My Little Pony (TV series)

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My Little Pony, My Little Pony, what will today's adventure be?

My Little Pony is a 1986-1987 American television series produced by Sunbow Entertainment and Marvel Productions, with animation by Toei Animation. Sold into syndication, it was the first television show based off the My Little Pony toyline and branched out from the animated special, "Rescue at Midnight Castle".

The series lasted for two seasons, though two later episodes were re-edited versions of films, the aforementioned "Rescue at Midnight Castle" and "Escape From Katrina". Ostensibly, the show followed the adventures of the Ponies of Paradise Valley and the Williams family, though the show was also somewhat of an anthology, following a large ensemble cast in unconnected adventures.

Sometimes the later show My Little Pony Tales is listed as the shows' "season 3" on websites such as IMDb, this is not the case and the two series' have little in common aside from being apart of the same franchise.

Synopsis

Format

Although the show did not follow any sort of overarching storyline, continuity was still considered and rigidly followed. Each episode was 11 minutes in length, though were often serialized to form stories longer than found in other cartoons of the time. Every episode featured a song, usually performed by the regular cast of the show and sometimes by the story's villain. Likewise, nearly every episode featured an unique villain for the ponies to face off against, but some episodes featured no such thing, letting a dire circumstance serve as the antagonistic force instead.

Production

My Little Pony employed a large and talented pool of staff members, with several of its directors being golden-age alumni, with many of its writers having worked with companies such as Disney or Marvel Comics.

Episodes

Season 1 (1986)

# Episode Writer Release 1-10 "The End of Flutter Valley" George Arthur Bloom 11-14 "The Ghost of Paradise Estate" George Arthur Bloom 15 "The Great Rainbow Caper" Diane Duane 16-19 "The Glass Princess" Tracy Mann Hill & Michael Charles Hill 20 "Pony Puppy" Carla Joseph Conway & Gerry Conway 21-24 "Bright Lights" Barbara Petty 25 "Sweet Stuff and the Treasure Hunt" Cherie Dee Wilkerson 26-29 "The Return of Tambelon Michael Reaves 30 "Little Piece of Magic" Beth Bornstein 31-34 "The Magic Coins" Michael Reaves 35 "Mish Mash Melee" Bruce Faulk 36-37 "Woe Is Me" Gordon Kent 38-39 "Fugitive Flowers" Martin Pasko & Rebecca Parr 40 "Would Be Dragonslayer" Carla Joseph Conway & Gerry Conway 41-42 "Baby, It's Cold Outside" Gordon Kent 43-44 "Crunch the Rockdog" Linda Woolverton 45-46 "The Revolt of Paradise Estate" David Wise 47-48 "Through the Door" David Wise 49-50 "Rescue at Midnight Castle" George Arthur Bloom

Characters

My Little Pony employed a large rotating cast of ensemble characters, though the most recurring of these was probably Megan Williams. Other recuring characters included Megan's siblings, Danny Williams and Molly Williams, and various ponies such as Wind Whister, Lofty, Twilight, and many more. Most episodes tended to include unique characters who only appeared in their respective stories, these usually took the forms of villains like King Charlatan, Grogar, and Somnambula (it should be noted that Tirac and Catrina technically didn't appear in the show, but in specials), but original heroic characters also appeared quite often, such as Scheherazade, Alonzo, and Garth.

Cast

See also: My Little Pony cast lists in foreign dubs and My Little Pony unidentified performers

• Bettina Bush as Megan
• Charlie Adler as Spike
• Susan Blu as Buttons, Paradise
• Nancy Cartwright as Gusty, Baby Heart Throb, Baby Cuddles, Posey, Truly, Honeysuckle, Surf Rider
• Jeannie Elias as Whizzer, Masquerade, Baby Lickety-Split, Magic Star, Sweet Stuff, Sun Shower
• Ellen Gerstell as Lofty, Locket, Mimic, Scoops
• Skip Hinnant as narrator
• Keri Houlihan as Molly
• Katie Leigh as Fizzy, Heart Throb, Lickety-Split, Ribbon, Baby Shady, Baby Gusty, Baby Tiddley-Winks, Water Lily
• Sherry Lynn as Galaxy, Gingerbread, Cherries Jubilee, Baby Half-Note, Baby Ribbon, Baby Sundance
• Scott Menville as Danny
• Rob Paulson as Tex
• Sarah Partridge as Wind Whistler
• Russi Taylor as Cupcake, Rosedust, Morning Glory
• B. J. Ward as Surprise, North Star, Peach Blossom, Forget-Me-Not
• Jill Wayne as Baby Lofty, Shady

Additional voices by Michael Bell, Joey Camen, Melanie Gaffin, Tress MacNeille, and Frank Welker

Broadcast history

My Little Pony was sold as syndication, and so it wasn't locked to a single network. Season 1 ran from September to November 1986 in almost continuous broadcast, seemingly only not airing on weekends.^{[citation needed]} Season 2 only ran in September of the following year and reused material from the My Little Pony film series. Known networks it aired on was the Disney Channel and CBS, the former was used as the sources of DVD and VHS releases of the show.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2020s, the show has moved to various streaming platforms, including VUDU, Amazon Instant Video, Tubi and Roku.

International airings and dubs

Network Region Timespan Dub Ref MTV Europe United Kingdom 1987 English London Weekend Television United Kingdom 1988-1990 English Sky Movies United Kingdom December 25, 1990 English The Movie Channel United Kingdom November 4, 1992 English The Children's Channel United Kingdom December 25, 1994 English Sky One United Kingdom September 1997 English

Notes

• Although many sources claim AKOM animated the show, this is not mentioned in the shows' credits, nor on AKOM's website in any known archived version. AKOM did animate the film and My Little Pony Tales.

External links

• On Wikipedia

References

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