4 art style. Keep it distinct or it would feel like a retread.
Will it happen? Nope too costly and too much of a gamble.
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I would like to see the original ponies make an appearance, even if they were just featured as a separate part of Equestria, or whatever they decide to call the new land.
All those throwing shade at Megan and Molly, I think the reason they put humans in the show was to make kids feel like they were a part of Ponyland. Like it was a magical place you could visit. But I agree with some of that thinking.
I can't stand the equestria girls though. Just weird. Like Hasbro was trying to get an edge on the Monster High dolls or something?
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Megan actually is a background character / easter egg in Equestria Girls. :P I don't like EQG either (I don't get what's appealing about ponies going to high school OR being, essentially, humans), but if Megan had to show up somewhere that seems like the perfect place.
I think showing G1 ponies in MLP FIM could be interesting, but I'd rather they be ponies who never got any screentime in G1. No to Wind Whistler, yes to Night Glider. No to Firefly, yes to Sugarberry. The ponies who were in the specials, MLP & Friends, and MLP Tales already had their day in the sun.
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I'm a Luddite when it comes to animation, sadly it seems 2D is largely dead. Only thing that would come close is the Tangled show and of course the newest MLP movie.
Yes, it might be a great boost for the brand. However only if it stayed away from the G4 art style. Keep it distinct or it would feel like a retread.
Will it happen? Nope too costly and too much of a gamble.
What's a Luddite?
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I'm a Luddite when it comes to animation, sadly it seems 2D is largely dead. Only thing that would come close is the Tangled show and of course the newest MLP movie.
Yes, it might be a great boost for the brand. However only if it stayed away from the G4 art style. Keep it distinct or it would feel like a retread.
Will it happen? Nope too costly and too much of a gamble.
What's a Luddite?
Luddite is derived from "Luddites" in the 1800's. The Luddites were a radical group comprised of weavers and textile workers that objected to the use of mechanical devices- they felt machinery were threatening their job security. Nowadays, the moniker has been used to describe someone with a basic prejudice against machinery, technological advances and/or automation, but it may be for different reasons aside from the human element being replaced by automatons.
Ha! After looking it up (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite), the history is rather fascinating.
Though, I hope that cell animation is a craft that can make a comeback aside from Disney reviving it for a selling point for their films.