- published: 07 Aug 2015
- views: 125707
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is a animated television series produced by Hasbro as part of its My Little Pony toy franchise, tied in with the 2010 launch of dolls and playsets, as well as original programming for its new network station The Hub. Lauren Faust was selected as the creative developer and executive producer for the show, based on her previous experience in the animation of shows like The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Under Hasbro's guidance, Faust developed the show to appeal to the target demographic of young girls and their parents, but created characters and settings that challenged stereotypical norms of "girly" images, and added adventure and humorous elements to keep parents interested. The show is animated using Flash by DHX Media Vancouver, with its production overseen by director Jayson Thiessen, who took over as executive producer after Faust stepped down after the first season.
The show received positive praise from television critics and parental groups. However, it found an unlikely audience from a large group of Internet users in late 2010 and early 2011. These older fans, typically males from 18 to 35, were drawn to the show's characters, stories, animation style, and influence of the show's propagation as an Internet meme. The fandom adopted the name brony (plural bronies), a portmanteau of "bro" and "pony". The fandom is considered part of a New Sincerity trend, and has since created numerous fanworks in writing, music, art, and video based on the show, as well as establishing fansites and fan conventions for the show.