Brony

Ladies and gentlemen of the Society for Judging the Tastes of Others, I submit to you this admission, given freely and earnestly: I an a brony.


What, you don't know what a brony is? *sigh* Okay, I'll explain. Way back in the 1980's, the heyday of cartoons-as-toy-marketing, we had Saturday morning cartoons. Not just a couple of hours on a couple of channels, but six or more hours on most of the channels on TV. Remember, these were the days before ubiquitous broadband, always-on internet, before mobile phones were everywhere, before instant, worldwide communication at your fingertips. Entire Saturday mornings could be, and were, wasted in front of the boob tube, being exposed to half-hour long commercials for toys that we would ask for at Christmastime and for birthdays.


And some of these "ads" were targeted to specific genders. Generally, the C.O.P.S., the Blackstars and Dino Riders were targeted at boys, and the Shirt Tales, the Rainbow Brites and Strawberry Shortcakes were targeted at girls. There were certainly unisex cartoons like A Pup Named Scooby-Doo or maybe Pound Puppies. And then there were cartoons geared more towards the family rather than kids, like The Laverne and Shirley, The Little Rascals, or Gilligan's Planet, since it was unlikely that little kids would have watched the shows those cartoons were based on.


But I digress. One of the girl-oriented cartoons back then was My Little Pony, a show about, well, colourful talking ponies. The toys were super popular with girls, and I remember the cartoon playing for years. I never watched it, since it was obviously for girls and I was, just as obviously, a boy.


Fast forward to 2010. The little boy who loved cartoons is now a little man who loves cartoons. He loves all the old Warner Brothers classics and The Simpsons as well as some of the more adult-oriented stuff like Family Guy, Clone High, Frisky Dingo, and Metalocalypse. He loves a bunch of the "cartoons" coming out of Japan too, and has an extensive anime collection. One day, he sees the following clip on YouTube, linked from someone or something or other:





The clean, simplified animation style, the vibrant colours and, of course, the voice acting made me double over in laughter. I had to watch that clip again and again, and even now I can bring up that clip and get a chuckle out of it. But why? Why would a grown man (and, apparently, a bajillion grown men all over the place) be drawn to this latest incarnation of what was ostensibly a girl's cartoon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?


Well, I can't speak for other bronies (a portmanteau of bro and pony) or pegasisters (a portmanteau of pegasus and sisters, obviously), but I like it because it's clean, simple, and above all, harmless fun and it's educational without being preachy. When it comes to teaching lessons, it shows rather than tells, leading by example with "good, better, best" rather than slamming kids over the head with "musts" and "because I said so's." A very positive show.


Let's take a look at how they accomplish this. Right from the get-go, in the two-part premier, our plucky young protagonist, a studious purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, discovers that an ancient prophecy may be coming to fruition and rushes to tell her mentor, the ruler of the land, Princess Celestia. Celestia tasks her bookish student with overseeing the preparations for the land's biggest celebration, the Summer Sun Celebration, and encourages her to make some friends as well.


While doing her rounds, Twilight Sparkle meets Ponyville's most interesting characters, each of whom happens to represent a different facet of friendship, and each of whom happens to correspond with one of the fabled Elements of Harmony which, when used together, can take care of this terrible prophecy that just happens to come true during the episode.


Already, we have a story about meeting new friends, about working together, and about how awesome we can be if we all work together. Forget about this being a show aimed at girls, this is a good lesson for any kid (or anyone who's a kid at heart). By the end of the episode, Twilight and her newfound friends do take care of the prophecy and save the day.


Because each pony represents a facet of friendship, it's easy for them to be used as a lesson for Twilight Sparkle, because the events of the series are seen through her perspective and she can vocalize/confirm each episode's lesson in her regular letters to Princess Celestia. It's like a Doogie Howser, M.D. journal or an Astro Boy lesson that way, only with much more pastels and bouncing.


Another thing I like about the series is that it doesn't talk down to its audience. The lessons are all very simple and straightfoward, sure, but because they are shown and not merely told, they seem to come up very organically. The characters are extremely colourful and are brought to life through the writing as well as the superb voice acting. All of the characters' voices are distinct and really seem to fit. The fact that it's also soooooooooo cute should go without saying.


The producers seem to have acknowledged the popularity of the show among older audiences, and have inserted tiny pop culture references into the series, whether it be a background pony vaguely resembling Dr. Who or using the term "brony" in promotional ads.


So yes, I am a brony, and I am fully prepared to be judged for it. It's just a damn funny, fun show, and this won't be the last time I blog about it.