My Little Pony Friendship is Magic

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is an animated series airing on The Hub, currently between seasons. This incarnation of the popular Hasbro franchise is referred to as the fourth generation, or "G4", of My Little Pony. The show was developed for television by Lauren Faust, who is known for her work on two of Cartoon Network's noted franchises, The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.

The series stars a unicorn pony named Twilight Sparkle, a pupil of Princess Celestia who is the ruler of the land of Equestria. Seeing the young pony buried in books, the princess gives her the task of making friends and sends her and her assistant, a young dragon named Spike, to Ponyville. There, she meets some interesting ponies, including tomboyish Rainbow Dash, glamorous Rarity, hard-working Applejack, timid Fluttershy, and hyperactive Pinkie Pie. Together, they explore the ins and outs of the town, solve various problems, and make even more friends. Every day is a lesson for Twilight, but none as important as the magic of friendship.

Characters

 * MLP-show-title-card_1.jpgMain article: Characters

The series has a main cast of six ponies, and a large number of supporting and background characters. As ponies mature, they gain cutie marks on their flanks, which represent their calling in life. There are three pony races:

Outside of the three races, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna possess both wings and a unicorn horn. They are the only known permanently winged unicorns, and they both possess extraordinary magical power. A pony's gender can be ascertained by the shape and size of their muzzle: male ponies muzzles are angular, squared off and larger, while female ponies muzzles have a more rounded appearance and are much smaller than a male's. The best way to notice a pony's gender though is with their eyes. A female pony will have eyelashes, while the male ponies won't. Use this method to determine a gender if all possible. However, if a pony is wearing goggles, then look at the muzzle.
 * Earth ponies - regular ponies. The founders of Ponyville were among this race. They are closer to nature than other ponies and are frequently seen performing manual labor.
 * Pegasus ponies - ponies with wings, giving them the ability to fly. They can also walk on clouds. This race controls the weather.
 * Unicorn ponies - ponies who possess magical abilities, represented by a glow around their horn when used. Their primary ability appears to be telekinesis, but they can learn other magic as well.

The six main characters are:


 * Twilight Sparkle: A unicorn pony with a light violet body and an indigo mane and tail with pink and purple streaks. Her spirit represents the element of magic.
 * Applejack: An earth pony with an orange body and blonde mane and tail. She is down-to-earth and dependable, always willing to help anyone in any matter. She also comes from a large family of apple-name related members who oversee an apple orchard and run an apple business. She wears a cowboy hat. Her spirit represents the element of honesty.
 * Rainbow Dash: A tomboy pegasus pony with a sky blue body and a multicolored mane and tail. Very brave and bold, she could also be mischievous and proud. She has the ability of speed and clearing the sky out of clouds. Her spirit represents the element of loyalty.
 * Pinkie Pie: An earth pony with a pink body and magenta mane and tail. She has a funny demeanor, is very talkative, and a bit air-headed. She also enjoys singing and playing pranks. Her spirit represents the element of laughter.
 * Fluttershy: A pegasus pony with a yellow body and a pink mane and tail. She could be very shy around others most of the time but has a great love and care for animals. Her spirit represents the element of kindness.
 * Rarity: A unicorn pony with a white body and a royal purple mane and tail. She is very stylish and interested in fashion. Often desiring to be a center of attention, she could also be a bit judgemental. Her spirit represents the element of generosity.

Episodes

 * See also the list of episodes

Season one
Season one opened with a "preview", an early screening of the entire first episode five days before the series "officially" started. The introduction of the characters and the plot revolving around Nightmare Moon span over the first two episodes, which are the only two-parter of the season. Episode three introduces the Grand Galloping Gala, which is where the season's final episode takes place.

The show's developer, Lauren Faust, served as executive producer for this season. While Faust would have preferred the show to have an ongling storyline, Hasbro required that the episodes be able to be shown in any order.

Season two
Faust announced that she has been less involved in the making of the show for season two, focusing mostly on story conception and script. She will be credited as "Consulting Producer".

According to Top Draw's website, there will be 24 episodes, 22 minutes in length. The season is expected to be complete in December 2011. Several crew members have mentioned the appearance of a few characters in the second season, including Derpy Hooves, Luna, "Gramps", and Snails.

Season three
If the series is renewed, this will likely be the first season to be produced without the direct involvement of Faust.

Cast

 * See also credits

Voice Talents

 * Ashleigh Ball as Rainbow Dash and Applejack
 * Claire Corlett as Sweetie Belle
 * Michele Creber as Apple Bloom
 * Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy
 * Nicole Oliver as Princess Celestia
 * Madeline Peters as Scootaloo
 * Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity and Princess Luna
 * Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle
 * Cathy Weseluck as Spike

Singing Voices

 * Shannon Chan-Kent as Pinkie Pie
 * Kazumi Evans as Rarity
 * Rebecca Shoichet as Twilight Sparkle

International broadcasting
Hasbro is currently in the process of localizing their Generation Four My Little Pony toy line in many countries. Whilst granted many countries are currently receiving G4 products, as of 2011 those same countries are still persisting with the G3.5 products as well. So far, only a handful of countries outside the United States had converted to G4 entirely, or even began receiving G4 toys and merchandise officially.

As for the broadcast of the television series itself outside the United States, thus far it is currently airing only in English for the English Canadian audience on Treehouse TV, and on Boomerang for audiences in the United Kingdom.

Originally, although no defined date was stated, there was an announcement for other television debuts of the show roughly during the summer of 2011 in other countries such as Denmark, the Middle East, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This had been done via a deal Hasbro made with Turner Broadcasting System Europe to distribute this show, as well as other shows based on Hasbro's intellectual properties, throughout various channels they own in those regions, such as Boing (Spain), Boomerang, Cartoon Network (Denmark, Middle East, Norway, Sweden), and Cartoonito (UK). More recently, the UK release of the series had been clarified further, adding that the series will debut in the end of July 2011 on Cartoon Network, along with the full, official release of the G4 line of toys. However, unlike prior reports, the first season eventually premiered earlier in the UK on Boomerang instead, starting on July 4, 2011, and broadcasting once every weekday afterwards. The European Spanish dub had been confirmed to debut in September 2011 via Boing. There has been various unofficial reports that the Polish dub is to debut on MiniMini, but nothing has been clarified so far.

Language dubs
There is little information about the non-English dubs of the series, however My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is known officially in the following languages as:

More language dubs are expected to be announced before the end of 2011. Other than the titles, virtually all the characters' English names had been retained by default. More information on the foreign voice actors will be available at an undetermined later date.