Is Pony Life the result of fan pandering?

[Mana Minori]

So I see a lot of people in g4 fandom kinda hating PL...
And all I can think of is...no joke, “didn’t you guys ask for this?”

G4 fandom: ponies much cute. Even cuter if we draw them like cats! Here pony playing with yarn. Here pony in box.

Hasbro: ok. We’ll wrap up g4 and make a spinoff. Call it Pony Life. Yes. Ponies will look like cats and act like hyper cats. Much like. Yes.

G4 fandom: what this? Much hate. No. -hisssss

It really does seem to me that the writers for this spinoff made PL with the g4 fandom in mind- which explains the ponies being very cat-like, because the g4 fandom started trending it. It explains why the series was written as if watchers of it already had prior knowledge of the Pony world and characters to get a LOT of the flanderized jokes that Pony Life hits with. But the irony seems to be that while it seems (to me) that this spinoff was made as a result of the g4 fans overhyping and portraying the ponies as cats in the first place, (I have seen this being done for many years, so it is nothing new), they seem to detest it when Hasbro jumps on the bandwagon and seemingly tries to impress the fans who were all but asking for it, in the first place.

What do you guys think?

[CloudyGlow]

I strongly disagree that this was made for FiM fans. I and my fellow FiM fans never asked for cats. Some of them made cat art and jokes, but how is that actually asking for cats? We never asked for an ugly art style either. And the flanderization makes most of us unhappy. Me and a lot of other FiM fans want G5 with lore and world building.

[Mana Minori]

I strongly disagree that this was made for FiM fans. I and my fellow FiM fans never asked for cats. Some of them made cat art and jokes, but how is that actually asking for cats? We never asked for an ugly art style either. And the flanderization makes most of us unhappy. Me and a lot of other FiM fans want G5 with lore and world building.

i don’t think fans would have necessarily had to ask for someone at Hasbro to take notice of the trends- just like how fans showed that they wanted more background ponies and started naming them and popularizing them, and Hasbro took it and ran the whole nine yards with it. Fans show by their actions, and Hasbro just seems to respond with it. There has been a LOT of catering to what fans wanted in FiM, and in EG, so you can’t blame be for looking at Pony Life and seeing areas In part where one can see obvious signs of the panda.

[CloudyGlow]

No, this is nothing like background ponies. Those were actually desired. No one asked for literal catness. And nothing else about Pony Life appeals to most FiM fans. It's too TTG for most people. I don't think it's that bad but nothing like I or others want.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Nope, not in the slightest.
They don't even act like cats that much? And there's a big difference between a fan thinking it would be cute if they acted like cats and the source material being cats.
Besides, I don't think catponies were that beloved by the general fandom? I think a more accurate version of a fan-pandering show would be background ponies getting the forefront.

[Leave a Whisper]

Design-wise? Nah. More like trend pandering and extreme laziness.

Cartoon-wise-Its hard to say if its fan pandering, or copying TTG and TCR? Probably both.



Post Merge: July 12, 2020, 08:15:19 AM

Nope, not in the slightest.
They don't even act like cats that much? And there's a big difference between a fan thinking it would be cute if they acted like cats and the source material being cats.
Besides, I don't think catponies were that beloved by the general fandom? I think a more accurate version of a fan-pandering show would be background ponies getting the forefront.

Hasbro has shoved background ponies in the forefront dating all the way back to MLP n Friends. They've done the same with TF, presumably GI Joe, (I haven't watched it in ages) and JATH. That's nothing new or strictly  Hasbro.

Few companies are above promoting background or b listers if it means extra money. Take the slew of comic chars getting their own movies for example.

Like Harley Quinn was initially just a new villain in the 90s Batman cartoon. Now she's been in two movies, and has her own show.

[Safflower]

Why would Hasbro pander to a small part of an adult fandom when they make their money off of children?

[Carrehz]

I think Hasbro just looked at current trends in cartoons and based PL off that.

[Taffeta]

I think Hasbro just looked at current trends in cartoons and based PL off that.

This.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

I think Hasbro just looked at current trends in cartoons and based PL off that.

This.

Yeeeah, pretty much.
I think it's fair to say that the continued Mane 6 spam should be evidence enough that they're not pandering.

[Leave a Whisper]

Why would Hasbro pander to a small part of an adult fandom when they make their money off of children?

They've done so in the past.

[Safflower]

Why would Hasbro pander to a small part of an adult fandom when they make their money off of children?

They've done so in the past.

Yeah, I guess they have.

[Mewtwofan1]

I don’t think it’s pandering to the older fans. Last I checked, nobody really said “aww gee, wouldn’t it be nice if TTG and FIM had a brainchild together?”
I would consider it pandering if they made background ponies the mane cast.

[banditpony]

pandering to who? O_o I've hardly read any positive things about it. Is this really anything anyone has asked for or wanted? I really don't think so.
And a direct comment to OP-- I've NEVER read that anyone wanted ponies to look like cats. In fact, especially here, people have always wanted ponies to look more pony-like.

It's just a little silly gen inbetweener. *shrug* And the look is based on current trends, as others have mentioned.

[Mana Minori]

Why would Hasbro pander to a small part of an adult fandom when they make their money off of children?

because those adults are passionate and have money, and Hasbro have taken many opportunities to Panda before? In the show, in the toyline...
Why else do we have so many “fan favorite” toyline releases, with Pony, Doctor Hooves, Lyra, Bon Bon, DJ Pon3, And Octavia? And the 100th episode focused on them, Pony being shaken constantly after made memes out of by the fandom.....

Post Merge: July 12, 2020, 01:18:20 PM

I don’t think it’s pandering to the older fans. Last I checked, nobody really said “aww gee, wouldn’t it be nice if TTG and FIM had a brainchild together?”
I would consider it pandering if they made background ponies the mane cast.

the art style, I think is Hasbro’s own attempt at mimicking the CaLArts style, after seeing how stupid popular it has been in shows like TTG, AT, Gumball, Thundercats, etc. I was mainly talking about character appearance rather than animated style.