Equestria Girls

[hathorcat]

I cant say I am surprised. I thought the images were real and the fact that this is now being confirmed 4 months ahead of when Hasbro had initially planned it is a very good indication that the previous leak was concept artwork. It was always odd that if it hadnt been real or very close to accurate that Hasbro had not come out and denied them.

It also makes sense for them to go after this market - MH is a massive success and Hasbro dont have anything to compete with Mattel in that market at the moment. So why not take the incredible popular success that FiM has unexpectedly become and package it to the teen market who already think MLP is "cool", who may be buying MLP merch but not the "kiddie" toys which are currently available, who are already picking up MH dolls in stores - and make a product which suits them.

All that being said, they are not my cup of tea. If I wanted to collect dolls, I wouldnt be on the MLP Arena and I would have a room filled with pullips or MH and not ponies. I think thats why people are upset and I understand that stand point. However, as long as its a separate entity and it doesnt affect the pony toy line I'll be fine with that. But for me there is the worry that if ponies are not doing great in their target market that Hasbro will consider keeping ponies to blind bags and upping attention to toys for this new line. Thats wild speculation of course but the general lack of attention on new characters for the last year has been very disappointing.

I do also truly hope this is not all we are getting for the 30th Anniversary. I think that would be a bit of a slap in the face...I mean I cant imagine Hasbro trying that with another line. "Hey its Transformers 30th Anniversary...lets stop making them robots and turn them all into talking plants"
 
I guess we will have to see...its going to be interesting times

[Flutterwonder13]

Hasbro. Wat r u doing. Hasbro. STAHP.

[Moonracer]

I don't get what the fuss is all about...

These designs aren't really THAT terrible, actually they look kind of cute. Enough with the overreacting, mmmkay?

Though on the second thought, I can guess why people are so upset over this: first off it looks like a desperate move on Hasbro's part to attempt to cash in on the ongoing Monster High trend. Which is really cheap, and unoriginal. Secondly, the designers aren't being really consistent: why do RD and Fluttershy get to keep their wings, but Twilight and Rarity can't have their horns?

Thirdly, I think the designers went a little lazy with the designs: personally I'd like to see them have more varied body types rather than all of them sporting this skinny physique, and also some natural skin tones, rather than them having their original shade. Mostly because I really want to see all those annoying racist idiots who keep asking "why is Twilight Sparkle black?" finally shut up, but also because I like seeing characters that are more diverse. 

So, bottom line: the Equestria Girls designes aren't THAT terrible, but they aren't perfect either. Maybe if they had Lauren Faust as their creative consultant, this would've worked out better... And no, I'm not saying this because I think Lauren Faust is some sort of living goddess among men and that every word coming from her is absolute. I'm saying this because I think that with her creative ability she'd be able to come up with much better and more diverse designs for Mane 6's human counterparts.

Case in point: just look at what she did to the trio of Super Girl, Batgirl and Wonder girl in Super Best Friends Forever. Those have to be some of the best designs I've seen of these three, in years! Super Girl actually looks like an actual human being, rather than a walking realdoll with big boobs and borken anatomy, as seen in most of DC's comics in which she appears.

I'm pretty sure that with Faust's influence, this whole thing would've worked out much, much, MUCH better.

[Ice Crystal]

If they can pull it off, this is a really smart move imo.

Fashion dolls are a market in which Hasbro currently has nothing to offer. They have nothing to compete with the likes of Monster High and Bratz, the former of which is doing pretty well in a world where toys are rapidly losing the fight against video games and electronics. Not only that, but they are geared towards a slightly older target. Little girls who fell in love with these six characters have a higher chance of staying loyal to the brand as they move from brushable ponies to collectible dolls. They won't have to lose these friends they have come to know, just see them in a new way--and, at that age, a way they will be able to relate to more--and Hasbro can keep their business for a few more years.

I think as collectors we tend to forget that their main line isn't exactly for us. If little girls enjoy Equestria Girls then Hasbro has succeeded and well, to be honest, I doubt they really care how we feel about it. Hasbro may have something else in store for collectors to celebrate their 30 year anniversary so I wouldn't rule it out.

Personally, I'm eager to see how this all plays out. I'm more interested in seeing the dolls than the show. I think the designs look much better with ears and wing. Agree it's odd that they left out the horns, but I'm hoping the unicorns have some other unique factor we just can't see. If they don't then yeah, I agree that's very inconsistent. Someone on another thread pointed out that their "tails" are actually long ponytails, which I think is pretty clever.

Overall, they're not perfect, but eh. They're trying.

[Flutterwonder13]

I'm pretty sure that with Faust's influence, this whole thing would've worked out much, much, MUCH better.

I'm pretty sure if Lauren had a say, this trainwreck would have never made it off the drawing board.

[Moonracer]

If they can pull it off, this is a really smart move imo.

Fashion dolls are a market in which Hasbro currently has nothing to offer. They have nothing to compete with the likes of Monster High and Bratz, the former of which is doing pretty well in a world where toys are rapidly losing the fight against video games and electronics. Not only that, but they are geared towards a slightly older target. Little girls who fell in love with these six characters have a higher chance of staying loyal to the brand as they move from brushable ponies to collectible dolls. They won't have to lose these friends they have come to know, just see them in a new way--and, at that age, a way they will be able to relate to more--and Hasbro can keep their business for a few more years.
 

Well, Hasbro could always try rebooting "Jem", and give it a slight makeover to make it more modern. Hasbro still has rights to "Jem", right? If so, I don't see why they shouldn't give it a try - Transformers, G.I. Joe and MLP are a great proof that you can take a franchise that's almost thirty years old and still make it popular. So what's stopping them from doing just that with "Jem"? It would work out better than Equestria Girls.

But, whatever...

[Zapper]

I'm pretty sure that with Faust's influence, this whole thing would've worked out much, much, MUCH better.

I'm pretty sure if Lauren had a say, this trainwreck would have never made it off the drawing board.

Nothing personal, you guys, but this Faust worship needs to stop. This brand is owned by Hasbro and Hasbro decides what happens to the brand. Faust successfully revamped what has already been there to begin with, she didn't come up with the idea of MLP on her own and then got ripped off by Hasbro. Also, she left on her own, she wasn't kicked out or anything.

Why not just wait and see what this new franchise will be abaout instead of declaring it a massive fail just because it was obviously designed to compete with other toy company's material.
Why do you think Hasbro keeps on re-inventing MLP instead of letting it die off? To make money. Pushing the brand into a new territory was inevitable.
When the first designs of FiM were shown, people hated it. It looked too reminiscent of 3.5 and it focused once again on a core cast, which led people to believe that there were going to be no collectible characters aside from the Cores. And now look at you and how you love that franchise

Okay now, I like that they kept their original colors and ears. The ideas with the "pony hoof" boots and the ponytails that mimic a mane + tail are cool. I also don't get why the unicorn/alicorn don't have their horns, but wings seem to be okay? That looks really inconsistent character design-wise :/
I'm also not sold on the outfits. They all have this boring skirt+shirt combo. Even Rainbow Dash has this really odd-looking skirt with some sporty leggins underneath, what the-?
And Rarity, the fashion designer, sports the same style as Applejack, the farm girl. L A M E

I hope these aren't the final designs and they will at least add the horns.
But I'm also hoping they're going to be dolls of high quality! I can always change the outfit, so that's not that of a biggy to me.

PS: Femmephobia is disgusting. Just because this will be most likely set in a school doesn't mean that it is going to be only about "omg drama drama, I like a boy, I am too fat" subjects.
Relax, give it a chance. If it turns out to be sucky you still have enough time to hate on it *fg*

[Malicieuse]

If they can pull it off, this is a really smart move imo.

Fashion dolls are a market in which Hasbro currently has nothing to offer. They have nothing to compete with the likes of Monster High and Bratz, the former of which is doing pretty well in a world where toys are rapidly losing the fight against video games and electronics. Not only that, but they are geared towards a slightly older target. Little girls who fell in love with these six characters have a higher chance of staying loyal to the brand as they move from brushable ponies to collectible dolls. They won't have to lose these friends they have come to know, just see them in a new way--and, at that age, a way they will be able to relate to more--and Hasbro can keep their business for a few more years.
 

Well, Hasbro could always try rebooting "Jem", and give it a slight makeover to make it more modern. Hasbro still has rights to "Jem", right? If so, I don't see why they shouldn't give it a try - Transformers, G.I. Joe and MLP are a great proof that you can take a franchise that's almost thirty years old and still make it popular. So what's stopping them from doing just that with "Jem"? It would work out better than Equestria Girls.

But, whatever...

Because FiM is "in" and already has a strong fanbase with the younger/teenage crowd. I don't think Gem has that. (I never watched Gem myself but...isn't it like very, very eighties?)

[Ice Crystal]

If they can pull it off, this is a really smart move imo.

Fashion dolls are a market in which Hasbro currently has nothing to offer. They have nothing to compete with the likes of Monster High and Bratz, the former of which is doing pretty well in a world where toys are rapidly losing the fight against video games and electronics. Not only that, but they are geared towards a slightly older target. Little girls who fell in love with these six characters have a higher chance of staying loyal to the brand as they move from brushable ponies to collectible dolls. They won't have to lose these friends they have come to know, just see them in a new way--and, at that age, a way they will be able to relate to more--and Hasbro can keep their business for a few more years.
 

Well, Hasbro could always try rebooting "Jem", and give it a slight makeover to make it more modern. Hasbro still has rights to "Jem", right? If so, I don't see why they shouldn't give it a try - Transformers, G.I. Joe and MLP are a great proof that you can take a franchise that's almost thirty years old and still make it popular. So what's stopping them from doing just that with "Jem"? It would work out better than Equestria Girls.

But, whatever...

I don't know. They probably want to stick with something familiar. MLP is one of the few products they have that is still doing well. I think in Hasbro's opinion, rebooting something they don't already know kids like would be a lot riskier. Though, there may be a chance for Jem if Equestria Girls does well and Hasbro wants another doll line to compete with the others on the market.

[PinkRosedust]

I personally think the faces look bad, not to mention the rest of the design that everyone else has already complained about.

I just can't fathom why Hasbro is doing this. They could have made a completely different line of toys if they wanted to compete with MH. They don't have to ruin My Little PONIES by making them human. Excuse me for judging a book by it's cover, but I'm barely interested in giving this a chance.

There's still a sliver of hope that this isn't true, right?

[Cherry_Sunset]

All I'll say on this is that I'm going to give it a chance, but the designs look painfully boring and generic pretty anime-girl looking to me. Just looking at Applejack, I cannot imagine her voice on that character design, it just doesn't say "Applejack" to me. I hope they make some adjustments to these character designs before they decide to do anything with them.

[KarentheUnicorn]

A lot of us have complained about the quality of the G4 pony line, etc. Quality in the toy, variety in the actual ponies. Not talking blind bags here but heck even blind bags are kinda un-varied if you ask me and some of them the quality is not so good.

So is there anything to suggest this 'doll' line is going to be better than the actual pony toys? If it's mediocre then it's just diluting the brand into something completely different. I think that is where people are worried, as to how much they're going to focus on dolls vs. ponies.

Then the discussion might be if it's BETTER than the ponies then we're loosing the ponies to focus on a doll line?

I have nothing against dolls I collect dolls but I'm not buying dolls just because they have an association with MLP.

Hasbro has tried in the past to compete with Mattel - I've seen Jem brought up but in my opinion as a toy I was never very impressed with the Jem dolls; and nobody seems to remember Maxie - a short run doll line hasbro made to go along with Guess what...a cartoon. Not unlike Jem, they both had short runs as toys or at least short runs in comparison to brands like Barbie or MLP.

I think the concerns and fears people have about this are valid and voicing them doesn't really hurt anything. It's really just something to think about.

If Hasbro turns it's focus to dolls where does that leave ponies? Not saying they can't do both and more power to them if these toys will be awesome and something I want. I will not hesitate to buy them if they're good quality dolls but I've seen some of Hasbros dolls from the past. Frankly speaking they tend to be hit or miss when it comes to dolls and I just worry as to if it's done badly it's just gonna take away from MLP.

[Catlein]

All I'll say on this is that I'm going to give it a chance, but the designs look painfully boring and generic pretty anime-girl looking to me. Just looking at Applejack, I cannot imagine her voice on that character design, it just doesn't say "Applejack" to me. I hope they make some adjustments to these character designs before they decide to do anything with them.

Hmm... I wonder if the VAs from FiM are doing this show as well. And just how separated it will be as a spin-off. Also, if the movie that supposedly cut season 3 short ends up being about this, I am going to be full of sad... D:

Also, I personally don't like the style of the designs which says nothing about them objectively, but the designers also really failed to implement the personality of the characters into the designs. You can't just use colours and cutie mark tattoos to get across the idea that this is X character. For example, Rarity has the plainest outfit of them all, yet she's the fashionista. They couldn't jazz her up a bit with a scarf or cool jewellery? And why no pants? There is absolutely nothing wrong with skirts, but in a group of 6 very different girls, RD and AJ are probably going to be pant/short wearers (and I don't buy the "but a uniform" idea since they obviously aren't wearing the same styles). Or then there's the fact that all the outfits are very similar. Why can't one be wearing a longer skirt and shoes? I won't write off the show entirely, but I am certainly going in very hesitant since I am not liking what I am seeing.

Also, if this is the 30th anniversary celebration of pony, I am going to be very disappointed.

[KarentheUnicorn]

Also, if this is the 30th anniversary celebration of pony, I am going to be very disappointed.

30 years of pony and our gift from hasbro is teenage human girls with horse ears, short skirts and boots.

I confused 

[StarlightGaze]

I can't see people who are already so invested in ponies welcome this with open arms. If you already like dolls, then this might be great for you. I don't think this is meant for pony fans, but an entirely different demographic, possibly to reel in girls who like dolls into liking ponies too. I just don't understand why bother using MLP when they could use new characters in their doll line.