Sitting on a shelf in my room there are several small plastic “horses” coated in the most vibrant hues that the rainbow can produce. As I look up at them, I am taken back to a time when My Little Ponies were the coolest playthings a girl could have, out-glowing even the American pop culture phenomena Barbie. Thinking back, I realize that I cannot even remember when I received my first pony; therefore I suppose I must have been quite young. Some of my early memories of my friends and I are of “building castles in the sky”, or more accurately, castles in Ponyland. One of my friend’s brothers even succumbed to the majestic beauty of these creatures that flew and danced across our TV’s, and later, the silver screen.
What was the appeal of these imaginary beasts? Starting out as a line of toys from Hasbro in 1982, it is doubtful that anyone suspected the future success of My Little Ponies. But these toys were snapped up by adoring little girls in the thousands, much to the surprise of many. Soon My Little Ponies were frolicking across TV screens in millions of living rooms across the US in two television specials in 1984 and 1985. The success of these specials and the toys prompted Sunbow Productions/Marvel to make a movie in 1986, which, by the way, I eagerly watched in my local cinema. An all star cast lent their voices to My Little Pony: The Movie, which included Cloris Leachman, Tony Randall, Madeline Kahn, Rhea Pearlman, Danny Devito, and Sherry Lynn, among others. (More information on the movie, TV specials and TV series can be found at www.yesterdayland.com, among other websites.)
In 1986, a television show named My Little Pony ‘n Friends appeared to the delight of many little girls, and secretly, little boys. This show used an unusual format of a 15-minute My Little Pony episode followed by a 10-minute episode of the Potatohead Kids, Moondreamer, or The GloFriends (which starred the well loved Glo-Worm, along with the lesser remembered Glo-Spider, and Lovebug.)
My Little Pony had an extensive lineup of characters, like short-tempered Lickety-Split, wise Wind Whistler, and the cheerful Cherries Jubilee, among many other ponies. Together with the walking hairballs called Bushwoolies, Moochick the wizard, Spike the dinosaur/dragon, and their human friends Megan, Molly, and Danny, the Ponies not only kept Paradise Estate, their home in Dream Valley, safe from nasty trolls and witches, but all of Ponyland.
Everyone knows that little girls have a love affair with ponies and fairy tales, which MLP had plenty of. Not only were there “regular” ponies, but also pegasus, unicorn, mermaid, and shining wings ponies, etc. My Little Ponies not only tempted young females with their cuteness and kindness, but also had adventures with exciting plots that were normally reserved for boys’ shows, which gave the show a much wider audience then most “girly” series and toys. As a little tomboy myself, I never had much interest in dolls, preferring the Xmen, dinosaur toys, and Lego’s. I did, however, adore My Little Ponies, who battled witches, trolls, and evil sapient globs, while having rather interestingly colored hair. (I have always liked to do weird things with my hair.)
If one could get some guys who grew up in the 80’s together, many would have to admit (if pressed), that they enjoyed watching and playing with My Little Ponies with their sisters. However, it is not likely that they would freely divulge this tidbit of information.
Even now, nine years after the last My Little Pony toys were produced, and six years after the last showing of a My Little Pony television series, there is a thriving online community dedicated to this ever-popular toy. I just saw two My Little Ponies for sale on the Internet; one was being sold for $5, and the other for $160. It appears that this toy would still be a lucrative for Hasbro, if they would stick to the original design of the toys.
I guess that the basic idea behind My Little Pony still intrigues me, and many other people, because I just took out of the library a book in a popular series which echoes MLP. Anne McCaffery and Elizabeth Scarborough, two famous and best selling authors, have teamed up again to give the public Acorna’s World: The Further Adventures of the Unicorn Girl. Acorna is an alien who is part of a peaceful pacifistic society that is under attack by a large, cruel bug species. Did I forget to mention that Acorna, like the rest of race, descended from unicorns and has a magical horn? My Little Pony all grown up, it appears….