My Little Pony and Friends: Difference between revisions

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''I’ll be there right be your side"''|The opening theme song for the series.}}

 

''My Little Pony and Friends'' is an animated TV series that was released by ''Claster Television, inc.'' and producted by ''Marvel Productions'' and ''Sunbow Productions'', in the 1986 and ran until 1987. It was based on the toyline [[My Little Pony|of the same name]]. This came out a few months after [[The Movie]]. This series ran for two seasons. The series was an [[Animated Anthology]], featuring [[Quarter Hour Short|quarter hour shorts]]. The first half of the show would have an episode of ponies, and then the second half would feature an episode of their ''Friends'': ''"Glo Friends"'', ''"Moondreamers"'', and ''"The Potato Head Kids"''. Yes, the series was very [[Merchandise-Driven]]. As the result, the ''pony'' episodes often ran as [[Television Serial|television serials]], as did the other shorts.

 

 

This early incarnation of [[My Little Pony]] was set in a world called ''Ponyland''. Though its continuity was...[[Understatement|kinda lax]], all of the stories take place within it. The basic framing structure of the show was that the ponies are magical creatures living idyllically in [[Sugar Bowl|Dream Valley]], part of Ponyland (or Ponyland, part of Dream Valley - no two writers agreed on this point). Originally, the ponies resided in Dream Castle during the Half-Hour TV Specials, but after [[The Movie]] (and the creation of that [[Merchandise-Driven|playset]]) they moved into Paradise Estate. In fact, Dream Castle is never seem at all during the course of the series.

Ponyland is a [[Magical Land]] "on the other side of the rainbow". The rainbow is basically hinted to be a doorway between the human dimension and theirs'. Ponyland is populated by [[Small Annoying Creature|Bushwoolies]], Sea and [[The Fair Folk|Flutter]] ponies, [[All Trolls Are Different|Grundles]], bee-people, talking pigs, giant terriers, bird-dog hybrids, zebra-people, evil storm clouds, elves, bigfoot-like people who build forests, and monster weeds, among other, weirder things. The ponies are assisted in their adventures by a teen named Megan; her siblings Molly and Danny; Spike the Baby Dragon; and the Moochic, a scatter-brained gnome wizard with mushroom motif, and his [[Beleaguered Assistant]], Habit the Rabbit.

 

Some episodes did not evolved [[Sugar Apocalypse|sugar apocalypses]], though, and rather focused on more mundane plots (relatively speaking), such as using one's imagination to have fun, scavenger hunts, taking care of a giant dog, dealing with bullies, and mending friendships after a feud once escalated [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|ice cream warfare]].

 

The episodes focused on [[My Little Pony]] ran for 65 episodes in total. There were 16 multipart serials, each 2-4 parts long with the sole exception of the [[Five Episode Pilot|Ten part pilot]], and 9 stand alone episodes.

 

 

The premise of the Glo Friends is that they are community of small, glow-in-the-dark insects that live in Glo Land, a magical kingdom located in the middle of a forest. Their homes are built near the Glo Pond, from where they harvest a substance known as [[MacGuffin|Moondrops]]. These Moondrops literally drip down from the moon and the Glo Friends collect them and take them back to Glo Ponds in plastic bags. These buckets are then emptied into the lake. Apparently, Glo Pond is an artificial body of water built and maintained by the Friends, themselves. Anyway, these Moondrops are what sustains them and enables their ability to glow in the dark.

''Glo Friends'' ran for 26 episodes, and had 3 serials. Only 10 of those were stand alone episodes, with [[Five Episode Pilot|Ten Episode Pilot]] and 2 other serials.

 

 

The Moondreamers are a group of celestial people led by Crystall Starr, the designer of the stars. They operate out of their HQ in Staria, which appears to be a fortress floating out in the emptiness of space and has many, many highways made of [[Applied Phlebotinum]] that converge there. [[Crystal Dragon Jesus]] only knows where they all lead. Whimzee is another important figure among the Moondreamers, as she uses her imagination to create dreams for Dreamcasting. So naturally, she's having probelsm getting this done. She once accidentally brings her dream, a dreamkin, into reality where it wreaks havoc in Starry Up [[Fluffy the Terrible|despite its adorable appearance]]. On another occasion, she actually loses her imagination and needs to go on a journey to find it, engaging in a duel with the supposed queen of imagination and is nearly killed for her trouble. The jobs of the other Moondreamers are to help Whimzee create these pleasant dreams and then deliver them to Earth's children.

The [[Big Bad]] of the series is Queen Scowlene, who torments the everyone with her nightmare crystals, because she herself can't get any sleep.

 

 

''Moondreamers'' ran for 16 episodes with 2 serials.

 

 

 

It ran for 23 episodes with no mutlipart episodes. [[Sarcasm Mode|I can't imagine why.]] This was the least popular segment of the show, but it has it's fans.

 

== Common Tropes ==

* [[An Aesop]]: once per episode on all these shows. Check the folders of the individual shows for specific details.

* [[Animated Adaptation]]: Of ''four'' toylines.

* [[Apocalypse How]]: The ''My little Pony'', ''Glo Friends'', and ''Mondreamers'' segments showcased every delicious flavor of this trope to the point where it crossed right into [[The World Is Always Doomed]].

* [[The Eighties]]: Perhaps a no brainer, but in truth you will be hard pressed to find a more ''80s'' show than this.

** For ''Glo Friends'' it was ''The Quest''.

* [[He Also Did]]: Comic book author Gerry Conway, ''the man who created the Punisher'', worked on this show. Yes. Really.

* [[Merchandise-Driven]]: Like whoa!

* [[Opening Credits Cast Party]]: The series [[Title Theme Tune]] was essentially this.

* [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]

* [[Ridiculously Cute Critter]]: Pretty much the vast majority of the cast all across the board. In fact, the show's purpose was to make cartoons out of Hasbro's cutest toylines.

* [[Stock Footage]]: This show was notoriously guilty of reusing animation footage.

* [[Syndication]]: How this series was aired. All four segments aired in it's First-run syndication. However, during it's Second-run syndication on the [[Disney Channel]] in the 90s, only ''Pony'' segments were reaired.

== My Little Pony ==

* [[Eighties Hair|'80s Hair]]: Both here and in the movie above for two female humans, and here for one male pony. Draggle's hair is this with some late '70s in her hair as well. To a lesser extent, Megan's little sister Molly also has '80s hair. Nightshade is a pony with an afro.

* [[Adaptational Attractiveness]]: Often played straight in that the cartoon looked better than the source toys. [[Averted]] when compared to the original pilot, which had much sharper animation and the series simplified it (and often went [[Off-Model]]).

* [[Anthropomorphic Shift]]: It's more subtle than in ''Tales'', but compared to the Pilot the Ponies act less like Ponies. They sleep in beds, sometimes walk on two legs, don't move as much like horses, don't have animal behaviors like licking each other, etc

* [[Always Close]]: As one troper said about "The End of Flutter Valley", "For the love of Pete, it's 'almost sunset' for ''five hours''."

* [[An Aesop]]: From "The End of Flutter Valley":

'''Morning Glory:''' Gee...if we only did things that we were good at, we'd never try to make ourselves better. I think you should try again! }}

* [[And I Must Scream]]: Ponies are turned into glass, ice, and stone.

* [[Animated Anthology]]: Like whoa.

** Prince Charming (a ''human''), flirts with human ''and Pony'' alike (bringing a new level to [[Furry Confusion]]). The thing is, Heart Throb [[Interspecies Romance|reciprocates...]]

** Prince Charming was THE Prince Charming from the books, and he was only acting in character, while Heart Throb was a hopeless romantic living her lifelong dream. After a while, both of them realize that the situation is awkward and politely call it quits.

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: In "The Ghost of Paradise Estate", Megan calms the frightened Baby Ponies with the assurance that monsters exist only in their imagination. [[This Is Reality|In a world with witches, unicorns, dragons, Fairies, trolls, et cetera.]] Yeah... {{spoiler|She's actually ''right'', despite strong appearances to the contrary.}}

* [[Bad Boss]]: Squirk, Grogar, Queen Bumble, and Lavan. The latter two resulted in some [[Mook Face Turn|rebellion]].

* [[Bee People]]: The bees in "The End of Flutter Valley", led by Queen Bumble.

* [[Big Bad Duumvirate]]: Hydia and Queen Bumble in the 10-part "The End of Flutter Valley".

* [[Big Eater]]: Reeka returns, and there is also Queen Bumble.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Pretty much every episode with a plot that can't be resolved in ''just'' over ten minutes. This must have been a pain for the writers.

* [[Darkest Hour]]: 3/4ths into [[Alien Invasion|"The Return of Tambelon"]], the heroes' multiple plans have all failed spectacularly, they have all been captured by [[Dimension Lord|Grogar's]] forces, and he's started a ritual to banish them to the Realm of Darkness.

** Part 8 of the End of Flutter Valley has ''everyone'' captured and Honeysuckle apparently dead.

* [[For Science!]]: The Gizmonks from "The Great Rainbow Caper". Even ''they'' don't know what some of their inventions do.

* [[Fridge Logic]]: In-universe example, when [[The Spock|Wind Whistler]] invokes this trope for a [[Story Within a Story]] in ''Crunch the Rockdog'':

Wind Whistler: "It is illogical to begin a long journey just as the sun is setting." }}

* [[Furry Confusion]]: Zeb in "Bright Lights" is a pretty jarring presence, given that he's the only fully-anthro, fully-clothed biped among the equine characters. Though we will admit, he's also the only zebra we ever see on the show.

* [[Leitmotif]]: "Shoo-be-doo, shoop-shoop-be-doo!"

* [[Literal Genie]]: The titular "Magic Coins", and the ''literal'' Literal Genie in "Through the Door", who starts rambling about meteorology when asked to make the weather "perfect":

'''Lickety-Split:''' Look, all I want is a perfect day! What's so difficult about that? }}

* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: A [[Geodesic Cast|rotating cast]], due to the need to promote as many toys as possible. "The Return of Tambelon" [[Crowded Cast Shot|tries to squeeze them all in]], and thus features more than forty characters in forty minutes.

* [[Loads and Loads of Races]]: Between humans, five different pony species, grundles, bushwoolies, and others, the TV specials and movie had already started this trend. The cartoon kept it up - every other episode, the protagonists encountered members of a previously unmentioned race.

* [[Magical Land]]: Ponyland

* [[Moral Dissonance]]: In "The End of Flutter Valley", [[Inept Mage]] Draggle is depressed because she can't do evil magic right. The Ponies promise to teach her some good Pony magic if she'll set them free. After seeing some demonstrations via song, Draggle agrees to let them out...and they trap her in a net and wander off.

** Though at least, after {{spoiler|the ponies are recaptured and Hydia and Reeka blamed Draggle for her incompetence in an ''harsh'' way}}, the ponies defended her by admitting their fault.

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: "Fugitive Flowers". The ponies rescue the desperate Flories from the pursuing Crab Nasties, only to discover later that [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|the former are escaped convicts, whereas the latter are a heroic police force]]. Oops.

* [[Personality Swap]]: "Mish Mash Melee"

* [[Pity the Kidnapper]]: In "The Great Rainbow Caper", Danny and Surprise help convince the Gizmonks to let them go by making a ''huge'' mess of their laboratory.

* [[Polar Bears and Penguins]]: In "Baby It's Cold Outside", guess which direction the Ponies go to find the penguin King Charlitan?

* [[The Power of Rock]]: In a few cases, the obligatory song would be worked in as a plot point.

* [[Riddle of the Sphinx]]: "Sweet Stuff's Treasure Hunt" and "The Golden Horseshoes"

* [[Scooby-Doo Hoax]]: Despite the series being set in a world full of unicorns, dragons, and every kind of monster imaginable, {{spoiler|the titular Ghost of Paradise Estate turns out to be ''merely'' a shapeshifting bird.}}

* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]: Semi-averted. The Big Brother Ponies are very [[Bishonen]] and look just like the girls aside from a different mane style, unshorn fetlocks, and "masculine" Cutie Marks. If anything they look more feminine then the girls, several of them even being pink colored.

* [[That Reminds Me of a Song]]: ''Every'' episode contained a song, and most of them were just busy filler.

** The only exception being one of the four episodes comprising the [[Darkest Hour|Return of Tambelon]] arc. An awkward break between scenes suggests a song ''was'' planned - but with so much going on, there was no time left for it.

* [[This Looks Like a Job For Aquaman]]: ''The Glass Princess'' did this for Shady. The writers were known to go out of their way to try to justify's Shady's existance. Over the course o the show, she is shown to be clumsy, terrible at sports, not all that bright, not very brave, and more of place holder on whatever she was in than any actual help. Yet despite the presence of Gusty, Magic Star, and [[The Ace|Megan]], she's the one who saved the day.

** The Ponies themselves! Not once do any of the one-off characters wandering into Dream Valley/Ponyland say anything to the effect of, "Holy crap, Unicorns are real?"

** It's been shown that the rest of the world of Dream Valley is just as full of (semi) anthropomorphic animals, bizarre monsters, and magical artifacts. To them, the place is pretty normal. Megan, who's from Earth, was caught off guard the first time she met a talking, flying pony, but she adapted quickly. And she told her siblings about them, so they were prepared when they met the ponies... Though the fact they ''believed'' her stories is its own oddity...

* [[Vain Sorceress]]: Porcina from "The Glass Princess".

* [[Weaksauce Weakness]]: The unicorns' [[Useless Superpowers|teleportation abilities]] would be a whole lot more useful if they could "wink" through walls. Or cages. Or ''nets''. And yet they have no problem [[Game Breaker|using it while playing tag]].

** Pegasi can fly. Unicorns teleport and each have a unique [[Elemental Powers|elemental]] or [[Psychic Powers|psychic]] power. Earth Ponies... can run and jump real well. And occasionally bake. With hooves.

** The Flutter Ponies once mentioned, while grounded, that they weren't great runners, so it could be useful under the right circumstances.

* [[The Worf Effect]]: Poor Gusty. She's the most combat oriented of the ponies, so course in order to show that the villlains mean business, something bad must happen to her, and it always does.

** The possibility that dark magic may render Dream Valley uninhabitable crops up ''nine times'' in twenty-eight stories.

** Additionally, those were most of the multi-episode stories, so they represent the bulk of the episodes.

* [[Vile Villain Saccharine Show]]: Not as bad as the specials, but when there are villains, they take the scare factor [[Up to Eleven]].

* [[The Unfavorite]]: Draggle. While both Draggle and Reeka are disappointments to their mother, Draggle is clearly shown to be the least favorite due to her [[Ambiguous Disorder|struggles]] with magic and her [[Moe|sensitivity]]. At one point, Hydia exclaims, "There are plenty of other witches! Why did I have to get Draggle?"

** Sundance. Like many other characters, her voice actress from The Movie did not return for the TV series. Unlike the other characters, they never cast anyone to replace her! And thus Sundance appears in dozens of episodes without saying a word.

** Also the Flutter Pony Lily.

* [[Cannot Spit It Out]]: Glo Bashfulbug. She has an attraction to Glo Bug, but never knows how to say it.

* [[Cliff Hanger]]: Much like the ''Pony'' segments, any conflict that wasn't solved in ten minutes ended with one of these. Though, the ''Glo Friends'' cliff hangers actually tended to be less severe than the former's.

* [[Contrived Coincidence]]: Glo Butterfly believes she can cast magic, but all her "tricks" are this trope.

* [[Cowardly Lion]]: Glo Bashfulbug. Her "lack" of courage borders on [[Informed Attribute]].

* [[Dumb Muscle]]: Smasher, another Moligan.

* [[Eccentric Mentor]]: Glo Frog. He's a mysterious old miser who gives advice to the Glo Friends using nigh inane riddles along with several other odd habits.

* [[Fantastic Light Source]]: The Glo Friends, themselves, and both the Red Ant Army and the Moligans want to use this fact to their advantage.

* [[Furry Confusion]]: So, we have the Glo Friends and Moligans, who wear clothes, and various [[Talking Animal|talking animals]] that don't. Huh.

* [[Getting the Boot]]: The method by which the Moligans are banished by King Mole.

* [[Gold Fever]]: The Moligan's motive, pretty much. It's bad enough that they're willing to harm innocent creatures and the environment to get it, too.

** This applies to Driver and his Red Any Army, too.

* [[Grumpy Bear]]: Glo Snail.

* [[Heavy Sleeper]]: Glo Bedbug, should not come as no surprise.

** Molslavia, from the Moligans were banished, too.

* [[The Mentor]]: Glo Grannybug, the oldest and wisest of the Glo Friends. She is especially this to Baby Glo Worm.

** The jesters of the Red Ant Army.

* [[Mole Men]]: The [[Big Bad|big bads]], the Moligans.

* [[Saving Christmas]]: The plot of a rare TV special ''The Glo Friends Save Christmas'', which actually predated the series. Can be seen [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvAMVf4j6OY here].

** The Glo Friends had to free Santa from the clutches of an evil witch named Blanche.

* [[Strong Ants]]: The Red Ant Army.

* [[Talking Animal]]: The Glo Friends had several companions that were these.

* [[Tomboyish Ponytail]]: Scoop.

* [[Token Good Teammate]]: Scoop of the Moligans. She's the only nice one.

* [[Weapon of Choice]]: Slugger Bug is rarely seen without his trusty baseball bat. This being a child friendly show, though, he was never allowed to go [[Batter Up]] on anyone, though. ...It kind of defeats the purpose, actually.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?]]: If the Glo Friends ever run out of Moondrops, they will cease to glow in the dark. Why is this a bad thing? Frankly, we have no idea.

* [[Improbably Cool Car]]: While the other Moondreamers drove around on hover bikes, Bucky Buckaroo had a car that could leave the space highways and explore uncharted territories.

* [[Insufferable Genius]]: Sparky Dreamer is a know-it-all who takes great pride in her intellect and tends to be very strict about rules and regulations.

* [[The Mentor]]: Dream Gazer. The eldest and wisest Moondreamer.

* [[Mad Scientist]]: Professor Grimace.

* [[Physical God]]: The Moondreamers, themselves. They are a race of supernatural beings the manually run the universe.

* [[Schmuck Bait]]: On one of the Moondreamers' many roads to and from Staria, there's a manhole cover. A manhole cover. [[In Space]]. Admit it. You'd open it up and take a look.

* [[Spoiled Brat]]: Scowlette, Scowlene's daughter. Despite this, the former is still fiercely loyal to the latter.

* [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien]]: The Moondreamers, again. Compounding their [[Physical God]] status, they also have a lot of machinery that allows them to run the universe.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:The Eighties]]

[[Category:Fantasy Western Animation]]

[[Category:Animal Title Index]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]