Sonuvagun: Craig McCracken - Wikipedia
For the record, I liked the original GI Joe as a child, and FiM today.
(And apparently, the original My Little Pony almost did a crossover with GI Joe, way back when. Marvy.)
Bingo. If you want to see a direct PPG parallel in the show, take a look at the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but the stylistic influences are everywhere.
Well, this thread has been enlightening. I had no idea there was a new version of MLP, much less one that appealed to adults, and I too was baffled by the other thread. I mean yeah, MLP was popular back in the '80s, but no more so than Care Bears and He-Man, yet you don’t see those shows inspiring 8-page threads on here decades after their heyday.
I’ve watched and enjoyed Superjail and Metalocalypse late at night, but it’s not something I wants my kids to accidently watch. Everytime I see them watching chowder, adventure time, or Flapjack, the stuff seems so similar, I do a double take just to make sure they aren’t playing something old off the Tivo.
That’s what I was thinking it would be like, but it wasn’t. At least I didn’t get that out of the first ep. 
I used to like Powerpuff Girls, when I’d run across it.
I got into the show a few months ago, and it was definitely a surprising discovery. There was definitely some novelty factor with the unexpectedness of My Little Pony being actually good. The show is strong enough to stand on it’s own after that wears off, though. The first two episodes aren’t a good starting point, as they’re quite different from the rest of the series. I also feel like the best episodes come later in the show, even though the above mentioned Applebuck Season and others are still good. Personally I’d recommend starting with one of:
Episode 9 Boast Busters
Episode 7 Dragonshy
Episode 25 Party of One
As one of the major contributors to the other thread: Yeah, we do like the show. Really. And not ironically, nor because we’re lonely nerds whose development was arrested at age four. We like “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” because it’s a well-made cartoon with gorgeous animation and solidly-written stories that impart a great message without being preachy or saccharine.
Others have mentioned “The Powerpuff Girls,” and I’d agree that PPG is the closest comparison to “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.” The two shows have a lot of production staff in common, including MLP:FiM show creator Lauren Faust, who was a writer and artist on PPG, and is married to PPG’s creator, Craig McCracken. Both shows feature a madcap sense of humor and strong, multidimensional female characters. And both shows have that rare ability to appeal to adult viewers without relying on the sort of cynical nostalgia-mongering or “over the kiddies’ heads” style of humor that characterizes much of American animation (Dreamworks, I’m lookin’ at you). In other words, the humor is much more Pixar or “Futurama” than “Shrek” or “Family Guy.”
It’s certainly not for everyone, and one thing that I’ve appreciated about the fanbase is that (unusually for folks on the internets), they tend to be good-natured about people’s responses to the show. After all, we’re fans of a frickin’ My Little Pony cartoon - it’d be rather silly, not to mention hypocritical, for us to get upset that not everyone likes the show. 
But if you enjoy clever writing, well-drawn characters whose strengths and flaws alike are explored in detail, and the best animation this side of the Pacific, I encourage you to give the first few episodes a shot. They’re all readily available on Youtube, with the (unspoken) blessing of Hasbro. You may find that you enjoy it more than you’d have expected. 
Well, Craig McCracken (who created PPG) is married to Lauren Faust (My Little Pony). Lauren Faust also did Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
She was a storyboard artist for PPG, which no doubt accounts for some visual similarities and a few sight-gags.
Has anyone mentioned the music? The musical numbers are part of what drew me in. They don’t do music often - but when they do, it’s clever, and good. (There’s one entire number that’s a rewrite of a song from ‘Sunday in the Park With George’. Yes, they borrowed from Sondheim - and they did it very, very well.
They also do a lot of visual tributes to older animation - there’s a whole episode that’s a homage to the old Roadrunner/Coyote cartoons, for example.
I hope they bring John DeLancie/Discord back. That was fun…and oddly disquieting at points.
A reviewer I listen to thinks the creator took a deal with the devil.
And I love music, but, honestly, of the episodes I’ve watched, the music annoys me. It stops the story.
Oh, cool, thanks.
Also, there’s the voice actors. Not a creative element but it’s cool how Tara Strong was Blossom (PPG) and now is Twilight Sparkle.
I’m not a huge fan of the music but I love the rest of it. (And I do find myself humming Grand Galloping Gala and Hush Now Quiet Now on occasion!)
I can’t get too worked up about what people like/don’t like, but there does seem to be more of a preponderence of adults being fans of stuff that is, at least traditionally, mostly intended for children. Marketers are no doubt keenly aware of this, and programming is probably influenced in that direction. Where does that leave the kids? Not only do they have to sit through too much advertising, but now they might be having their entertainment further co-opted by stuff meant to appeal to grownups. Why can’t they have their own things, just for them?
I don’t get it either. It’s one big giant fad/meme. I have no doubt a few people genuinely like it, but its popularity can only be attributed to lots of people doing it ironically, of which a few deluding themselves to the point of actually liking it. How else can you explain the fandom, the putting of mlp pics on as their avatars and sigs on other forums, the gatherings, etc
Parental Bonuses and Periphery Demographics are nothing new. This new show is just getting a lot of attention due to the cognitive dissonance of adult males liking something called My Little Pony.
A few years ago Spongebob Squarepants got some press about how parents and other adults really liked the show, but the general tone of the press wasn’t bafflement that adults could like a cartoon. In fact, the show was praised for its ability to reach both children and adults alike. Spielberg made several cartoons in the 90s – Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Hysteria, Freakazoid, and probably a couple others – that were widely loved for their ability to combine adult humor and kid-friendly slapstick. There’s plenty of others in that vein as well. Animation doesn’t only have to be for kids, and it’s a disservice to the medium to think that.
But when it comes to a show called My Little Pony, people see those three words and think of childish pap, regardless of how smart and funny it actually is. Not without reason, of course; the previous shows called My Little Pony were childish pap that was overly girly and talked down to children. But the current show is only suffering from the sins of its ancestors, not through any fault of its own.
Sorry, man. I realize you don’t get it, and I understand why, but people do genuinely like the show. A lot of people do. I sometimes think the same as you, that it started off as an ironic thing and got co-opted by genuine fans who missed the joke, but no, it’s not one big internet joke that a few people are falling for. I sometimes think people go overboard in being evangelical about it or using it as an excuse to take over random websites, but the love is real.
Well, either that or every single person I’ve met is in on the joke except for me. I suppose it’s always possible.
It’s my experience that there are very few things in the world whose popularity can actually be attributed to “ironic” enjoyment. It’s a common slur given to things whose appeal people don’t (or aren’t interested in trying to) understand, especially on the internet, where it’s so easy to dismiss something as *obviously *having no redeeming value just because you happen not to enjoy it yourself. But it’s flatly untrue in most cases, and is definitively so in this case.
I’ll put it plainly: A lot of intelligent, well-adjusted people like “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” unironically. This is 99% of the reason why it is popular on the internet.
As I mentioned earlier, we don’t expect everyone to like the show. We honestly don’t even mind if you aren’t interested in watching a few episodes to develop an informed view. Everyone is ultimately entitled to their own opinion. But it’s rather presumptuous for you to assume you know the reason behind something’s appeal better than the people to whom it actually appeals. Especially after a whole thread’s worth of posts explaining why the fandom is genuine.
Let me guess: liking MLP is another sign of the hipster.
I vaguely knew it was getting some internet attention but I didn’t start liking till my brother showed me a few clips and then a whole episode. After that, I was hooked. I look at some of the online meme stuff but I genuinely like it and even if the rest of the world started hating it, I’d be convinced it was great. Anyway, does it matter why we like it? It brings us pleasure.
I’m also not getting why adults liking kid shows “co-opts” them.
What? I don’t know any hipsters who like MLP. It’s all neckbeards and turbonerds.
Have you seen pictures of MLP meet-ups? shudders
Can someone give me a five minute snippet to watch?