An Appeal to the Fandom - Keep Calm and Trot On

[P51Mustang]

Our fandom has seen its share of upheaval and drama this past half year or so with the coming of alicorn Twilight and the reveal of Equestria Girls. Not since the departure of Lauren Faust as executive producer back in the first season have I seen such unrest in the community, but unlike those times the way the fandom has handled this news has at times been not exactly ideal. We have spewed some vitriolic things at Hasbro for sure, but we have also done the same to the people who brought us ponies and made them what they are: the good folks at DHX.

These folks for going on three years now have not only done the impossible and made those who would scoff at the MLP name ardent fans but have also shared in our enthusiasm and become part of the community in their own wonderful way. Never before have I seen such tight connections between the creators and the fans, a connection I fear without would have lessened many of our experiences (Derpy anyone?). This connection has been a feedback loop that fuels our passions as well as their own, making them work long into the nights on both weekdays and weekends to make the best things they can because they love what they do and they love seeing us react.

Unfortunately, with such tight connections, the bad has a way of effecting things as much as the good. Word has been going around that since the trailer for Equestria Girls was released, and us learning that DHX was behind the movie, that attacks have been made on the competency, the commitment, and ability of the staff to pull this off. This wave of negativity, compounded surely by the months of them nervously waiting on our reactions, has apparently gotten more than a few members of DHX disheartened and possibly considering leaving the show (MLP or EqG). While I can understand that change is scary and that it can be easy to let emotions run high and say what comes to mind, the negativity has a real life impact, something I can relate to very much as of late.

One of the greatest things about the fandom in my opinion was that it was a community filled with caring individuals which who they might not agree on certain things were at least respectful when they did disagree. I am in no way advocating we be blind optimists, but that we should take greater care in our disagreements with these changes and also to put more trust in our friends which have given us 65 full episodes of pony. There are already some signs the new series will have at least some of FiM's charm with clips of Twilight adorkably adapting to human life. And even if EqG doesn't pan out we still have season 4 of ponies coming to us in normal fashion this winter! So let's give them some encouragement that we still trust in them! A campaign is underway on Twitter under the #thankyouDHX tag, so go lend them some support, encouragement, and love.

At the very least they deserve a shot to show us what they got right? We gave them a shot once when we all watched our first MLP:FiM episode, why not give them another chance? Let's be that supportive community we're known for, supporting one another like our fun loving ponies.

http://www.equestria...m-and-trot.html

I think this should be seen by every brony. The fact that some members of DHX are considering quitting the MLP/EQG staff is unacceptable, and I think it's time we need to calm down.

[Bellosh]

Posted for reasons:

[RarityDash]

This kind of infantile behavior from the fandom really has me wanting Equestria Girls to be awesome so that I can fully embrace it.

[kunio18]

LAAAAARRRRSOOOOOON !

so funny i nearly fell of my chair

[NovaArkwing]

A film with your typical done to death then brought back only to die again High School setting? Check

Generic high school archetype and stereotypical characters? Check

Main Character as a typical adorkable character that you're meant to relate to despite the fact it falls flat and backfires every time? Check

Notice how generic and typical keeps appearing there, for good reason...It's been done before and backfired horribly.

Even if it's DHX doing this, they're wasting their talents and money on a concept done to death over and over. By about over a dozen different movies all set in a High school setting that have already done this high school setting. They should stick to what they do best and focus on MLP and not this obvious ploy at taking your money and leaving you with a very bad experience that would no doubt dampen your hopes when Season 4 rolls around.

Alright bronies move along, nothing to see here just wait until Season 4 gets here.

[Autumn]

Keep in mind, when forming an opinion on the Equestria Girls thing, that WE are not actually the target audience.

The targeted demographic will LOVE it!

[Jane]

Keep in mind, when forming an opinion on the Equestria Girls thing, that WE are not actually the target audience.

The targeted demographic will LOVE it!

[Rosewind]

I'm not sure what to think about it. It's a smart business move, sure. They want material to relate to the demographic they're after. The character design, though...ugh.

I was saying last night that Hasbro should have embraced Galaxy Girls if they wanted something like this. It would have been an amazing property to develop in order to fill the niche they're pushing now with EG.

[TehBbqdPizza]

A film with your typical done to death then brought back only to die again High School setting? Check

Generic high school archetype and stereotypical characters? Check

Main Character as a typical adorkable character that you're meant to relate to despite the fact it falls flat and backfires every time? Check

Notice how generic and typical keeps appearing there, for good reason...It's been done before and backfired horribly.

Even if it's DHX doing this, they're wasting their talents and money on a concept done to death over and over. By about over a dozen different movies all set in a High school setting that have already done this high school setting. They should stick to what they do best and focus on MLP and not this obvious ploy at taking your money and leaving you with a very bad experience that would no doubt dampen your hopes when Season 4 rolls around.

Alright bronies move along, nothing to see here just wait until Season 4 gets here.

Actually, Equestria Girls doesn't seem that bad if you disregard it's "cover". I've watched the trailer, and I can say they're still some hope for the movie. In fact, my friends and I has considered watching the movie around August itself to give it a shot.

And even if it's really THAT terrible, it won't affect the brony community by much.

[P51Mustang]

Well I don't think the problem is as much as the fans not liking the idea of the show. I think the problem comes from the fact that fans are attacking DHX directly. Questioning their talent and dedication to the MLP franchise as well as death threats (which apparently did happened.) I mean it's one thing to attack an episode or a movie, that's acceptable. However, to attack the writers, animators, VAs, that is totally and completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated by the fandom.

[Rosewind]

What is the fan community supposed to do about it? It's the reckless choices of a few individuals that is creating a problem. I think if people want to solve this problem, they should educate themselves on the creative and business processes that started this spinoff in in the first place. DHX doesn't do any of the writing; they just produce what they're told to. I don't think any of the writers woke up one morning and decided to do a spinoff like this -- Hasbro probably commissioned it based on their own business plans and need to fill a certain niche.

It's arguable this even happened because the property and fan response has been so robust.

[Lux]

Really it boils down to this:

1. It's a movie, not a series and as such will have little impact on the series as a whole.
   
2. If you base your dislike off of rumors and what little we know about it but not watch the show, then all you're really doing is practice the same baseless paranoia that spread times before when Faust left, Cadence was introduced, and Twilight became a Princess.
   
3. If you watch it and like it, great for you.
   
4. If you watch it and don't like the movie, remember it's just a movie and will not impact the series much if at all.
   
5. And most importantly, we are our own worst enemies. If we go around thinking that every change is going to spell the death of MLP FiM as we know it, then as long as you trick your brain into believing such silly notions then nothing that the writers, artists, VAs or musicians do will be good enough.
   

So let's put away our torches and pitchforks and actually wait to see how the movie really is instead of wild speculation, shall we?

[Lerian]

You can't tell me what to do!

You're not my Princess!

*Freaks out*

[brianblackberry]

Even if it's DHX doing this, they're wasting their talents and money on a concept done to death over and over. By about over a dozen different movies all set in a High school setting that have already done this high school setting. They should stick to what they do best and focus on MLP and not this obvious ploy at taking your money and leaving you with a very bad experience that would no doubt dampen your hopes when Season 4 rolls around.

Alright bronies move along, nothing to see here just wait until Season 4 gets here.

You realize they are just the animation studio? They do whatever the company that hires then tell them to do, in this case Hasbro. They do a wonderful job with it as demonstrated by the show, but to blame them for the concept or the story of Equestria Girls being bad is just ludicrous.

[brianblackberry]

What is the fan community supposed to do about it?

Dis is a good start:

A campaign is underway on Twitter under the #thankyouDHX tag, so go lend them some support, encouragement, and love.

If you have Twitter, go show your support to DHX, and it wouldn't hurt to your favorite writers and VA's as well.