Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016

by Sherilyn Connelly

Beloved by young girls around the world, Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise has been mired in controversy since its debut in the early 1980s. Critics dismissed the cartoons as toy advertisements, and derided their embrace of femininity. The 2010 debut of the openly feminist My Little Friendship Is Magic renewed the backlash, as its broad appeal challenged entrenched notions about gendered entertainment. This first comprehensive study of My Little Pony explores the history and cultural significance of the franchise through Season 5 of Friendship Is Magic and the first three Equestria Girls films. The brand has continued to be on the receiving end of a sexist double standard regarding commercialism in children's entertainment, while masculine cartoons such as the Transformers have been spared similar criticism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Cultural

264 pages, Paperback

First published March 14, 2017

Reviews

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the author clearly knows how to do research and cite her sources, I was extremely disappointed by the G4 bias that dripped off of every page of this book. The author could not keep her opinions to herself and made it very clear even throughout the sections on early ponies (such as G1) that her entire focus was on spreading the gospel of the fourth generation. The author apparently did not attempt to contact Bonny Zacherle, the original inventor of MLP, for an interview to hear the origin story of how MLP came to be, and instead made some guesswork based on easily accessible resources such as the original patent for the product. I happen to know from personal experience that Zacherle is quite approachable and easy to contact, so why the author didn't speak with her is beyond me. I also found it mildly offensive that the author called Lauren Faust "the only person as important as [Zacherle] in the history of the franchise." Lauren Faust created the latest TV adaptation based on the toys that Zacherle invented. That in no way makes her an equal to Zacherle in terms of relationship to the brand. The author clearly shows her membership in the cult of personality that revolves around Faust when she says that Faust is just as important as the inventor of My Little Pony.

Basically, I was unable to finish this book because the extreme bias raised my blood pressure. I hope that someone will write a REAL history of My Little Pony with equal emphasis on ALL generations of ponies. This book's title proclaims to do so, but as I have said the book almost entirely caters to readers whose only interest is in the fourth generation, and spends very little time discussing the prior generations which made the brand what it is today. Overall, I was highly disappointed with this book.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

A semi-academic examination of My Little Pony, from its inception with the My Pretty Pony toy all the way through Season 5 of Friendship is Magic and the first three Equestria Girls movies.

This book covers a lot of ground, the majority of which is focused on Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls. As an avid Friendship is Magic fan myself, I didn't mind the amount of space dedicated to the show. The book explores the history of the franchise as pieced together from written sources such as press releases, annual reports, message board entries, and newspaper and online articles. The book provides commentary on series and episode content, merchandising, and fan and critic reactions to various developments.

While the book is presented as a study of the history and culture of My Little Pony, much of the content is based on the author's own opinions. While there is plenty I agree with (Friendship is Magic is clearly the best generation), at times Connelly lets her opinions cloud her presentation of the information, such as her clear disdain for all things Brony-related. There are moments when her bias overshadows the presentation of events, which takes away from some of the credibility of the book.

Connelly's tone is playful at times, but it can be difficult to tell sarcasm from reality in writing. That makes it difficult to pinpoint the audience. It's a bit too dry for mass appeal but quite personal for an academic text.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very interesting and well researched. Connelly is a fan of the show and really takes that as the central part of the franchise. I guess I see MLP as more of a toy because I spent endless hours of my childhood playing with them. It is interesting to me how people attack all the cartoon iterations of MLP as just selling more toys to children. What's wrong with that? I mean, I can see complaining about violent toys or toys that make annoying sounds, but what's wrong with selling pony dolls to kids? How do people think kids get toys other than through going to a store to buy them?
Connelly makes great points about the sexism of people's reaction to the toys/tv show and the Bronies sense of ownership over the tv show. I would have liked to have seen more about why the toys themselves were successful, long before MLP:FiM. I think it was the open ended nature of them and the variety of ponies (I never understood what I was supposed to do with 5 identical Barbies - were they quints? Clones?).

[elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

slapped next question

[☘Tara Sheehan☘ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sherilyn Connelly did a remarkable and admirable job piecing together history of the My Little Pony phenomena. This is definitely more for adults because it’s like a textbook on the characters and their story that stretches from their birth in the 80s through current time.

There is a TON of information here that adds a real depth to what Hasbro and others were trying to create for kids. I was a huge fan when I was a kid and now my daughters are so to learn about the origins through their evolution was pretty eye-opening. There has also been quite a bit of controversy through the years which I never realized probably because I simply enjoyed them for the innocent toys they seemed to be and wasn’t trying to see something that wasn’t intended. It seemed to be sad in a way that some people actually got angry at characters that had a feminine appeal and gave little girls a world they could identify with, find something that appealed to them, and build up their self-esteem in some ways.

She even included an episode breakdown of the TV Show plus talked about the movie so if you haven’t stayed up to date on the newest incarnation you can get a quick recap plus learn about how the humanoid version came to exist and its competition to Monster High.

The details she put into this work is astounding, anything you could ever possibly want to know is in this book. It seems like the perfect text to use in a college course on popular media, trends, etc.

[Samuel Proulx · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book says many of the things I've ranted about myself over the last couple years, but says them more eloquently and with more research than I would or could. I'll admit one part probably does slog a bit towards the end, but reading someone else extensively rewrite opinions I already agree with really doesn't bother me much. Though if you're not generally interested in the subject matter, I can understand how your eyes would glaze. However, if you're at all interested in the unfair media coverage "girls" shows are subjected to, the history of the various Pony incarnations, or some of the drama that has gone on in the MLP fan community (or just want something a bit deeper than "Wow, bronies. Huh."), I'd strongly recommend this book.

[Wyldrabbit · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite clearly the expert view on the sensation that swept the world. Not just for children, it has become of convention, just as Star Wars and Star Trek has their following. What can you say but, I just do not get it. But after reading this, I do catch on quite a bit more. I also know there are many , many 18 year old both boys and girls who still love My Little Pony, including my neighbor's kid. The message they see is both inspirational and good.

[Luly Ceballos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This one is an amazing book. An excellent work! I specially recommend it to anyone who HASN'T watched any MLP episode or any of the movies. Seriously. What a study! Bravo!

[CopperTopper · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have enjoyed this book, but I did not. The author's vitriol grew incredibly tiresome, however justified it may be, and there is an undue focus on just G4 as opposed to, well, all the preceding gens. Thus, instead of being an investigation into the growth and spread of the My Little Pony fandom through the ages, Ponyville Confidential instead devolves into a mudslinging fest where the author talks mad shit about deluded non-fans and haters from the safety of a book. That wasn't what I was looking for. DNF.

(Plus, everyone knows Starlight Glimmer is best pony. Rarity got nothin' on her.)

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's nothing personal against this book, but I happen to be a big fan of the My Little Pony Tales spinoff (I know, revoke my Good Taste License right now) and the book totally bashed it! For a book that's supposed to be about correcting the haters and promoting inclusiveness, it sure did a lot of hating on MLPT.

But I'd have been willing to look past that if the other content in the book held my interest. Sadly, it did not. I liked some of the interesting cultural bits, like how a girl in Bakersfield won the My Little Pony Mommy of the Year Award in the eighties. Other than those highlights (which were, in my opinion, few and far between), I just felt like the book was a bunch of chronological facts getting reported to me, within the framework of a very repetitive narrative/message. It's too bad because I wanted to like this book a lot more. But perhaps the My Little Pony book I've been dreaming of has yet to be written. And that's okay.