My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is an animated children's television series produced by Hasbro that ran from 2010 to 2019 as part of the My Little Pony toy franchise. The series tied in with the 2010 relaunch of dolls, play sets and original programming for the American children's cable channel The Hub (later rebranded as Hub Network, and later, Discovery Family). Lauren Faust was selected as the creative developer and executive producer for the show based on her previous experience with other animated children's shows such as The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends on Cartoon Network. Under Hasbro's guidance, Faust developed the show to appeal to the target demographic of young girls, but created characters and settings that challenged formerly stereotypical norms of "girly" images, adding adventure and humorous elements to keep parents interested.
The series initially received widespread praise from both television critics and parental groups. It also found a large audience of adult Internet users in late 2010 and early 2011, forming a subculture.[1][2] These fans, mostly consisting of adult men, were drawn to the show's characters, stories, animation style and the influence of the show's propagation as an Internet meme. The fandom adopted the name bronies, a portmanteau of bro and pony. Female fans are known as pegasisters, a portmanteau of pegasus and sister. Though initially considered to propagate the humorous and ironic concept of adults enjoying a show intended for young girls, the fandom gradually showed over time a deeper, genuine appreciation for the show far beyond this concept, a trend that has come to be known as "new sincerity". Technology-savvy fans have created numerous works in writing, music, art and video based on the show, have established websites and fan conventions for the show and have participated in charitable events around the show and those that create it. However, the fandom has drawn criticism from the media and pundits who have derided the older demographic's embrace of a television series marketed towards young girls as well as mass amounts of fan-produced pornographic artwork and literature and alleged misogyny by bronies.
The appreciation of the show by an older audience came as a surprise to Hasbro, Faust, and others involved with its development, but they have embraced the older fans while also staying focused on the show's intended audience. Such reciprocity has included participation in fan conventions by the show's voice actors and producers, recognition of the brony fandom in official promotional material, and incorporating background characters popularized by the fans (such as the fandom-named "Derpy Hooves") into in-jokes within the show. As a result of these efforts in part, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has become a major commercial success with the series becoming the highest rated original production in Hub Network's broadcast history.
- ^ "Bronies Are Redefining Fandom — And American Manhood". Wired. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
- ^ "The fascinating sub-culture of 'Bronies'". Newshub. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.