So what happened with "The Golden Horseshoes"

[Aurora]

I know cartoons used to be made to sell toys, especially in the 80's. Some people with no idea about plotlines would come up with ways to flash images on the screen, demanding we all rush out and buy toys. I guess it worked- Mimic is still sought after!

I have no idea where my husband came up with this information- probably from watching Scooby Doo reruns.

[LadyMoondancer]

It's not just G1 MLP, other cartoons were the same way. Another Hasbro property, the 80's transformers cartoon, that also had some variety in quality depending on episodes and season.

I sort of remember other series also having the same issue, one episode would be really good animation, then another episode would not be as nicely drawn, etc.

But then again, it wasn't exactly done the same way animation is now.

Oh yeah, you're right about lots of 80s shows being rife with mistakes.  (Example, there's a Transformers episode where Optimus Prime is holding up the Washington Monument, and another Optimus Prime suddenly dashes across the screen to shoot at the Decepticons.)  But MLP does have some moments that make me go "How do you not notice that??", in particular Princess Primrose's tail being BRIGHT RED for most of "Quest of the Princess Ponies."  I just . . . how?  Why?

My own personal theory is that the worst Sunbow animators got put on MLP & Friends.

Transformers - Needed animators who could draw geometric shapes and vehicles and keep things in proportion.

Jem and G.I. Joe - Both needed animators who could draw humans really well, plus the typical city landscape (buildings, cars, etc).

My Little Pony - Had fantasy horses and mythical beasts and almost no geometric shapes, aside from having to draw Paradise Estate and the other playsets sometimes.

You can really see this if you watch "My Little Pony: The Movie" and "Transformers: The Movie". (The 80s animated one, not the recent live action ones.) They were both produced the same year and written by the same person and produced by Sunbow, but Transformers: The Movie has beautiful shading and elaborate action sequences, while My Little Pony: The Movie is hardly better quality than the Saturday morning cartoon.

For example, a look at this clip of the main bad guy from TF: The Movie transforming . . . and ask yourself if MLP: The Movie had any animation that was as detailed or elaborate as this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4GaPcLgOs

I've always wished that the weekly series and the movie had the same beautiful animation as Rescue at Midnight Castle, and have felt rather cheated that they didn't.

[Tirac]

Sunbow employed animators from the Japanese studio Toei for Rescue at Midnight Castle though.
Correct me if wrong, but they didn't do that for the rest of the MLP series, just the specials?
They probably worked harder and were chosen for their clean, smooth animation skills..
RaMC was thought to be the only animated feature for my little pony originally. That was why they originally just titled it "My Little Pony." They later realized that the market was there and made more episodes but after Escape from Catrina i don't think that quality was as important to sell the cartoon to broadcasting so to speak.
It's kinda like bragging or exaggerating on a resume to get a job. The first few episodes were made to be better. Once it was already an established series they could pretty much half-arse the entire thing and nobody would really give a hoot.

[LadyMoondancer]

Yeah, I do think Toei was the one animating RaMC.  (Not sure about Escape from Katrina.)

MLP & Friends didn't have the worst 80s animation (He-Man is much worse), but there were some other Saturday morning shows animated by Toei--Dungeons & Dragons and maybe ThunderCats?  ThunderCats had pretty nice animation.

The D&D episode "Valley of the Unicorns" has a valley that looks suspiciously like Dream Valley (it has the rainbow waterfall and everything!) and the unicorns who live there have the same "teleporting" power as Twilight!  With the same special effect and sound effect and everything, ha ha!  The episode was written before RaMC, though.   Maybe D&D is the pre-history of My Little Pony.

One of the things I loved about Toei was that they were really, really good at animating animals.   The ponies were anthromorphic in RaMC in the sense that they talked and had more "human" facial expressions than real horses would, but they moved like real ponies.  You can see it in the little details, like the motion of Bow-Tie's head when she throws the Rainbow of Darkness to Twilight.  She turns her head hard to the right and then very quickly tosses her head (and the bag) to the left to build up enough momentum for the throw.  Glorious.

Or even the bit at the end where Megan returns home and runs to her horse TJ, and TJ is bobbing his/her head up and down in excitement--very horselike.

[Tirac]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who notices the accuracy of RaMC's animation. Sure, the part when Ember jumps is a bit... er... wha? But maybe it was just a little windy that day and she doesn't weigh much.

I need to rewatch that D&D episode! I had no idea! That is awesome.
I think that the rainbow of light's special effect twinkling sound might be used in another cartoon for another rainbow as well but I can't quite put my finger on it.