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Lauren Faust

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Series, S01E15): Feeling Pinkie Keen

YEAR: 2011

COUNTRY: United States of America

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Title of the work

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Series, S01E15): Feeling Pinkie Keen

Studio / Production Company

Hasbro

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

Worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2011

First Edition Details

Feeling Pinkie Keen. Directed by Jayson Thiessen, James Wootton. Script by Lauren Faust, Dave Polsky, Hasbro Studios, 2011.

Running time

23 min

Format

Available as video on demand on Netflix, also DVDs (multiple editions) are available

Date of the First DVD or VHS

Season 1 box set was released on December 4, 2012.

Official Website

mylittlepony.hasbro.com (accessed: September 17, 2020)

Available Onllne

On Netflix (6 seasons, accessed: September 17, 2020).

On Amazon Prime (accessed: September 17, 2020).

On iTunes (accessed: September 17, 2020).

Genre

Animated films
Television series

Target Audience

Crossover

Cover

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Ukrainian Logo by Hasbro, 2017. Retrieved from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (accessed: January 26, 2022)


Author of the Entry:

Anna Mik, University of Warsaw, anna.m.mik@gmail.com

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com

Daniel A. Nkemleke, University of Yaoundé 1, nkemlekedan@yahoo.com 

Lauren Faust, photographed by Rfaust76 on July 1, 2014 (accessed: January 7, 2020). The file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.

Lauren Faust , b. 1974
(Animator, Producer)

Lauren Faust is the creator of: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a TV-series primarily for children, broadcast in 2011-2019, produced by Hasbro. She also has worked for the Cartoon Network Studios in the production of: The Powerpuff Girls (her husband, Craig McCracken, is the creator of this series) and for Warner Bros (she is responsible for the reboot of: DC Super Hero Girls). Her philosophical outlook could be described as feminist (as she states herself on social media and in various interviews). 


Bio prepared by Anna Mik, University of Warsaw, anna.m.mik@gmail.com


Casting

Twilight Sparkle – Tara Strong,

Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy – Andrea Libman,

Applejack/Rainbow Dash – Ashleigh Ball, 

Spike – Cathy Weseluck.

Adaptations

My Little Pony. Friendship is Magic is a TV series, with multiple spin-off movies which all together provide the background for toys called “My Little Pony” produced by Hasbro; a similar phenomenon of cross-promotion also occurs in the case of Monster High (toys are accompanied by a TV series which reinforces popularity and sales of the toys).

Sequels, Prequels and Spin-offs

The previous episode: Suited For Success.

The next episode: Sonic Rainboom.

Summary

Summary of the series (see here)

Summary of the episode: 

The episode is built around the argument between Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Even though all the ponies live in the world of magic, these two present different approaches to it. Twilight has more of a scientific attitude, she prefers getting evidence for any kind of event and does not believe in prejudices. Pinkie on the other hand claims her cunning can predict the future: her body gives her all kinds of warnings for specific events to come (e.g. when her tail twitches, something is going to fall from the sky). Annoyingly (from Twilight’s perspective, who does not believe in such “signs”) all Pinkie’s predictions turn out to be completely accurate. 

Following Pinkie Pie’s feeling that something unexpected will happened in Equestria, she and the rest of the gang go to the gloomy swamps nearby. There they meet Hydra, a giant dragon-like creature with four, very hungry heads. While they escape the monster, Twilight gets into real trouble. She saves herself after she trusts her guts – just like Pinkie trusts hers. When the ponies are safe, Twilight admits: “[…] Pinkie sense somehow… makes sense. […] Just because I don’t understand doesn’t mean it’s not true.” Then she concludes with another vital observation: “It just means you have to choose to believe in them, and sometimes it takes a friend to show you the way.” The reconciled ponies return home, full of faith in Pinkie’s abilities.

Analysis

The classical element in the episode is of course Hydra. In Greek mythology, Lernaean Hydra also lived in the swamps, but had nine heads, the number in the series was reduced to four. In mythology Hydra was one of twelve tasks (labours) Hercules had to perform – the hero killed the monster, even though initially he had issue with the regrown heads. In Feeling Pinkie Keen, Hydra lives, moreover – it has a chance to present a little bit of a personality. At the end of the chase, the creature, or rather one of the heads (previously slightly confused by the fuss with the ponies) shows ponies its tongue, mocking our heroines, and then walks away with pride. 

Even though Hydra appears only for a minute, its presence once again proves that the world of My Little Ponies is full of mythical creatures, often inspired by classical antiquity. The creature is also spared, and even though it is still a threat to the main characters, it is defeated without violence nor bloodshed. Hydra also nicely blends in with the episode’s main topic – believing in something that you cannot entirely explain. Just like in Greek mythology, a leap of faith can change the perception of the world, revealed to be far more complex than it might have appeared at first glance. Hydra, as a supporting fantasy character, would be an exemplification of the episode’s motto, mentioned at the end by Twilight.


Further Reading

Entry: “Hydra” on Theoi.com (accessed: September 2,2020).

Hodkinson, Owen and Helen Lovatt, "Introduction" in Classical Reception and Children’s Literature: Greece, Rome and Childhood Transformation, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018. 

Addenda

Translations: Multi-language soundtrack.

The series proved to be very popular among teenagers and adults as well: fans call themselves: “bronies”; because of this popularity, it could be considered as having reached a crossover audience.

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Leaf pattern

Title of the work

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Series, S01E15): Feeling Pinkie Keen

Studio / Production Company

Hasbro

Country of the First Edition

Country/countries of popularity

Worldwide

Original Language

English

First Edition Date

2011

First Edition Details

Feeling Pinkie Keen. Directed by Jayson Thiessen, James Wootton. Script by Lauren Faust, Dave Polsky, Hasbro Studios, 2011.

Running time

23 min

Format

Available as video on demand on Netflix, also DVDs (multiple editions) are available

Date of the First DVD or VHS

Season 1 box set was released on December 4, 2012.

Official Website

mylittlepony.hasbro.com (accessed: September 17, 2020)

Available Onllne

On Netflix (6 seasons, accessed: September 17, 2020).

On Amazon Prime (accessed: September 17, 2020).

On iTunes (accessed: September 17, 2020).

Genre

Animated films
Television series

Target Audience

Crossover

Cover

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Ukrainian Logo by Hasbro, 2017. Retrieved from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (accessed: January 26, 2022)


Author of the Entry:

Anna Mik, University of Warsaw, anna.m.mik@gmail.com

Peer-reviewer of the Entry:

Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com

Daniel A. Nkemleke, University of Yaoundé 1, nkemlekedan@yahoo.com 

Lauren Faust, photographed by Rfaust76 on July 1, 2014 (accessed: January 7, 2020). The file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike.

Lauren Faust (Animator, Producer)

Lauren Faust is the creator of: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a TV-series primarily for children, broadcast in 2011-2019, produced by Hasbro. She also has worked for the Cartoon Network Studios in the production of: The Powerpuff Girls (her husband, Craig McCracken, is the creator of this series) and for Warner Bros (she is responsible for the reboot of: DC Super Hero Girls). Her philosophical outlook could be described as feminist (as she states herself on social media and in various interviews). 


Bio prepared by Anna Mik, University of Warsaw, anna.m.mik@gmail.com


Casting

Twilight Sparkle – Tara Strong,

Pinkie Pie/Fluttershy – Andrea Libman,

Applejack/Rainbow Dash – Ashleigh Ball, 

Spike – Cathy Weseluck.

Adaptations

My Little Pony. Friendship is Magic is a TV series, with multiple spin-off movies which all together provide the background for toys called “My Little Pony” produced by Hasbro; a similar phenomenon of cross-promotion also occurs in the case of Monster High (toys are accompanied by a TV series which reinforces popularity and sales of the toys).

Sequels, Prequels and Spin-offs

The previous episode: Suited For Success.

The next episode: Sonic Rainboom.

Summary

Summary of the series (see here)

Summary of the episode: 

The episode is built around the argument between Twilight and Pinkie Pie. Even though all the ponies live in the world of magic, these two present different approaches to it. Twilight has more of a scientific attitude, she prefers getting evidence for any kind of event and does not believe in prejudices. Pinkie on the other hand claims her cunning can predict the future: her body gives her all kinds of warnings for specific events to come (e.g. when her tail twitches, something is going to fall from the sky). Annoyingly (from Twilight’s perspective, who does not believe in such “signs”) all Pinkie’s predictions turn out to be completely accurate. 

Following Pinkie Pie’s feeling that something unexpected will happened in Equestria, she and the rest of the gang go to the gloomy swamps nearby. There they meet Hydra, a giant dragon-like creature with four, very hungry heads. While they escape the monster, Twilight gets into real trouble. She saves herself after she trusts her guts – just like Pinkie trusts hers. When the ponies are safe, Twilight admits: “[…] Pinkie sense somehow… makes sense. […] Just because I don’t understand doesn’t mean it’s not true.” Then she concludes with another vital observation: “It just means you have to choose to believe in them, and sometimes it takes a friend to show you the way.” The reconciled ponies return home, full of faith in Pinkie’s abilities.

Analysis

The classical element in the episode is of course Hydra. In Greek mythology, Lernaean Hydra also lived in the swamps, but had nine heads, the number in the series was reduced to four. In mythology Hydra was one of twelve tasks (labours) Hercules had to perform – the hero killed the monster, even though initially he had issue with the regrown heads. In Feeling Pinkie Keen, Hydra lives, moreover – it has a chance to present a little bit of a personality. At the end of the chase, the creature, or rather one of the heads (previously slightly confused by the fuss with the ponies) shows ponies its tongue, mocking our heroines, and then walks away with pride. 

Even though Hydra appears only for a minute, its presence once again proves that the world of My Little Ponies is full of mythical creatures, often inspired by classical antiquity. The creature is also spared, and even though it is still a threat to the main characters, it is defeated without violence nor bloodshed. Hydra also nicely blends in with the episode’s main topic – believing in something that you cannot entirely explain. Just like in Greek mythology, a leap of faith can change the perception of the world, revealed to be far more complex than it might have appeared at first glance. Hydra, as a supporting fantasy character, would be an exemplification of the episode’s motto, mentioned at the end by Twilight.


Further Reading

Entry: “Hydra” on Theoi.com (accessed: September 2,2020).

Hodkinson, Owen and Helen Lovatt, "Introduction" in Classical Reception and Children’s Literature: Greece, Rome and Childhood Transformation, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018. 

Addenda

Translations: Multi-language soundtrack.

The series proved to be very popular among teenagers and adults as well: fans call themselves: “bronies”; because of this popularity, it could be considered as having reached a crossover audience.

Yellow cloud