At the end of this I could very well go insane

[Andrew Wonser]

I'm currently devoting some of each day to get through the first seasons of both Adventure Time and My Little Pony in the hopes of understanding what is supposed to be so great about either.
Thankfully I'm also watching Gargoyles to keep me grounded.

 My current assessment after about six episodes of each, is that My Little Pony is winning. Insofar as it at least teaches a lesson, albeit that lesson is interlaced with a full package of pixie stix.
Adventure Time though I just don't get. With the exception of the second appearance of Marceline I really haven't liked an episode. If I could compare it's feel to another show I would say Ren & Stimpy. The problem was that I didn't like that one either for the same reason that both are so random.

I'm still sticking with each till the end and maybe into a second season where most shows really find their voice (Or in Star Trek TNG it took till Riker's beard). I am left wondering why My Little Pony has a loyal male fan base. I'm not saying they can't like it I just don't see where the appeal becomes so large that they are acknowledged by everyone as deserving a stupid name.

[Autistic Angel]

Man, forget Adventure Pony - let's talk about Gargoyles!  That show was amazing!  Most primetime series don't put a faction as much effort into mapping out their plot lines and respecting their continuity.

"Know her?  I named her!"

-Autistic Angel

[TheEgoWhip]

I'm more of a Regular Show guy myself.   Ooooh Yeeeaaaah!

[hepcat]

Haaaaammmmmmmboning

[msduncan]

I love Adventure Time.

[The Grue]

I love Adventure Time.

+1

Plus, I love My Little Pony.  I will say that it takes My Little Pony a number of episodes to really hit the stride of what makes it a fun show to watch.  I'm proud of my daughter for watching both of them.

[Purge]

I love Adventure Time.

Makin' Bacon Pancakes...

[naednek]

wtf is going on?
Grown men gagaing over my little pony

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Seriously.

[CeeKay]

we're surrounded by bronies bro!

[The Grue]

wtf is going on?
Grown men gagaing over my little pony

They're pretty flippin' cute.  Not sure why I like it.  It's certainly got its funny moments.  I probably mostly enjoy it because it's good bonding time with my daughter.  I spend most of the episode hoping Pinkie Pie will do something crazy.

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Have kids in the house? Okay.

Sitting on your couch with no children anywhere close, covered in Cheetos dust and sorrow?

[Harpua3]

Have kids in the house? Okay.

Sitting on your couch with no children anywhere close, covered in Cheetos dust and sorrow?

Chris Hansen will find you! And freak you out!!!

[Andrew Wonser]

So I ended up watching three seasons of My Little Pony and two of Adventure Time. I would say that my initial leaning towards liking MLP more that AT held throughout. Of course both series had episodes that I didn't care for and AT had episodes that I liked. Have some random thoughts for each. Also I will quote a line from MST3K to preface this whole thing "If you're wondering how he eats and breathes / And other science facts / Then repeat to yourself 'It's just a show, / I should really just relax."

My Little Pony

• Rarity is actually quite selfish and self-centered which is odd since her element is supposed to be generosity. Time and time again the lesson that she supposedly learns is to take the feelings of others in to account or appreciate what you have.
• Why do they need to make it rain, other than to refill/filtrate what they use on a personal basis, if plants do not grow where they live (Exception being the forest)?
• Slavery exists in this world. Cows and sheep can talk (I'm going to disregard dogs as it might be an evolution thing) but both are kept in enclosures and used for their respective goods.
• Fluttershy despite being presented as the guardian of the animals must know that in order to have a lot of the sweets that are sold in the cake shop they need eggs. Which they probably get from her chicken coup.
• The old are cast out or killed Carrousel style. There is one elderly and three middle aged characters that I can think of. We also see only two sets of parents.
• The meaning of a cutie mark is not consistent. Most are based on talents or passions which is what they are portrayed as supposed to be but then there are others that based on personality or physical characteristics. How would a character know which way to go to get a mark? Do you wake up one morning and say hey I like to be an ass and get a /b/ mark?
• Bigotry exists in the form of ponies vs donkeys/mules. With the later looked down upon as ugly or un-talented.
• How can non-unicorn ponies write or do anything really?
• Pinkie Pie is mentally handicapped, possibly also possessed.
• Bronie is still a stupid designation.

Adventure Time

No bullet-points this time. It really feels like the show could be seen a few different ways. My personal opinion is that Fin is downright crazy and this is all happening in his mind. With several real world people being represented as other beings. He possibly murdered whomever Princess Bubblegum is supposed to be (Love obsession maybe). My problem with the show besides being so random is the over-arching story (Which I was surprised there even was one) is given to you piecemeal. Not as bad as say Dragonball Z but closer to a Case Closed or How I Met Your Mother. Also maybe I'm forgetting something but there doesn't appear to be any rules to the world. The only constants are Princess Bubblegum and the Ice King. Everyone else can do whatever the situation calls for. I wouldn't be surprised that as some point Jake can fly. Nothing else really besides I may watch a random episode but it's definitely not a must see for me like say Avatar The Last Airbender was.

Real brief I will say that I've re-watched the first two seasons of Gargoyles but hit a wall with the third. The focus from adventures to an enemy that is able to harm the protagonists from their position (See Senator Kinsey from SG-1) hampers my enjoyment a bit and I'm not a bit fan of racism in stories.

[Bullwinkle]

Ah, so you have, in fact, gone insane.

[Misguided]

Ah, so you have, in fact, gone insane.

I keep waiting for the punchline. This may be the most surreal thread I've ever seen on these forums. What's next? Strawberry Shortcake? Care Bears?

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Forget it, Misguided. It's Ponytown.

[Lordnine]

My problem with the show besides being so random is the over-arching story (Which I was surprised there even was one) is given to you piecemeal.

I actually kind of like Adventure Time. 

If you read a ploy synopsis it’s a lot more interesting than any random viewing of the show would lead you to believe.

From what I’ve been able to piece together…

First, Finn doesn’t matter much at all; he’s basically just a means to an ends to tell the more interesting story. 

Everything starts in the modern day or shortly thereafter.  A man named Simon finds a magic crown.  Not long after, World War III breaks out and nuclear and mutagenic bombs wipe out the majority of the world.  Simon survives and finds a young girl in the wreckage.  His crown gives him the power to protect her but it has a price.  Every time he puts on the crown and uses its power he loses a bit of his memories.  Finally he starts to go insane.  Knowing he soon won’t remember who he is or even the girl he is trying to protect, he uses his magic to create a kingdom where she will be protected.  His last act as Simon is to create the Candy Kingdom and once it is done he becomes the Ice King.

The girl was Marceline, who is the vampire in the current timeframe, which is roughly 1,000 years after the war.

[Andrew Wonser]

Ah, so you have, in fact, gone insane.

Clearly. Though I do have to say, and yes this is probably me digging an even bigger hole, I sometimes do enjoy watching programs for a younger demographic, Franklin and Blue's Clue's as an example (I still have the planets song memorized). It's nice to just enjoy something that wears it's heart on it's sleeve. Not having to worry about deeper context. The popcorn movie, if you will, but if it had a lesson to teach.

I would ask this, what would you think of an adult that just now is watching Batman The Animated Series. I think many would consider it a classic and for myself that is the Batman that I put above all others. Conroy and Hamill are Batman and the Joker for me. Is it only okay to watch something, that is no longer in part of your demographic, but only if you watched when it was? Or does the exclusion happen because you're the wrong sex that the show is catering to. Was I not supposed to like Babar as a child because it was French? I know I'm really stretching this but the questions can still be raised.

Moving on.

I really got into the plot holes for MLP because it was one time that I really thought about it. Normally I just accept whatever the explanation is. I'll bring in another MST3K reference as an example. The hands of two characters are stuck to metal bars. The reasoning that was given was because the bars were magnetized. It took Crow, I believe, to bring up the stupidity of this for me to go oh yeah that is silly. Otherwise I simply wouldn't have given it a thought. Really it boils down to being nothing more than a thought experiment to see how many I could come up with (And there were others). I would add that I have a fear that the Rarity character and maybe a few lessons fall into the Eric the Barbarian character from Dungeons & Dragons catagory. That being they are there not because the writers want them but because outside forces do.

My problem with the show besides being so random is the over-arching story (Which I was surprised there even was one) is given to you piecemeal.

First, Finn doesn’t matter much at all; he’s basically just a means to an ends to tell the more interesting story.  

Everything starts in the modern day or shortly thereafter.  A man named Simon finds a magic crown.  Not long after, World War III breaks out and nuclear and mutagenic bombs wipe out the majority of the world.  Simon survives and finds a young girl in the wreckage.  His crown gives him the power to protect her but it has a price.  Every time he puts on the crown and uses its power he loses a bit of his memories.  Finally he starts to go insane.  Knowing he soon won’t remember who he is or even the girl he is trying to protect, he uses his magic to create a kingdom where she will be protected.  His last act as Simon is to create the Candy Kingdom and once it is done he becomes the Ice King.

The girl was Marceline, who is the vampire in the current timeframe, which is roughly 1,000 years after the war.

I did, briefly, see the scene where she remembers part of her past and the one where Fin & Jake are real. Believe me if there was more of that I would enjoy it more. But to reference Case Closed again the actual plot of the show takes a far far back seat to the weekly adventures.

I do wonder why then Marceline does have a person she views as a father. Is it a reflex of a young persons psyche to protect that person from the truth. Maybe Fin & Jake are real in that they were soldiers (dying?) and Simon gave them a chance to live but only if they promised to protect the kingdom from both the evils within and himself. Maybe in agreeing to do so they were given the chance to wear the crown and wish for an ability (Or first thing that came to mind) with the price being they would forget who Marceline was. The powers being Jake's stretchiness and Fin's spit.

[I hope you guys are getting affiliated for those Batman links because I sure didn't put them in there]

[Lordnine]

You might be interested in this video.  It's basically the origin story.

[Harpua3]

Okay... This thread is weirder than shit. That being said, to each his own. I just...don't...get...it...

I'm sure I do things most others don't get, but they're surely not this fucking wierd!  

[Arclight]

  ?

[Misguided]

I would ask this, what would you think of an adult that just now is watching Batman The Animated Series. I think many would consider it a classic and for myself that is the Batman that I put above all others.

I LOVE cartoons, and I can name piles of animated shows (or children's shows in general) that I think are awesome (Muppet Babies, early Blues Clues, Rollie Pollie Ollie, Arthur, Between the Lions, Madeline, etc). My observation that the thread is surreal stems from your particular choice of MLP. I'd rather watch a marathon of the Wiggles (Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy!)

The idea that you'd use Batman:TAS in the same context just demonstrates how different our viewpoints are. But hey, if you are enjoying it, rock on! I'm not criticizing, nor would I, just strikes me as really out there.

Awwww heck. Now I've got the Wiggles stuck in my head. Looks like I'll be going insane before Andrew.

[CeeKay]

I'm sure I do things most others don't get, but they're surely not this fucking wierd!  

yes they are.  even weirder.  freak.

[Harpua3]

I'm sure I do things most others don't get, but they're surely not this fucking wierd!  

yes they are.  even weirder.  freak.

Sheesh, I put a wink at the end of my comment. You know, to soften the blow. Nothing from you! Now you're being racist!

Thought that would throw you off...

Btw, I wonder if some my little ponies are indeed racist. Or are there too many colors to pick from to hate?

Ill admit, I just woke up...

[CeeKay]

for those who want to watch the first 3 seasons of My Little Pony but are stretched for free time:

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zR7V_bCyZe0

[Andrew Wonser]

The idea that you'd use Batman:TAS in the same context just demonstrates how different our viewpoints are. But hey, if you are enjoying it, rock on! I'm not criticizing, nor would I, just strikes me as really out there.

I just used Batman as an example as it was the first thing that popped into my head that was sort of close to the age demographic of MLP, that I could also remember running home to watch. It's also something I figured a lot of the users here would remember. No other reason beyond that. In terms of quality, when you had the president of the initial animation company draw in the frost for Mr Freeze's helmet vs flash it just doesn't compare.

I suppose the discussions in this thread took me by surprise. One part because usually my topics die pretty much right away and the second because I also do not understand the objection, no that's not the right word, bafflement maybe. Hence my bringing Batman into this. I don't know if MLP is supposed to be taboo because of age/sex/or something else. Was it because I started to analyze it? I'm at a loss here.

The creators did know that some parents would watch this and threw them eggs so it wasn't all for their kids. Why else would you get a glimpse of the Dude or John de Lancie essentially reprising Q. By their own admission it was all the other adults that caught them by surprise. In making sure I spelled John's named right I discovered he helped create a documentary about the whole adult fan thing.

[Misguided]

Didn't know about the Q reprisal. That's funny. It is definitely true that the best cartoons work on multiple levels. Some of Disney's cartoons are great in this regard (I still don't know how anyone ever got Dave the Barbarian greenlighted...), like one of my favorites, Phineas & Ferb.

[CeeKay]

OK, My Little Pony just went up a notch in my book when I heard about this.

[Andrew Wonser]

There have been numerous parodies.
Mad Men
Star Wars
Bridesmaids
Looney Toons

There are a few more listed here.