May the muffins be forever in your favour.The Meaning Behind Season 8's New Opening Animation · 1:01am Jul 20th, 2018
Here's a follow-up on Two Years until the Equestrian Exodus: What we should do now and how we can go on from here and A Season and a Half Left?.
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A while ago, I was thinking about the new opening animation MLP: FiM got with Season 8 now. And I was hit by another epiphany that is similar to the one I linked up there:
If Season 9 IS the last one, then why would Hasbro want to have a new opening animation for MLP: FiM?
If the leaks are true, then Season 8 and Season 9 will be the last two seasons of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. So late into the show, it seems very odd to give it a new opening animation. It feels like it isn't worth to do that, with the end of the show so near and after six seasons in which there never was a new opening animation, aside from slight changes to include major events and new mane characters. And from Hasbro's POV, it also seems to be a waste of ressources to let a new opening animation getting made now, as this obviously cost something and Hasbro had to invest money into this effort.
So, why did Hasbro do this? Why did it invest money into a new opening animation when it's only going to get used for two seasons anyway?
Looking into the new opening, we see that it's a complete overhaul of the opening animation MLP: FiM had in the seven previous seasons. Instead of Ponyville, it now prominently features Twilight's friendship school, it has all of the Student Six in it, a few other students of the school, Maud Pie, Thorax, Ember, Big Mac & Sugar Belle, even Vinyl Scratch and Sassy Saddles and it shows Rainbow Dash together with the Wonderbolts. And it shows Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle right next to the school, an indicator that they would become tutors at Twilight's school soon.
It also has the most dynamic and complex scenes MLP: FiM ever had in its opening, with Rainbow Dash and the other Wonderbolts flying onto the screen at high speed and the screencapped scene above.
All of this shows that a lot of effort and work has went into creating this new animation for the opening, making you wonder why this effort was done NOW even more, and it also indicates an entire new era that the show enters with the Friendship School.
And, maybe, it is not just a new era for the show, but for Hasbro as well? If a company wants to give a franchise or IP it has a new boost, the usual strategy is a new image or some facelifting for it.
The opening is like the flagship of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. It is in most cases what new, potential audiences get to see of the show first, as it is, unlike the episodes themselves, legally available on the Internet and also used by Hasbro to promote MLP: FiM. All of that makes a new opening animation the best choice to give MLP: FiM a new image for the purpose of breathing fresh air into it.
With all of this considered, especially how vastly different the new opening animation is compared to the one before both style-wise and effort-wise, maybe that is exactly what Hasbro is doing with this new opening animation, breathing fresh air into MLP: FiM. Changing the image of a long-running show to make it more attractive to audiences old and new.
And doing that only makes sense if Hasbro can imagine to let MLP: FiM continue even after Season 9 is done. There is no point in a face lift or image change if you want to let the show you're commissioning end in two seasons and two years anyway.
What we see with this new opening animation, is likely a last chance Hasbro gives MLP: FiM. As I detailed in my previous entry about this matter (link on top), the decision to end MLP: FiM with Season 9 might not be set in stone yet, because Hasbro still has to wait to see the full impact and effect the Movie has on Generation 4, both on the show's popularity and on the toy sales.
If this effect is great enough for Hasbro, or even greater than it expected it to be, it will order more seasons after Season 9 and the financial investment into a new opening animation is proof for it that Hasbro still considers this scenario as a possibility.
Because if Hasbro would have lost all faith in Generation 4, it wouldn't have made this investment and the new opening animation wouldn't have come to be. Yet, here it is.
Even if Hasbro should indeed play with the idea of rebooting My Little Pony for Generation 5 and to end Generation 4 with Season 9 for that purpose, because it isn't sure about the income from the Movie yet, the fact that it has spent money on a new opening animation anyway confirms that its decision, whether to let MLP: FiM continue or end once Season 9 is over, has not been fully made yet and that it might still make a decision that is in favor of a longer life of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
In the end it is, as always, a decision that will depend on sales, so if you want to see more more seasons beyond Season 9 and if you haven't done so yet, go and buy the Movie on Bluray and Amazon, support the show by buying the recent episodes of Season 8 on iTunes or directly from Hasbro's VOD on YouTube and buy a few (more) toys for the Movie and Season 8.
We still have a chance and there is an influence we can make here to convince Hasbro of making a positive decision for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Follow-up: A Depressing Move: The End of "The Brony Network" and How Our Future Shouldn't Look Like
There are hints now that there will be a season 10. I saw this on ED so I can't really prove anything. Let us hope
Changes had to happen. The clearest sign of progress and evolution was in Sweetie Belle's voice. Listen to her in The Cutie Mark Chronicles and then in Forever Filly. You might not think she's still voiced by that one actress.
We can only wait and See
4904167
We still have to wait until we hear anything concrete. But until then,[ b] just waiting isn't a good strategy. We need to show Hasbro that we want more of MLP: FiM. And the only real way to reach Hasbro with that message, aside from making a petition which would take too much time to create and would not be helpful if the income from the Movie is under Hasbro's expectations, is to support sales.
Even if you usually aren't one who buys toys and merchandise and the episodes themselves, if you want the show to continue, you should do it this time for once, so we can help boosting sales and show Hasbro that there is still enough interest in the show that justifies a continuation of it beyond Season 9.
This is something where we can make a difference. We can do more than waiting.
4904129
This is my point. Changes always happen in a long-running show and they NEED to happen to keep it fresh and interesting. This is what prevents a disaster like it happened with The Simpsons. It prevents a show from getting stale and DHX and Hasbro have the right instinct to know when to bring necessary changes to the show, while still keeping the same spirit and quality of it, to give it a long life.
This, and the massve potential that rests in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, is why it can live on for many more seasons after Season 9 has concluded.
4904343
Yeah, hope dies last after all. It's just difficult to get up with new things for Hasbro. given what they already made.
4904091
THIS is important. It could possibly mean that Hasbro already plans with more seasons. Where did you see this exactly? Please give me a link to it or instructions on how to find it.
4904348
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is full of potential. The Mane Six get stale as mane characters, yes. But letting go of them and switching to other ponies/creatures as the mane character cast will fix this problem.
And right now, everything in the show is set and in place to do exactly that with the Student Six.
All we need now is more seasons and we can truly speak of a new era for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic that started with Season 8 and it will be able to start unfolding all that massive potential it still has.
4904351
Indeed. We haven't seen Diamind and Silver after the CMC got it's cutie Marks, thesy could return as a main charcters in an episode.
4904347
Meanwhile, The Simpsons stays on the air simply because FOX bosses see it as all that stands between them and the soup kitchen.
4904532
I can see that as the reason for The Simpsons being on air so long, yeah. Corporate greed getting more important to them than artistic value.
And The Simpsons can't do as much as MLP:FiM can, so it's not a surprise that this show got stale rather fast.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, if Hasbro gives it another chance, won't share the same fate.
4904349
I guess the original article was deleted, here is the follow up. Like I said who knows?
https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/07/new-update-on-future-of-my-little-pony.html
4904656
Oh, this is what you meant. I've already seen this and wrote about it:
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/819818/a-season-and-a-half-left
A bit sad now, cause I thought you have seen something new. But this is an indication for more seasons already. And Meghan McCarthy implied at SDCC today that there is a possibility of more seasons beyond 9. More reasons to hope keep getting added.
4904716
Oh sorry. I really do think the show will continue on after season 9 because there is still so much new stuff happening in the show to be explored. It would be so stupid to be introduced to these new characters(the students) this season only to have one more season with them. To me thats not enough time for development with these characters. Hell, this season hasn't even explored these characters that much yet and we're already halfway through it.
4904724
Same here. They feel like they have been brought into the show to build them up as new mane characters who will eventually (and probably more sooner than later) replace the Mane Six.
Also, they just announced at SDCC to show us an entire new species/race that lives somewhere on Equus in the second half of Season 8, the "Kirin", creatures that are half dragon and half pony and from what it looks in the Sneak Peek, they have a very unique culture and way of life, with a law enacted by their leader/ruler that forbids them to talk.
It's doubtful they would do that if Hasbro would have told them that Season 9 is definitely going to be the last.
The more I see, the more I'm getting very convinced that Hasbro will greenlight more seasons getting made.
4905435
Let us hope. Also I thought I heard there will be another MLP movie in the future, so it would make sense that the show will continue on longer.
4905462
Well, the leaks revealed something about a movie that is supposed to kick off Generation 5, which is obviously only going to become a thing if the reboot happens.
But there was also something about a second Generation 4 movie, yes. If that movie really happens, it can only mean that the current movie performed to Hasbro's expectations, because otherwise, it would not agree to a second movie.
And that means, in turn, that it has no reason to end the show with Season 9, if everything is still going well and if the Movie had the intended effect on Generation 4.
So, yeah, that could be another positive sign for Season 10+.