Possible G5 artstyle?

[Zapper]

So I basically warmed up to everything regarding animation but their teeth bother me to no end.
How do you get the hooves so right but the teeth so wrong. You can make an expressive toony horse without giving it a Joker smile. Just make the mouth smaller to only show the front teeth and the rest is cartoon magic. Don't model them with an internal human set of teeth. It's creepy.
Spirit Riding Free on Netflix also messed this up. For some reason the horse models had human teeth despite being regular, non-smiley horses *shudders*

As for our mutual dream of an 80s-esque, dark fantasy MLP in the vein of RaMC... Looks like it won’t be this time.

We'll just have to make it ourselves.

[Taffeta]

On the other hand I kinda them to put Sunny and Izzy together because representation is important.

TBH why do the ponies have to be dating anyway? Would be better if one of them had grown up in a same sex parent household and the ponies themselves did stuff unrelated to romance. Plenty of time for all that stuff later. Seriously don't need a MC romantic plotline in a MLP cartoon :/ Ever.

The weird thing about this is that my reaction to these is basically the same feeling I had when G2 came out. It's something I haven't felt since 1997ish, but it's that sense of...okay...they are kind of...different...but...I guess they're still ponies...so I'll see how it goes?

The bodies are a lot like G2 style even if proportions may be different in reality. It's kind of difficult though to imagine these ponies with their different style belonging to the same universe as G4. I still think linking them is an awkward mistake although you can bet there will be a G5-styled M6 release at some point, as a special selling point.

Mind you with all that said...I can feel the Tales vibe as well. Like a later version of ponyland.

[banditpony]

I don't care for cowboy pony already... but the others look fine.   The cocky, attention seeking boy with a squishy center revealed by the leading lady is just...     I hope it doesn't come to that.  I'm tired of stories where it's a woman's job to make men tolerable to be around.  It's cute once or twice but repeated it over and over again is a bad message and burden to put on little girls.

Eh.
I don't know. That's a lot to assume out of a little clip.

We could very well see a male character supporting a female and breaking down gender bias. We just don't know right now.

Also, while I'm at it. I don't see there to be a need for implied romance for this series.

[Shrojjy]

I'm hoping they are either siblings or childhood best friends that see each other as family. I do not want them to be love interests even if it turns out they are unrelated. Can we please retire the idea that boys and girls that are good friends must fall in love with each other? You never see it happening with friends of the same gender outside of fandom stuff.

On the other hand I kinda them to put Sunny and Izzy together because representation is important.

i'm thinking he's a cousin. i also think it would be weird to market around diversity and inclusion and then have sunny fall in love with another, similar-looking earth pony. i'd really prefer there to be no romance at all, but the older kid-tween crowd loves the ship stuff. it's inevitable.

i doubt there will be any explicit LGBT rep unless it's easily edited out. maybe in 10 years when G5 is ending and hasbro doesn't have to worry about international markets dropping it.   

[SunPony]

I definitely get sibling/family vibes from Sunny and Dudebro (is this what we're calling him now lol)!  Both from this clip and from the animatic that we saw some weeks back.  Kinda feels like Katara and Sokka from Avatar to me but I'm not sure why.

As for romance between ponies I agree that I'd prefer to not see it between main characters especially IF those characters are "kids" in the show.

[InkyMilk]

I agree that romance is a huge hit among the young tween crowd (and isn't the general sentiment that MLP should be catered to children?), so I wouldn't find it out of bounds if they included it. Again, as a child watching Tales, I LOVED Teddy and Sweetheart's relationship, and it never felt like it was too 'old' for me or something I wasn't mature enough for yet.  So it wouldn't surprise, or upset, me if they eventually add something along those lines again.

Edit: to add, I was around 4 when Tales first aired, and I watched the tapes my grandma recorded for me for quite a few years after.  Teddy was always a highlight because there so few boy ponies in general and I loved how he acted around Sweetheart. Even if Hitch isn't paired with Sunny (siblings/cousins/etc.), I can understand wanting to use a similar archetype and possibly pair him with a different pony in the series. It's a trope that works and I think it's evolved to the point now using it to teach about bullying as opposed to the over-simplified version of 'girl saves boy from himself'.

Edit again: And another thought, I think it also helps if they do go that 'snarky jerk' route with Hitch, is that he IS a main character. Because not all children watching are coming at it from the point of view of being bullied. There could very well be children watching who relate to that type of character because they are going through similar things themselves and are lashing out at those around them. And I think it can be really healthy for them to see a character be allowed to redeem themselves and grow past being a bully in a healthy way by talking to friends and family, instead of being viewed as a 2D villain.

[banditpony]

I'm hoping they are either siblings or childhood best friends that see each other as family. I do not want them to be love interests even if it turns out they are unrelated. Can we please retire the idea that boys and girls that are good friends must fall in love with each other? You never see it happening with friends of the same gender outside of fandom stuff.

On the other hand I kinda them to put Sunny and Izzy together because representation is important.

i'm thinking he's a cousin. i also think it would be weird to market around diversity and inclusion and then have sunny fall in love with another, similar-looking earth pony. i'd really prefer there to be no romance at all, but the older kid-tween crowd loves the ship stuff. it's inevitable.

i doubt there will be any explicit LGBT rep unless it's easily edited out. maybe in 10 years when G5 is ending and hasbro doesn't have to worry about international markets dropping it.   

Again, I really don't think romance belongs in this series. But Hasbro already is making baby steps to this. They just changed Mr Potato head into Potato head.

“Culture has evolved,” Kimberly Boyd, Hasbro’s senior vice president of global brands, told Fast Company. “Kids want to be able to represent their own experiences. The way the brand currently exists — with the ‘Mr.’ and ‘Mrs.’ — is limiting when it comes to both gender identity and family structure.”

Boyd added that Hasbro hopes the rebranding will allow for kids to make "little potato families" however they see fit.

[Leave a Whisper]

So, I showed my boyfriend, because he's kind enough to listen to me blather about my interests. His immediate response was: The mouths look funky. Now leave me alone, I'm goin to sleep.

Post Merge: February 25, 2021, 01:31:30 PM

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLuUrH1pBa8/

On the official MLP instagram, they announced that Izzy's full name is Izzy Moonbow. I HATE how they have human-style first and last names. Starscout and Moonbow on their own would have been great names.

I am now grumpy, because we still don't have a pony named Sunbow. 

Honestly, just call em Star Scout and Moonbow.

[banditpony]

So, I showed my boyfriend, because he's kind enough to listen to me blather about my interests. His immediate response was the mouths look funky. Now leave me alone, I'm goin to sleep.

Post Merge: February 25, 2021, 01:31:30 PM

He seems pretty mean.

This prompted me to ask my OH, who is insanely stressed working right now. "Aw, super fuzzy. Is that a new movie? What is it? (me : new show, FiM is dead.). "Oh, cool -- it's so cute "

[LadyAmalthea]

So, I showed my boyfriend, because he's kind enough to listen to me blather about my interests. His immediate response was the mouths look funky. Now leave me alone, I'm goin to sleep.

Post Merge: February 25, 2021, 01:31:30 PM

He seems pretty mean.

This prompted me to ask my OH, who is insanely stressed working right now. "Aw, super fuzzy. Is that a new movie? What is it? (me : new show, FiM is dead.). "Oh, cool -- it's so cute "

My husband isn't home yet, so I don't have a reaction yet (it will probably be along the lines of 'great, so I guess I have to see that playing in my house 24/7 once it comes out'), but I did show them to my son and his first reaction was wanting to know the boy ponies' names, which I obviously couldn't tell him. Then he exploded with 'I'm SO excited!!' So maybe it will appeal to its intended child audience.

[banditpony]

My husband isn't home yet, so I don't have a reaction yet (it will probably be along the lines of 'great, so I guess I have to see that playing in my house 24/7 once it comes out'), but I did show them to my son and his first reaction was wanting to know the boy ponies' names, which I obviously couldn't tell him. Then he exploded with 'I'm SO excited!!' So maybe it will appeal to its intended child audience.

Aw how cute.
i'm gonna show my daughter later but we don't really watch much tv, so I'm not sure what her reaction would be. She hasn't cared too much for the pony toys I've given her (although the other day she was playing with them)... so we'll see.

[Leave a Whisper]

So, I showed my boyfriend, because he's kind enough to listen to me blather about my interests. His immediate response was the mouths look funky. Now leave me alone, I'm goin to sleep.

Post Merge: February 25, 2021, 01:31:30 PM

He seems pretty mean.

This prompted me to ask my OH, who is insanely stressed working right now. "Aw, super fuzzy. Is that a new movie? What is it? (me : new show, FiM is dead.). "Oh, cool -- it's so cute "

My husband isn't home yet, so I don't have a reaction yet (it will probably be along the lines of 'great, so I guess I have to see that playing in my house 24/7 once it comes out'), but I did show them to my son and his first reaction was wanting to know the boy ponies' names, which I obviously couldn't tell him. Then he exploded with 'I'm SO excited!!' So maybe it will appeal to its intended child audience.

Good to know its recieving some positive attention from its target audience

Post Merge: February 25, 2021, 02:19:15 PM

ETOnline just posted a screenshot!
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

The studio has also greenlit a new animated series for Netflix, which will take place after the upcoming movie and will focus on Sunny Starscout and her friends.
In the new movie, the pony world of Equestria has lost its magic. Friendship and Harmony have been replaced by paranoia and mistrust, and Ponies now live separated by species. Sunny -- a feisty and idealistic young Earth Pony -- is convinced there’s still hope for this divided world, but her slightly misguided and often hilarious efforts to change hearts and minds have led to her being branded a misfit. When Sunny befriends a lost Unicorn named Izzy, who wanders innocently into the Earth Pony town of Maretime Bay, the town has had enough. Izzy and Sunny must embark on an epic adventure that will include a daring jewel heist, outrageous conspiracy theories, elaborate musical numbers, and the world’s cutest flying Pomeranian. Their adventures will take them to faraway lands and force them to challenge the status quo by facing their fears and making new friends out of old enemies. The world Sunny has dreamed of her entire life could finally become a reality as Sunny and her newfound friends fight to prove that even little ponies can make a big difference.

Sauce

Wow, uhm... this is way different than I expected and at the same time underwhelms me. The way everything is modeled and lit looks like your everyday CG show, for shame. Just going off this single picture it looks sadly generic.
I am also not a fan of the Kung Fu Panda approach of having the main character be a fangirl of the hero characters (of the past). It's a trope at this point. I mean, she even has the M6 brushies on her shelf and buttons of their cutiemarks on her like a girl scout.

What I do like is the info their world has no magic anymore and that the Earthling is the protagonist, proving the rumor wrong that an Earth pony won't even be in the character line-up anymore. Good.
I am so-so on the naming but hey, if this is going into a Tales direction again where characters were hilariously named "Logan Berrybush" or whatever, then I won't mind. Anything that drives away creepy men who want to make the ponies their waifus is welcome! So far this all sounds like it targets a younger audience, kind of like the first two seasons of FiM.

Looks like Nemesis and I will have to wait a few more years until we get the chance to see a dark 80s fantasy MLP again. This single screenshot just screams "TALES"!!!

But maybe there is more than meets the eye with this... heh. Maybe they're going to battle a multiheaded hydra at the end that spouts pop culture oneliners

I hope it drives away the bad fans too.

[KarentheUnicorn]

I think it's just that the head looks 'human'. It's a human face, not a horse/pony face/head.

[StarSwirl05]

Can't say I'm all that thrilled with the design of the characters.

[Leave a Whisper]

I'm getting a sibling vibe from them too.