My Little Pony on TV

Television is the lifeblood of the My Little Pony franchise and easily the most recognizable aspect of it. As such, it should come to no shock that the history of My Little Pony on the TV is quite long with some obscure corners that you may not know about.

Early advertising and television films
The earliest known commercials for My Little Pony began airing in 1982 in order to advertise the Generation 1, Wave 1 line of toys. Commercials would consistently air in the early 80s, however as television advertising laws became more lax, it became standard practice to advertise toylines through cartoon series. The MLP brand, never to be one to follow the exact standards of the time, released made-for-TV film instead, known as "Rescue at Midnight Castle", released in April, 1984. The film would more-or-less serve as an introduction to the world of 'My Little Pony and its surreal, highly fantastical fiction.

In 1985, another film, "Escape from Catrina" was released. This film was notable for redesigning the cast from the first film, but the new designs did not stick. In 1986, Hasbro released yet another film, My Little Pony: The Movie, though this was not made-for-TV, what was however, was the subseqient TV series, My Little Pony 'n Friends.