What did you like about the MLP and Friends series?

[Elisto]

Although I probably had the toys before I saw the cartoon, I know my love of MLP came from the original series, and I know I'm not the only one who liked it!

So how about a positive topic about the cartoon? What was good about it then or what do you like about it now?

For me, of course, Midnight Castle is great, but I also really like the movie and find it to be a lot of fun, and I think the rest of the series did a lot of things fairly well, despite it's flaws. I always liked that there wasn't one main character because that's not something I've seen very often, and I thought it was handled OK. I did think most of the reoccurring characters had defined personalities that went beyond the stereotypically girly, even if they weren't quite as developed as they could have been, and I like that they're not quite stereotyped versions of their traits. I like that Firefly was tough and adventurous, but still colored pink, that Fizzy was happy and upbeat, but not ditzy and colored green instead of something more stereotypically bright and cheerful, that Wind Whister was intelligent and a little socially awkward, but not nerdy or unpopular, that Gusty and Lickety-Split could be a little sarcastic and a bit of complainers, but still liked by the others and likeable by fans.

And I like that there were more creative, fantasy-based stories with some action and adventure, which actually made sense in a world of magic, talking ponies, and not just the mindless fluff that people seem to unfortunately associate with "girl shows." (Sure, that was there too, but I don't mind ignoring those episodes, and I don't think it was quite as bad as some people make it out to be). I also do like the animation. That may just be 80s nostalgia at this point, but honestly, I never noticed most of the animation errors until I saw screenshots of them here on the Arena!

[LadyMoondancer]

I really did not see much of this series as a kid, not because I disliked it, but because it came on in an unfortunate timeslot really early in the morning.  But I still like it for its 80s-ness and for the few episodes I did see of it.

I liked its adventurousness--the villains, the dangers, the constant threats.  I remember being much impressed by the episode where the giant bees pour honey over the wings of the flutter ponies in order to trap them (part of The End of Flutter Valley . . . I think that was the only part of End of Flutter Valley that I saw as a kid).   I also was deeply impressed by the scene where the ponies are chained to sewing machines and forced to make a cloak from their own hair (The Glass Princess) . . . I used to make fake sewing machines out of cardboard to recreate this scene, except in my case Barbie was the villain.  (Fortunately I did not assume my ponies' hair would grow back if I cut it off, like it did in the show!)

I don't think I really watched consistently enough to really recognize individual characters.  I like the personalities I came up with for my ponies better than the show personalities.  But they did pretty well for the number of characters.  As an adult who watched the show later, I feel like their characterization was pretty typical for the 80s--distribute one or two main traits per character.  Some of the characters are almost identical to G.I. Joe or Transformers characters, aside from being ponies rather than humans or robots.  Which makes sense, seeing as those shows were also from Sunbow and had the same writers.   

To be honest, I would have liked to have seen more inter-protagonist conflicts, like Jem had from time to time.  The ponies a little too "rah rah, go team!" for me.  (So were the Autobots and the Joes.) 

But at least they did have little conflicts and snap at each other from time to time.  ("Let me replace these SURPRISED balloons!")  I've caught some episodes of the modern-day Strawberry Shortcake and, man . . . they come across as being so catty and passive-aggressive because they cannot directly disagree with each other, EVER.  Ditto in G3, except that was even worse because there the ponies couldn't even privately disagree with each other, they seemed to be incapable of ever being angry.  (Except for Pinkie Pie being mad at Minty for LITERALLY LESS THAN THIRTY SECONDS after she ruined Christmas.)  Characters like that just make me sad because they're so incomplete.  What kind of message is it for girls that you can't be angry, ever?  You can't ever have a bad day or be upset when a friend lets your down or have some righteous anger when something is unjust?  That's not right.  Even the Care Bears had Grumpy Bear . . .

People who say girls shows of the 80s should (re)watch the boys shows of the 80s.  They were ALL pretty cheesy.  But they were imaginative, and that is why we love them and remember them.

[RAMChYLD]

Well, I recall being repetitively frightened senseless by the series when I was younger. Like all the other "scary" shows, it sends me scurrying for the underside of the kitchen table whenever the villains appear. I'm just that kind of kid. So I'll go ahead and say I largely disliked MLP & Friends.

The only thing I remember about the show is Megan. Oh, I had a crush on Megan. That's the only saving grace of the show. Looking back, I guess I looked up to her as if she was my guardian, since she would vanquish the evil that sent me running for cover.

Aside from that, the Glo-Friends and Potato-Head kids segment clicked with me since it was slice of life and not at all scary.

I guess basically, my way of watching MLP&Friends is equivalent to how kids watched Doctor Who.

[LadyMoondancer]

It's funny how different people can watch the same show different ways . . . I couldn't stand Megan.  As far as I was concerned, humans did not belong in Ponyland!  EVER.   Especially not bossy ones who told the ponies what to do.

I think I would've been more forgiving if the plots had been "Megan is in trouble, the ponies have to help her" instead of the other way around.  I felt like she was stealing the thunder of the main cast.  It was like if the Transformers had to have Spike Witwicky swing in on a vine to save them every single episode or something.   At that point you might as well change the title from "The Transformers" to "Spike Witwicky, Superhero".

[RAMChYLD]

It's funny how different people can watch the same show different ways . . . I couldn't stand Megan.  As far as I was concerned, humans did not belong in Ponyland!  EVER.   Especially not bossy ones who told the ponies what to do.

Agreed. Then again, I like to say: Different strokes for different folks.

I guess my brain was just wired to be optimized for slice-of-life shows and to be ineffective in digesting "scary" shows (specifically, shows with shapeshifting villains) from day one.

[StarDragon]

I loved Megan in the Midnight Castle movie, but I was a more like a tomboy and I hated her outfit after that- I really like her original jeans and boots. Even as a little child, I was very much into animals, rainbows, fantasy and adventure. I saw the show in the 90's when i was 2 and have loved it since. ^^ Midnight Castle was my favorite pony everything though, lol.

Hmm let's see, my next favorites were the Mimic episodes (Golden Horseshoes), Bright Lights, Glass Princess.


I have this nagging feeling that I had a pony toy or something when I was little - I recognized them immediately when I saw pictures of G1s online, and I even have a pink baby pony toy (crib with a heart on it), though it could be from a fakie.... >.<

[kittybethy]

I loved the old show.

 It was cheesy, like most 80's cartoons, but it was nostalgic for me!

 I do like the different personalities, and the silly adventures!

 The voices were fun too!

[Elisto]

I liked Megan. I don't think she really added anything to the show by being there, but I liked her! Now when I look at it, I much prefer her original outfit, but when I was little I don't think I cared, or maybe preferred her series outfit.

And LadyMoondancer, so I'm not the only one who made Barbie the villain!

[ember86]

I used to watch the 80's show reruns back in the when Disney channel showed them and I love it! Still do! I for one like Megan though the only that bothered me about her was her lack of socks, but I'm weird like that. LOL! Love Midnight Castle of course. I also loved the songs. Mr. Moonchick's rabbit and Spike!

[RAMChYLD]

I much prefer her original outfit, but when I was little I don't think I cared

Well, when I first watched the series I didn't really cared about what she wore either. Although on one of my early attempts to revisit the series to face my fears (it was rerun a few times on Sunday mornings during my school years), I decided that I liked her frilly green overalls better. Yeah, MLP actually crossed my path a few times even before I discovered Tales.

[Sora]

I must admit... I never liked Megan. If I recall, she was the reason I was put off the show. Everytime I started to enjoy an ep, she'd walk in. I never cared for humans in any of the shows I watched (give or take a couple of villains...).

The overall show I loved. Cheesy? Maybe. But to be honest, I can still laugh/enjoy cartoons of the 80s/90s. There's only a few animations nowadays that I think are really funny. The rest are honestly just so stupid I fail to laugh (and I have a high tolerance of stupid/randomness in cartoons aimed at kids). This is of course, just my opinion.

I also do like the animation. That may just be 80s nostalgia at this point, but honestly, I never noticed most of the animation errors until I saw screenshots of them here on the Arena!

Same here! I don't care that it's not HD or flawless. It's still the best kind for me

[Bag of Magic Food]

I've caught some episodes of the modern-day Strawberry Shortcake and, man . . . they come across as being so catty and passive-aggressive because they cannot directly disagree with each other, EVER.  Ditto in G3, except that was even worse because there the ponies couldn't even privately disagree with each other, they seemed to be incapable of ever being angry.  (Except for Pinkie Pie being mad at Minty for LITERALLY LESS THAN THIRTY SECONDS after she ruined Christmas.)

That just makes me appreciate the few times the G3 ponies do snap at each other, like Scootaloo's thoughtless jealousy and sarcasm in the Twinkle Wish Adventure era, or Razzaroo getting fed up with Minty and the others all ignoring her and making giant sculptures instead of charms (shrink-ray hypothesis begins here), or a lot of little moments in The Princess Promenade like when Rainbow Dash and Sweetberry blame each other for crashing their parade floats--it makes sense, since they're both somewhat haughty ponies who like to act a lot smarter than they really are.  There was one angry review of that movie that dubbed "Duel of the Fates" over their silly argument as a joke, and so now I like to imagine that Dash and 'Berry would have whipped out the lightsabers if Wysteria hadn't intervened. 

Aside from that, the Glo-Friends and Potato-Head kids segment clicked with me since it was slice of life and not at all scary.

What did everyone think of Moondreamers?  I watched it last year when I saw someone put all 16 episodes on Youtube, and it was kinda cute and cool-looking, but the setting was so strange to me that I didn't really get into it until the series was nearly over.  That "cranky old hag" voice Tress MacNeille used made Queen Scowlene more funny than scary for me; it seemed as if they had more to fear from one of her servants going off and doing their own thing.

[RAMChYLD]

What did everyone think of Moondreamers?

That, I don't remember. Guess it wasn't shown enough on MLP&Friends.

[Al-1701]

Like the more adventure-oriented plots.  Return of Tambelon and the Magic Coins are the actual series at its best in my opinion.  I've also always been a fan of Wind Whistler and Fizzy.  It was a fun series for the most part.

And I think that's what I loved.  The sense of fun and excitement.  Every episode brought something new to the table with different characters getting the limelight and different threats arising.  You got the sense anything could happen in Ponyland.

Though, I have to admit I detested (and still do) The Glass Princess.  You should see the rant I typed up on my why I hated it so much.  I blame it for the bad rap the series gets.

[Elisto]

I only remember a little of Moondreamers since I was so young when it was on, but I know I loved it! That and MLP were really the only shows aimed at girls that I liked and watched regularly. Moondreamers seemed like a fairly unique concept and I've always been a little sad that it didn't become popular. Maybe it really was too strange (which would explain what I liked about it and why still do remember some of it).

Glo Friends I loved, but I recently watched some episodes, and my entire reaction was "Hillbilly Moles?! What?! Why are they gold-mining hillbillies?!" I used to think the villains being moles was kind of clever since moles eat bugs, but wow, I did not ever notice that when I was little. It certainly wasn't in the few books I had. For some reason, it disturbed me a little . That, and realizing for the first time one of the moles had Gusty's voice didn't help.

Potato Head Kids was probably my least favorite, although I liked it, mainly because at the time, I thought the idea of little kid versions of Mr. Potato Head was clever. I haven't seen it since it was on TV, but I don't think I'd care for it anymore. Besides, thinking about it reminds me of the Potato Head Kids schoolhouse that I got for Christmas one year that I (and my parents) have no idea what happened to it, and that makes me a little sad.