My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, also known as simply Equestria Girls, is a Canadian-American product line of fashion dolls and media franchise launched in 2013 by Hasbro, as a spin-off of the 2010 re-launch of the My Little Pony franchise. Equestria Girls features anthropomorphized versions of My Little Pony characters from Friendship Is Magic. It includes various doll lines and media tie-ins (including four films, music albums, a mobile app, three TV specials, "Summertime" animated shorts, and a web series on YouTube).
The Equestria Girls fictional universe is established as a parallel counterpart to the main world of the 2010 incarnation of My Little Pony, populated with humanoid versions of the characters from the franchise.
Overview
Setting
Equestria Girls takes place in an alternate version of Equestria resembling modern-day Earth, whose population consists of humanoids with skins colored other than the usual human skin colors, most are similar to their equine counterparts in terms of appearance and personality.
Normally, this parallel world is depicted to be accessible through various magical spells and items like the Portal Mirror, a magical mirror created by Star Swirl the Bearded.
Several locales in the parallel world serve as counterparts to the main cities and establishments in Equestria, such as Canterlot High School, a high school based on the royal city of Canterlot that is run by Principal Celestia and her sister, Vice Principal Luna; and Crystal Prep Academy, an elite private school based on Equestria's Crystal Empire.
Premise
Equestria Girls follows Princess Twilight Sparkle in the parallel world, which is accessed through a magic mirror. Together, with the counterparts of her pony friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy, along with her assistant Spike, Twilight will have to deal with the various magical happenings in Canterlot High.
Later films introduces two additional main characters serving as substitutes for Twilight (due to her duties in Equestria as the Princess of Friendship): Sunset Shimmer, a former student of Princess Celestia; and Twilight "Sci-Twi" Sparkle, the science-inclined parallel world counterpart of Princess Twilight Sparkle.
Development and release
The earliest known official use of the "Equestria Girls" name occurred during 2011, when the American television channel The Hub (a joint venture between Discovery Communications and Hasbro; now known as Discovery Family) released a promotional commercial for Hasbro Studios' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic television series which featured a modified version of Katy Perry's "California Gurls"; the commercial has nothing to do with the later-launched franchise, however.
In late 2012, Hasbro registered trademark for the name "Equestria Girls" at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The franchise was briefly mentioned in the media earlier in February and March 2013. In an interview in the February/March 2013 issue of the Kidscreen magazine, Hasbro's senior vice president of international distribution and development, Finn Arnesen, called My Little Pony a "top-priority" brand for the company; the film was described as "a new companion series" that would "[send] the pony heroes on a mission to a new world where they take on human form". Equestria Girls was announced in May 2013 with a film and other media strategy, and it was included in Hasbro's licensing program for My Little Pony announced in June 2013, which began at the 2013 Licensing International Expo along with the company's other properties. The spin-off was to be a part of the 30th anniversary of the My Little Pony brand.
Along with the toys, Hasbro planned to produce related merchandise and media including films, apparel, and accessories. Hasbro's chief marketing officer, John A. Frascotti, called the franchise a "major strategic initiative" for the company. The human-based toys were developed to appeal to girls in their teens as a means to extend the My Little Pony brand. In addition, Hasbro will continue its licensing deals with book publisher Little, Brown and Company and comic book publisher IDW Publishing to publish related works.
In the audio commentary included in the Rainbow Rocks home media, Meghan McCarthy commented that Equestria Girls was initially not intended to become an ongoing franchise, and the thought of a sequel did not cross her mind.
Sub-lineups
- Equestria Girls (2013): The first lineup to be released, it features humanized version of My Little Pony characters from the 2010 relaunch.
- Rainbow Rocks (2014): The succeeding lineup named Rainbow Rocks, featuring music-themed toys and media, was first displayed at the 2014 American International Toy Fair.
- Friendship Games (2015): In January 2015, at that year's edition of The Toy Fair in London, some merchandise was unveiled labeled My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games. Some vectors for the merchandise include Applejack and Fluttershy in archery outfits, an alternative universe counterpart of Twilight Sparkle, and five new characters introduced with the lineup: Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, and Sunny Flare. Mentions on the supporting products, alongside the film, was included in Hasbro's investor presentation at the 2015 American International Toy Fair. Wondercolts and Shadowbolts dolls were released in late 2015 in two varieties: "School Spirit" classic and "Sporty Style" deluxe. In the Sporty Style assortment, the Wondercolts' Fluttershy and Applejack and the Shadowbolts' Sour Sweet and Twilight Sparkle come with a bow and a quiver of arrows. The Wondercolts' Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer and the Shadowbolts' Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat come with motorcycle helmets and goggles. The Wondercolts' Pinkie Pie and Rarity and the Shadowbolts' Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare come with roller skates. A motocross bike was released in 2015.
- Equestria Girls Minis (2015): A lineup featuring caricatured Equestria Girls characters.
- Legend of Everfree (2016): First mentioned in a Hasbro 2016 Entertainment Plan presentation in August 2015 along with the tie-in film of the same title, a tentative image was shown of new character whose name was not mentioned at the time. In February 2016, at the 2016 American International Toy Fair, some Legend of Everfree merchandise was revealed. Dolls unveiled were available in four styles â€" "Geometric Assortment", "Crystal Gala Assortment", "Crystal Wings Assortment", and "Boho Assortment". A new character by the name of Gloriosa Daisy was also revealed during the presentation. The toys were released in July 2016.
Cast
Films and animated shorts
- Grey cells with "N/A" indicate that the character made no appearance.
Specials (2017)
- Grey cells with "N/A" indicate that the character made no appearance.
Crew members
Films
Specials (2017)
Characters
The following characters made their debut in the Equestria Girls series, which is primarily set in a fictional world parallel to the pony-inhabited fantasy setting of the current incarnation of My Little Pony, accessible via a magic mirror. The toys and other series of media additionally features alternate humanoid versions of pony characters in roles similar to the television series; characters as depicted in the television series who travel between worlds assume similar forms in the alternative setting.
Counterparts of Friendship Is Magic characters
- Twilight Sparkle â€" Two alternate versions of Twilight Sparkle appear in the Equestria Girls series. In the first two lineups, Twilight is primarily the same princess character from Friendship Is Magic, transformed into a humanoid teenager after traveling from the pony-inhabited world of Equestria. The Friendship Games lineup formally introduces the alternate universe counterpart of Twilight, a curious student at Crystal Prep Academy who transfers to Canterlot High School. She is distinguished as Sci-Twi in some merchandise and other depictions. Her alter ego, Midnight Sparkle, first appears as an antagonist in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls â€" Friendship Games, and is later revealed to be an entity that haunts her in her nightmares and gives her severe anxiety of her previous actions in My Little Pony: Equestria Girls â€" Legend of Everfree.
- Spike â€" In the Equestria Girls series, Spike the baby dragon is depicted as a dog with the ability to speak. Similar to Twilight, the character's Friendship Is Magic incarnation appears in the first two lineups, masquerading as a speechless animal. His alternate universe counterpart included in the Friendship Games lineup is "Sci-Twi's" ordinary pet dog who gains his speaking ability from Equestrian magic.
- Applejack â€" A Canterlot High student who works on her family's farm.
- Fluttershy â€" Fluttershy's alternate universe counterpart is a Canterlot High student who is a volunteer worker at the local animal shelter. She is the first alternate version of the Mane Six that Princess Twilight encounters in the first film.
- Pinkie Pie â€" An eccentric and friendly Canterlot High student.
- Rainbow Dash â€" A student/star athlete at Canterlot High, stated to be the captain of every sports team the school has.
- Rarity â€" A Canterlot High student and a talented seamstress, much like her Friendship Is Magic counterpart.
- Principal Celestia â€" The principal of Canterlot High.
- Vice Principal Luna â€" The vice principal of Canterlot High. Like her counterpart from Equestria, she is Celestia's younger sister.
The Equestria Girls counterparts of the minor, supporting and background characters in Friendship Is Magic television series (which some of them are popularized by the new My Little Pony fandom) also make appearances in the films and shorts. Among such characters, those released as toys include Cheerilee, Cutie Mark Crusaders (Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle), DJ Pon-3, Lyra Heartstrings, Octavia Melody, Photo Finish, Sweetie Drops and Trixie (released as Trixie Lulamoon).
The counterparts of Friendship Is Magic characters which had their toys released but did not make appearance in any of tie-in media include Queen Chrysalis, Sapphire Shores and Zecora.
Original characters
- Sunset Shimmer â€" Introduced in the first lineup, Sunset is a unicorn from Equestria who resides in the alternative universe as a student at Canterlot High. In the films, the character is depicted to be a renegade student of Princess Celestia's who was once corrupted but is later reformed. She is the antagonist of the first film, where she is the school bully of Canterlot High School who steals Twilight Sparkle's crown-shaped Element of Magic to control the school. After Twilight pursues and defeats her alongside the counterparts of Twilight's friends, Sunset befriends them. Later films follow her efforts to redeem herself and fit in among the student body. Sunset did not become a main character until the second draft of the script for the Rainbow Rocks film. She is voiced by Rebecca Shoichet in all animated appearances.
- Flash Sentry â€" Introduced in the first lineup, Flash Sentry appears as a Canterlot High student. The character appears in all Equestria Girls films, being depicted as Sunset Shimmer's ex-boyfriend who takes a romantic interest in Twilight Sparkle. His counterpart in Equestria, a royal pegasus guard at the Crystal Empire, also appears in the first film, and has brief appearances in the episodes "Three's a Crowd" (without any dialog) and "Twilight's Kingdom, part 1" from the fourth season of Friendship Is Magic. Both versions are voiced by Vincent Tong in all appearances.
- The Dazzlings â€" The Dazzlings are a "villainous band" of sirens introduced in the Rainbow Rocks lineup. They are composed of the leader Adagio Dazzle (voiced in the film by Kazumi Evans) and her two backup singers, the airheaded Sonata Dusk (voiced by Maryke Hendrikse, singing voice by Madeline Merlo) and abrasive Aria Blaze (voiced by Diana Kaarina, singing voice by Shylo Sharity). In the Rainbow Rocks film, the team are portrayed to be the antagonists, being banished from Equestria, and aiming to control the residents of the parallel world through their enchanted singing.
- Principal Abacus Cinch â€" Cinch appears in most of Friendship Games media (including the film) as the main antagonist, but no toy of this character has been released as of 2016. She is portrayed as the strict principal of Crystal Prep Academy, a prestigious school that rivals Canterlot High School, and is obsessed with maintaining her school's reputation by manipulating her prized student, the alternative universe counterpart of Twilight Sparkle. She is voiced by Iris Quinn in the film.
- The Shadowbolts â€" The Shadowbolts, introduced in the Friendship Games lineup, are Crystal Prep's sports team that opposes Canterlot High's Wondercolts team. In out-of-the-show aspect, their name is shared with Nightmare Moon's illusion (based on the Wonderbolts flight squad) from the latter part of Friendship Is Magic pilot. Apart from the counterpart of Twilight Sparkle, the team includes the blunt Sugarcoat (voiced in the film by Sienna Bohn), two-faced Sour Sweet (voiced by Sharon Alexander), hyper-competitive Indigo Zap (voiced by Kelly Sheridan), disdainful Sunny Flare (voiced by Britt Irvin), and rocker girl Lemon Zest (voiced by Shannon Chan-Kent).
- Gloriosa Daisy â€" Gloriosa, introduced in the Legend of Everfree lineup, is a counselor at Camp Everfree. In the film and other tie-in media, she is depicted as the main antagonist behind the damages at the camp, and, by magic, she eventually transforms into a creature named Gaea Everfree. In the film, Enid-Raye Adams voices the character, and Kelly Metzger provides her singing voice.
- Timber Spruce â€" Timber Spruce is another counselor at Camp Everfree. The character appears in the Legend of Everfree film and other tie-in media, but no toy of him has been released as of October 2016. He is voiced by Brian Doe in the film.
- Juniper Montage - She is the main antagonist in two of the three Equestria Girls specials, Movie Magic and Mirror Magic. A toy of her was released in late August 2017. She is voiced by Ali Liebert.
Releases by media
Animated films, shorts, and specials
The animated films and their related shorts, all produced by DHX Media's 2D animation studio in Vancouver, Canada for Hasbro Studios, revolve around the main cast of Friendship Is Magic, normally ponies, as teenage human characters in a high school setting in alternative universe. The first two films were written by Meghan McCarthy and directed by Jayson Thiessen; the third film was written by Josh Haber and directed by Ishi Rudell; the fourth film was written by Kristine Songco and Joanna Lewis, and directed by Ishi Rudell. The four films are then to be followed by the three 22-minute specials were released on Discovery Family starting on June 24 and ended on July 8, 2017 respectively.
Hasbro Studios lists the films as "TV specials" in the company's sales guide. However, in the United States and Canada, the first two films, Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks, had limited theatrical screenings in select cities before they were released on home media (by Shout! Factory for the region) and broadcast on television. In the U.S., these films were screened in Screenvision theaters, without any rating from the MPAA, while in Canada, they were shown in Cineplex theaters, with classifications from provincial film boards. No box office records in both areas are available for the two films. Internationally, there have been theatrical releases of the films in some areas, but in most cases the films were only shown on television before (or after) it was released on home media.
For the films Rainbow Rocks and Friendship Games, a series of animated shorts released online accompanies each film. The shorts are also included on physical media releases of the films as a part of special features.
To maintain continuity of the films with the Friendship Is Magic television series, Hasbro used the same writing staff as the show, including the current story editor Meghan McCarthy, who considered the story to be "an extension of our mythology". McCarthy stated that with the Equestria Girls setting, "we might explore different aspects of relationships that in the pony world don't quite work the same as they do when you set it in a high school setting", thus making the work more appealing to older girls that are in high or junior high school.
In writing the script of the first film, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Meghan McCarthy went back to the self-titled two-part pilot episodes of Friendship Is Magic, where Twilight Sparkle is sent to Ponyville for the first time and forced to meet new friends. She wanted to do the same with the film, in this case putting Twilight into a new world where she would again be forced to make new friends to succeed in her quest. Released in 2013, the film was premiered on June 15 as a part of Los Angeles Film Festival that year, before having limited theatrical releases in the United States and Canada the next day, and was released on home media on August 6.
The second film released in 2014, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls â€" Rainbow Rocks, centers around Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer and friends' activities against evil sirens using music. On February 13, 2014, Meghan McCarthy wrote on Twitter that she had worked on the film during the summer of 2013. That same day, songwriter Daniel Ingram also wrote on the service that there would be a total of 12 songs in the film; however, only 11 songs were used in the film. The film had a limited theatrical release from September 27, 2014, before it was out on home media on October 28 that year.
Released in 2015, the third installment, My Little Pony: Equestria Girls â€" Friendship Games, was first teased by Rainbow Rocks co-director, Ishi Rudell on December 12, 2014. The film was first broadcast on September 26, 2015 on Discovery Family in the U.S. and Family Channel in Canada, and was released on home media on October 13 that year. In the film, the alternative universe counterpart of Twilight Sparkle, a student at Crystal Prep, is forced by Principal Abacus Cinch to disrupt Friendship Games (a sporting event held every four years with Canterlot High) with magic.
On October 3, 2015, CEO of Hasbro Studios Stephen Davis said that a fourth film, subtitled Legend of Everfree, was in development. The film was released on Netflix on October 1, 2016, and the home media release followed on November 1, 2016. In the film, the protagonists follow the damages at Camp Everfree caused by a creature so-called Gaea Everfree.
A three-episode miniseries, which takes place after the events in the Legend of Everfree film, was released from late-June 2017 to early-July 2017 on Discovery Family. It was then followed by a series of "Summertime" shorts.
Discography
- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls â€" Soundtrack (2013)
- Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks â€" Soundtrack (2014)
- Equestria Girls: Friendship Games â€" Soundtrack (2015)
- Equestria Girls: Legend of Everfree â€" Soundtrack (2016)
The My Little Pony 2015 Convention Collection released for San Diego Comic-Con International 2015 contains select songs from the first two films: Equestria Girls and Rainbow Rocks.
Digital series
A YouTube-exclusive series was originally going to premiere sometime in 2018; however, it was moved up to a November 17, 2017 release instead.
Season 1 (2017-)
Books
The following chapter books are originally published by LB Kids imprint of Hachette Book Group USA. The Orchard Books imprint of Hachette UK, as well as The Five Mile Press in Australia, also published the books. The dates listed are the United States publish dates.
Other than the chapter books, the following books was also published by the LB Kids imprint.
Comics
A special short story, featuring the origins of Sunset Shimmer, was published in the IDW My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic 2013 San Diego Comic Con comic variant in July 2013. It also included additional stories in a stand-alone issue, titled My Little Pony Annual 2013: Equestria Girls, released on October 30, 2013.
An issue of IDW's Fiendship Is Magic features the sirens, the evil creatures as appeared in Rainbow Rocks.
Equestria Girls Minis shorts
An online series of 15-30-second animated shorts was uploaded onto the official website and official YouTube channel on February 11, 2016 to promote the Equestria Girls Minis toy line.
Home media
Live-action music videos
Up until the Friendship Games lineup, Hasbro has been releasing a series of live-action music videos to promote the toy line. The videos feature the female dancers, dressed as the protagonists, dance to the renditions of the song "Equestria Girls", a number heard in the first Equestria Girls film.
With the first lineup, Hasbro released a live-action music video, titled Magic of Friendship, on Entertainment Weekly website on August 30, 2013, depicting seven teenage girls, as the six protagonists and Sunset Shimmer, doing a new dance routine called "The EG Stomp" in a school cafeteria to a shorter Toy Commercial version of the "Equestria Girls" song.
On February 20, 2014, Hasbro released new live-action music video on its official website to coincide with the Rainbow Rocks lineup, depicting the protagonists in a rock band. The music video, also titled Rainbow Rocks, uses a rock version of the "Equestria Girls" song and portrays the protagonists performing the "EG Stomp". Through the Equestria Girls YouTube channel, another music video was released on August 4, 2014. It depicts four more teenage girls, each one dressed as the Dazzlings and DJ Pon-3 respectively. On February 2015, another music video titled "Rainbooms Remix" was released.
On August 14, 2015, the same year the Friendship Games lineup was launched, Hasbro released a live-action music video on its website, depicting five of the six protagonists as well as Sunset Shimmer in a sporting competition against Crystal Prep's Twilight Sparkle.
Video and website games
On October 15, 2013, Gameloft's My Little Pony mobile game was updated to include the Equestria Girls mini-game.
A Rainbow Rocks missile command-type mini-game was added to the Hasbro Arcade mobile app on April 8, 2014. On October 29, 2014, the mini-game was updated to include the Dazzlings with two songs from the movie and one song from one of the live-action music videos.
On June 7, 2014, a Rainbow Rocks game titled "Repeat the Beat" was released on Hasbro's Equestria Girls website; almost two months later, two more games have been released on July 31, 2014, one of them being "Equestria Girls: Battle of the Bands" and the other being "Equestria Girls: V.I.F. (Very Important Friend)".
On August 4, 2015, a Friendship Games game titled "Archery Game" was released on Hasbro's Equestria Girls website.
Reception
There have been criticism over the anthropomorphism approach of the toy line, as well as the franchise overall. Prior to the Equestria Girls film's release, several mothers spoke to the New York Daily News stating concerns about the humanized characters, describing them as "too sexy", "anorexic", "going back to the original Barbie" or "looking like Bratz dolls", and several feared allowing their children to be influenced by the looks. However, some considered it reasonable with other current media such as The Little Mermaid, with one parent stating she felt that it isn't "any worse than Ariel in a bikini top for two hours". Slate's Amanda Marcotte considered that the characters' change to human form was to popularize Equestria Girls with the adult fanbase of Friendship Is Magic, who she claims "have expressed a strong interest in seeing the Ponies in sexy, humanized forms". However, many of these adult fans expressed disappointment in the announcement of the franchise and the characters, considering Equestria Girls to be trying to pander to this older audience, and that the approach "goes against everything that Pony was trying to prove". Craig McCracken, speaking for his wife Lauren Faust, Friendship Is Magic's creative showrunner for the first two seasons before stepping down, stated that McCracken felt she "wasn't the biggest fan" of Equestria Girls, opining that the approach of turning the pony characters into humans would have gone against the way she wanted to take the television series.
When reviewing the Friendship Games film, Mike Cahill of The Guardian gave the film two out of five stars, calling it "craven commercialism", but adding that "it's not unattractively designed, and its peppy collegiate spirit trumps the sappiness of Disney's Tinkerbell spin-offs".
Notes
References
External links
- Official website
- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls film series at Hasbro Studios
- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls' channel on YouTube