As the original creator of the G5 speculation thread (honestly, I have no idea how it spiralled into the beautiful insanity that it did, but 'twas definitely for the better), I feel the need to step in here and give my own hopes for G5:

- An entire set of potato ponies. Hasbro did good by giving us one, but it's not enough. An opportunity the size of a 3,000,000-piece alicorn is being missed here. Hasbro could issue a special collector set of the famous and beloved Potater Six (Potato Pie, Rootvegetable Dash, Tubershy, Taterjack, Potarity and Twilight Starchle) and they'd literally be printing money (with bonus collector tear vial for teaching little girls the value of watering their beloved toys). But why stop there? It isn't enough. There will never be enough potato ponies. Because potatoes.
- Larger pony eyes. We don't want to visually impair the poor equines by asking for smaller eye sizes, now do we? Remember, "open up your eyeeeeesss..."
- Longer pony names. Teaching kids the value of quality vocabulary is important. How will a pony named 'Fizzy' or some other stuff like that compare to the loquaciously resplendently descriptive name that is Princess Sparkle Sweetie Apple Cutie Dazzle Glitterbelle Sprinkles?
- Even more limited distribution. People really should get off their flanks and pursue that collecting passion of theirs. Damn, I've always wanted to visit Outer Mongolia on camelback anyway.
- Every pony is a princess. Because everyone is special. Eveeeeryone...
- Every single pony should be sold with major imperfections (heads may not be included - good luck finding the special 1-head extension pack at select bargain stores in western Siberia for $145!) at the price of $50 apiece to remind little girls of the important message that life isn't perfect, they should learn to deal with it anyway. Like a princess.
- Wider variety of profession playsets. What four-year-old kid doesn't want a nice Builder Applejack? Princess power drill included may not be safe for children under 21 years.
- Smaller ponies. Teaching kids to embrace the wonders of microscopes and science is a beautiful thing.
- More pink. More pink is more pink. Pink is more, thus more is pink. It's a symbiotic staple of the universe as we know it.
Of course, this will all come crashing down on the Doomsday of 2026, when Minty shall have her revenge, and hereafter all ponies shall be mint green and all shall come with socks and a new golden green age will descend upon the earth, causing a flourish of fluffy sock-adorned unicorns to descend from the sky dancing upon green rainbows and joyously singing the musical numbers from A Very Minty Christmas on repeat.

Quote from: Dragonflitter on January 02, 2018, 12:06:43 PM

The thing about a show that is seven seasons long, is that you're going to be able to find plenty of examples that support a sweeping generalization like this, but also that there's plenty of examples that prove the opposite, if you bother to look. For example, did you forget about the episode where Twilight sent Starlight out to make her own friend and she makes friends with Trixie, whom Twilight doesn't like (and the feeling is mutual?). The entire point of that episode is that your friends are sometimes going to be friends with people who you don't like, and that you have to accept that. That's just as nuanced as the lesson you cited in the Tales ep.

I totally agree, i'd say it does it even better because Teddy is not here (seriously, Tales trying to redeem him while showing him only being a total jerk just because he has a teddy bear is on par with FiM's tendancy to reform every bad guy.It bothers me even more tbh).The message is good in both episodes, but the context makes it work better for me in FiM

It wasn't only the teddy bear though. 'Stand By Me' depicts Teddy as being rude/selfish, but also depicts him as still bearing some form of morality (he does wrong but visibly repents it afterwards) and legitimately caring for Sweetheart (although Tales did fumble with Teddy in other episodes, most notably 'Blue Ribbon Blues').

As for the comparison between 'Happy Birthday Sweetheart' and 'No Second Prances', I feel both are on about an equal level. HBS is much more grounded and earnest about its message, and I appreciate that (not to mention that, as Al said, the episode had the benefit of numerous past episodes establishing the conflict between Teddy and the Tales girls), but it also treats Teddy as a Karma Houdini and simultaneously expects us to sympathize with him despite his despicable actions within the episode not providing the audience with enough reason/proof to sympathize with him or understand why exactly Sweetheart cares about him, which confused the episode thematically. 'No Second Prances' was technically better (as in the message and plot were more solid and Trixie was depicted more effectively as a flawed but sympathetic character given more chemistry with Starlight Glimmer than with Teddy/his actions/interactions with Sweetheart in HBS, but that could more likely be chalked up to episode runtime differences), but it felt way too over-the-top, which handicapped the message in a different way (not to mention Twilight experiencing character regression to shoehorn conflict into the episode and some out-of-place wacky dialogue which jarred with the melodramatic climax). Cutting aside my long-standing Tales subjectivity (HBS is actually one of the show's weaker episodes), both sides definitely have a point. 

Interestingly, Taffeta has actually brought up a great point in regards to FiM 'trying too hard to be funny'. It seems to be more frequent in recent seasons, where an episode that initially pushes itself as comedic will suddenly turn around and deliver an over-the-top dramatic climax which ultimately undercuts both the tone and the moral. Earlier seasons were technically guilty of this to an extent as well (particularly the first half of season 1, when the show was still attempting to discover its footing), but the comedy was typically less forced and more consistent with the episode's tone - it was better integrated and less 'abrasive' essentially.

Also, what is it with the continuing insistence of the FiM writers on shoving more new characters into episodes for the sake of preventing the main cast from becoming moral amnesiacs? It tends to slice apart an episode's focus as it alternates between focus on newer/older characters, leading to both sects being stunted growth-wise. It feels more akin to a desperate attempt to continue the show and avoid considering how the main cast should move forward instead of a creative decision they legitimately desired to explore in earnest, and it cheapens the tone of seasons 6-7 to a surprising extent.

Quote from: Deep Purple Crystal on December 29, 2017, 03:55:34 AM

It seems that Lancer (or skylark) has finally decided to narrate her complete set of comics. 

I only watched a little bit but it amused me that it's done in the style of a G1 UK story cassette tape, with the UK 'my little pony' theme thing at the start. I am so brainwashed to the song tape, it makes me automatically expect to hear, "My little ponies live at the edge of the rainbow forest. Theirs is a magical world, where everyday brings a new adventure..." but all of the spoken word/listen and read type cassettes would have that at the start and then the title of the story, just like those videos. It's weirdly nostalgic

Kudos to her, especially if she manages to get the whole lot done. While part of me thinks that the comics are there to be read and not listened to, I like the way she's trying to make it like Hasbro did the pony tapes for the UK, and that it's a way for people who can't get the comics to access the material.

Her Lickety-Split voice really does near-identical to the UK song tape. The pitch and vocal inflections (I kept expecting her to say "Mmm... reminds me of raspberry ripple!") are spot-on.

In general, the readings feel surprisingly authentic to the soft-spoken but distinctly 'magical' and bright-eyed narration of the UK audio material. I was expecting the first story to open with the full song tape theme (although its extreme catchiness makes me debate that), but it was a pleasant surprise. I wonder if she'll eventually reach the Tales issues.

I have a few photographs (not scans unfortunately, although I'm open to scanning any requested issues now that I finally have access to a scanner) of my collection (including a few of the later elusive MLP Tales issues) back in 2013:
https://everythingdreamer.wordpress.com/my-little-pony-g1-comics/g1-comic-photos/#comment-87

Not at the resolution of LM or Taffeta's unfortunately, but I hope this helps.

Something about the movie awakens a weird fascination in me. I guess it's simply the idea that the Mane Six (Mane Six? Who are these Mane Six? We Arenagoers know only of Starlight Glimmer!) basically spend the entire film not interacting with ponies. It adds a new, fresh tone that we have rarely seen before in the franchise - that of a vast world of various fantasy creatures beyond the ponies' dwellings (the G1 comics did hint at this, but never got to go that in-depth on it. They're still awesome, all the same). I also have great affections for the animation style (particularly the Sonic Rainboom seen in two of the released trailers) - if I feel the need to see the film in theaters, I'll do it if it means reviving animation in this form.

Oh, and Capper is such a weird addition to an MLP film that I find him awesome for some reason. Which leads me into my next point:

Quote from: Goanna on September 13, 2017, 02:49:31 AM

I just watched the second trailer and I'm hyped, so I'm glad there's a new thread for discussion !
It was cool to hear Capper speak in the second trailer
Also, I'm really digging the animation style. The ponies look so fluid when they move!

Cappers voice felt really out of place to me, like it was just a little too deep to fit his character? I'm sure I'll feel different in the film but it threw me off
Capper's voice really does sound weird. I guess that's the way we're getting it though, although the surreal concept of Capper is still admirable.

I wonder if the collector you talked to at the convention was Wildshadow?  I think she collects MLP & Friends related production stuff. 

I was wondering that as well - considering Wildshadow's extensive range of production material (man, am I jealous of that Sunbow writer's guide!) and even-more extensive G1 comic collection (Man, am I jealous of... never mind, just tell me what numbers you received. Shrewd, I know, but I have an automatic urge to ask about such matters after so many years of G1 comic collecting).

Interesting information about the production numbers. Considering how the original MLP n' Friends ending credits were pretty much chopped out of the episodes for syndication, this may clear up some ambiguity (I always have to wonder if 'Fugitive Flowers' was written earlier than some of the episodes it aired after - having read the Sunbow writing guide and with the episode being written by the show's head writers, I always consider it as having been their 'example script' of the content they were asking for in the guide ('light', 'whimsical' 'Disneyesque' and 'non-condescending' emerge to mind here).

Yes! Now THIS is what I need! At someone only 18 issues away from completing the MLP set and 21 from the MLP and Friends set, I would need:
MLP issues: 156, 158, 159, 167, 183, 193, 195, 210 (are these still available? Verification?)
MLP and Friends issues: 27, 28, 29, 35, 36, 49, 50
Thanks for the potential help.