My Little Pony Franchise

**My Little Pony** (**MLP**) is a toy line and media franchise developed by American toy company Hasbro. The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D'Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature colorful bodies, manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks. Such symbols are referred to in the two most recent incarnations as "cutie marks". My Little Pony has been revamped several times with new and more modern looks to continue its appeal to the market, with each new look called a "generation" by the show's collectors and fans. The franchise is mainly targeted at girls, although it has found an unintended audience of bronies.

Following the original My Pretty Pony toy that was introduced in 1981, My Little Pony was launched in 1982 and the line became popular during the 1980s. The original toy line ran from 1982 to 1992 in the United States and to 1995 globally, and two animated specials, an animated feature-length film and two animated television series produced during the period up until 1992. The first incarnation's popularity peaked in 1990, but the following year Hasbro decided to discontinue the toy line due to increased competition. One hundred fifty million ponies were sold in the 1980s.

The toy line was revived in 1997, but these toys proved unpopular and were discontinued in 1999. The brand saw a more popular revival in 2003 with toys that more closely resembled the original toy line, which sold approximately 100 million pony toys globally by 2010. Hasbro launched the fourth incarnation of the franchise in 2010, which started with the animated series *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*, which ended on October 12, 2019. The brand grossed over $650 million in retail sales in 2013, and over $1 billion annually in retail sales in 2014 and 2015. Hasbro is poised to launch a fifth generation of toys and associated media starting in 2021.

## My Pretty Pony (1981)

*My Pretty Pony* is a pony figurine introduced by Hasbro in 1981 that was created by illustrator Bonnie Zacherle and sculptor Charles Muenchinger. *My Pretty Pony* is a ten-inch-tall hard plastic figurine that can wiggle its ears, swish its tail, and wink one eye. The original *My Pretty Pony* was followed by *My Pretty Pony and Beautiful Baby*, which came with an additional smaller "baby" pony figure. This was followed by pink and yellow versions of the original that have the now-hallmark symbol on the ponies' backsides, which preceded the *My Little Pony* figurines.

## Generation One (1982-1992)

After the relative lack of success of the *My Pretty Pony* toy line, Hasbro introduced six smaller and colorful versions of the toy in 1982, sold under the title *My Little Pony*. The toy line led to many more merchandise under the *My Little Pony* brand, which later became unofficially known as the "Generation One" or "G1" of My Little Pony among collectors. This incarnation ended in 1992 in the United States, but was marketed internationally until 1995. Animations from mid-1980s (*My Little Pony* animated special, *My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina*, *My Little Pony: The Movie* and *My Little Pony* segment within *My Little Pony 'n Friends* anthology series) and *My Little Pony Tales* from 1992 accompanied the line-up.

## Generation Two (1997-1999)

The 1997 incarnation was marketed by Hasbro as "Friendship Garden" and designated "Generation 2" by collectors. They were manufactured in redesigned poses with jewel eyes and turning heads and are smaller, slimmer, and longer-legged than their 1982 counterparts. The line was not successful in the U.S. and was discontinued in 1999, although it continued overseas for several years. Since the second generation was more popular in Western Europe, Hasbro continued to produce and sell them in Western Europe after 1998. Most were Earth Ponies, but a few unicorns were made internationally. Although no Pegasus Ponies were made, some adults had clip-on wings. In the early 2000s, several unicorns with clip-on wings (called the Magic Unicorns) were made. Two baby ponies were introduced, and none of the baby ponies were sold in the United States.

In Europe, the main location was renamed Ponyland instead of Friendship Gardens, and were discontinued with the inception of the "G3" toyline in 2003. Many ponies released in the last years of the line are considered rare. A number of playsets were introduced, including a mansion and a castle. Some of the licensed merchandise released in Europe included beanbag plushes, magazines, clothing, perfume, wrapping paper and coloring books. A CD-ROM game for PC, *Friendship Gardens*, was also released, which involved taking care of a pony and playing games along the way.

Some "Generation Two" ponies were sold as detachable key chains, including Morning Glory, Sundance, Light Heart and Ivy. Each pony comes with a comb attached to her neck by a string. The back of the package says, "My Little Pony Logo and Pony Names are Trademarks of Hasbro Inc. Copyright 1998." They were produced under license by Fun-4-All Corporation and made in China.

## Generation Three (2003-2009)

The third incarnation of *My Little Pony*, which is often unofficially referred to as "Generation Three" or "G3" by collectors, began in 2003. The revamped line of dolls was targeted to a younger audience than the previous lines.

### Generation 3.5 (2009)

Before the generation's end in 2009, there were at least two minor revamps. A series of direct-to-video animated films (mostly produced by SD Entertainment) accompanied the line-up.

## Generation Four (2010-2020)

The current incarnation of *My Little Pony*, unofficially known as the "Generation Four", was launched in 2010. It is set in a fictional location named Equestria, and the main characters include Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy. Television series *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*, theatrical film *My Little Pony: The Movie*, as well as other related media accompany the current line-up. This era generated a fandom among grown-ups with the success of the television series.

*My Little Pony: Equestria Girls*, the anthropomorphic spin-off, was launched in 2013.

### Generation 4.5 (2020-2021)

*My Little Pony: Pony Life*, a spin-off reboot series, launched in 2020 featuring a new, chibi animation style.

## Generation Five (2021-present)

Hasbro announced the start of the "Generation Five" toyline in February 2021, with a 3D CG-animated film (produced by Entertainment One and animated by Boulder Media) and follow-up television series. Unlike previous generation changes which have generally featured a completely new set of characters, Generation Five will build upon the world and stories established in Generation Four from *Friendship Is Magic*, but will include a time jump as to introduce new characters and themes. According to Hasbro's Emily Thompson, vice president of global brand management for Entertainment One, the new line is aimed at Generation Alpha, which "has a higher emotional intelligence, and they expect a lot more from their entertainment"; to that end, the themes of the show will be aimed around diversity and inclusion but will still include nods and Easter eggs to the prior generation.

The film will take place some time after the end of *Friendship Is Magic*, where "friendship and harmony have been replaced by paranoia and mistrust" and the various pony species have segregated into their own tribes. The main characters of Generation Five includes Sunny Starscout (a female earth pony), Izzy Moonbow (a female unicorn) and Hitch Trailblazer, (a male earth pony), alongside Pegasus siblings Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm.

The film was originally slated for theatrical release on September 24, 2021 by Paramount Pictures, but the release was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was sold to Netflix, with the film's release being at an unknown date in 2021. Netflix also greenlit its follow-up CG-animated series, which will also debut on the streaming service

In 2017, redesigns of the Mane Six from Generation Four were leaked.

## Films

* My Little Pony: The Movie (1986)
* A Very Minty Christmas (2005)
* The Princess Promenade (2006)
* The Runaway Rainbow (2006)
* A Very Pony Place (2007)
* Twinkle Wish Adventure (2009)
* My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013)
* My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks (2014)
* My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games (2015)
* My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree (2016)
* My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)

## Television Series

* My Little Pony 'N Friends (1986-1987)
* My Little Pony Tales (1992)
* My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019)