Forum:Speculation/Allusions

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Allusions

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The following is a list of allusions to My Little Pony, works of fiction, people, places, events, and other cultural touchstones in the series My Little Pony Friendship is Magic that were disputed or removed from the list of allusions page. Please add to this page instead if you are not sure that what you want to add is specific and intentional. As this is a forum, feel free to reply to existing messages.

Multiple episodes

Mythology

• Tree of Harmony in many ways resembles The Rose from Stephen King's The Dark Tower books. Wizeman (talk) 10:56, August 27, 2017 (UTC)

Episodes

Season one

Friendship is Magic, part 1

• Since of Pinkie's guesses about Nightmare Moon's name, "Hokey Smokes" and "Black Snooty" were both allusions, perhaps "Queen Meanie" is one as well. All I can think of is Queen Minnie from Disney, though. ~Bobogoobo (talk) 22:34, December 6, 2012 (UTC)

Dragonshy

• The Mane 6 walking strainght along a nearly-vertical wall appears to be a Naruto reference, where ninjas routinely walk the same way by using magic. — Ivan Pozdeev 08:39, April 28, 2014 (UTC)
• An additional similarity is Fluttershy having difficulties doing this, much like Konohomaru's team under Naruto in "Follow My Lead!" episode. In it, they had to climb a similar mountain 'cuz they didn't yet learn to walk that way. — Ivan Pozdeev 13:23, June 1, 2014 (UTC)

Feeling Pinkie Keen

• When Twilight gets angry at the end of the episode, the form she turns into strongly resembles the Pokemon "Rapidash". (again, not mine, but I've seen it be added and removed from the main namespace list countless times.) -- This is Jonny Manz, signing off! 04:02, December 2, 2012 (UTC)

A Bird in the Hoof

• Ill state of Philomena is pretty much the same, as of Dumbledore's pet phoenix Fawkes before it turns into ashes in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. After Fawkes burns out Harry, unknowing the nature of a bird, tries to explain to Dumbledore that it wasn't his fault. The exact text from the book is "a decrepit-looking bird that resembled a half-plucked turkey. ...the bird looked balefully back, making its gagging noise again. Harry thought it looked very ill. Its eyes were dull and, even as Harry watched, a couple more feathers fell out of its tail." Although, is Philomena looks "turkey" enough is open for debate, I think this similarity should be noted at least at speculation page.Wizeman (talk) 05:17, September 1, 2013 (UTC)
  • Yep, that's pretty much the purpose of this page: to collect any allusions not specific enough to go on the main namespace page.-- Jonny Manz^talk_contribs^e-mail_{edit count} 06:41, September 1, 2013 (UTC) 

Party of One

• From the article: “Pinkie Pie's chant to Gummy: "Go Gummy! It's your birthday! Go Gummy! It's your birthday!" is a paraphrase of hip-hop artist 50 Cent's In Da Club.” “Go X, it’s your birthday” is older than that; the linked Wikipedia article itself mentions that 50 Cent was sued for copyright infringement for the phrase, with the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the phrase was common and uncopyrightable. Also, if you search Google you can find some examples older than 50 Cent‘s use, like in the Luke song “It’s Your Birthday,” the film Chasing Amy, and an episode of The Simpsons. 24.20.5.239 17:47, April 19, 2013 (UTC)

Season two

Lesson Zero

• The scence where Twilight talks to herself seems to be based of a scence in Lord of The Rings:The Fellowship of The Ring wherin Gollum talks to himself. This was what made me a Tolkienknight, so I'd appreciate if this was included. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Twinkle Twilight (talk • contribs) 11:01, 26 May 2013 (UTC)‎
  • I remember that being on the list before, so it was probably removed for being too broad. That can stay here, however. And also, since this is a talk page (a forum page, actually) rather than an article, please sign your contributions with ~~~~.-- This is Jonny Manz, signing off! 22:20, May 26, 2013 (UTC)

May the Best Pet Win!

• The scene when a boulder crushes Rainbow Dash's wing while in the canyon, is similar to the autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. It follows a mountain climber who gets stuck in a canyon after his arm got trapped in a boulder. This is later adapted into 127 Hours. (Not mine, but I figured it gets added and removed from the main namespace list often enough to warrant having a permanent home here) -- This is Jonny Manz, signing off! 23:28, November 21, 2012 (UTC)

Dragon Quest

• The sound effect for Rainbow Dash's teleportation when Twilight stops her from stopping Spike is very similar to one from Magic Carpet 2 (I forget what particular spell the effect is for). Compare: Dragon Quest and Magic Carpet 2. I'm not sure if it's some kind of stock sound and I bet it's more prevalent than just these two uses. ~Bobogoobo (talk) 00:29, December 2, 2012 (UTC)

Season three

Keep Calm and Flutter On

• The case the elements of harmony are in could resemble the ark of the covenant. —Preceding unsigned comment added by {{{1}}} ([[User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]])

Season four

Pinkie Pride

• Cheese Sandwich in this shot looks like Yankovic on the cover of his fourth studio album Polka Party!. I wonder if it's a homage to that. --Ivagu05 (talk) 13:22, July 25, 2019 (UTC)
  • I'm torn - I can see a few differences, but at the same time, considering Weird Al is Cheese's voice actor, it probably is a reference.-- Jonny Manz^talk_contribs^e-mail_{edit count} 09:59, July 26, 2019 (UTC) 

Inspiration Manifestation

• Claude the puppeeteer wears an orange top hat and a purple coat, just like Gene Wilder's Willie Wonka character in the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1

• Did anyone else think of Trigon from Teen Titans when they saw Tirek's bulkier forms? I thought it must have been an allusion but now I'm not so sure.

Season five

The Cutie Map - Part 1

• The title to the song, In Our Town, is also the name of a book by Damon Runyon that inspired Wayside School. Plus, the name of the town we decided was, Our Town, also the name of a famous play by Thorton Wilder.Whitehorse24 (talk) 23:17, March 6, 2016 (UTC)Whitehorse24

Make New Friends but Keep Discord

• Discord's line "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm simply going to send you to another dimension." is a parody of the way death was written around in the FUNimation-Saban co-produced dub of the first 67 (reduced to 53 episodes in the dub due to time and content cuts), especially in combination with the second line ("I'm not going to hurt you").-- Jonny Manz^talk_contribs^e-mail_{edit count} 04:50, June 13, 2015 (UTC) 
  • Additionally, the voices for both series are primarily drawn from the Vancouver, B.C. talent pool.-- Jonny Manz^talk_contribs^e-mail_{edit count} 04:50, June 13, 2015 (UTC) 
    • The first 67/ 53 episode of WHAT dub? Please tell us the name of the series, which is inconveniently missing.—Preceding unsigned comment added by Dcj (talk • contribs) 10:12, August 6, 2017 (UTC)
      • Oh crap, I never noticed! (XD) It's Dragon Ball Z.-- Jonny Manz^talk_contribs^e-mail_{edit count} 10:12, August 6, 2017 (UTC) 

Slice of Life

• I think Lyra's line "I cooked them up and ate them!" is a clear reference to Llamas with Hats, in which Carl says "I kind of... cooked them up and ate them" ("them" being human hands, which Lyra is obsessed with in much fan work). Bulbajer (talk) 04:42, July 10, 2015 (UTC)
• When Doctor Whooves states "My life's work, decades – centuries, really – of research and experimentation, and I nearly had it cracked! Turns out there's a magic spell for it. Who knew?" seems like a reference to how Doctor Who himself has lived for centuries (~1,950 years as of now) since he says "centuries, really" which shows that this may be a direct reference to Doctor Who's age. BlackHawk213 (talk) 12:49, February 8, 2018 (UTC)

Amending Fences

• The bookseller's cutie mark and profession appear to be a reference to Deseret Book Company; deseret means honeybee, and the state seal of Utah (where the company is headquartered) has a beehive on it. Rainmask64 (talk) 20:56, May 16, 2018 (UTC)

The Mane Attraction

• One of Applejack's fellow campers - a chubby stallion with spiky hairs and a cappy - shows a big resemblance with the boy scout Russell from Pixar's animated movie Up. Fermin-Tenava (talk) 21:23, April 5, 2016 (UTC)

Season six

Gauntlet of Fire

• The Gauntlet of Fire tournament seems to be a reference to the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, especially as the episode title and name of the tournament reference to the title of the book/film. 523970 (talk) 05:21, January 29, 2018 (UTC)

Season seven

Not Asking for Trouble

• At the moment, where Prince Rutherford comes to stomp the twig (jokingly called century-old sacred yak twig, passed down from generation to generation) plays the song "Kalinka-Malinka" of I. P. Larionov. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Locko inDa coco (talk • contribs)

Fame and Misfortune

• During the song "Flawless" Fluttershy sings: "It took me a while to be confident to really come out of my shell",— thus she might be compared with Belikov, the main character of A. P. Chekhov's story "The Man in the Case". Locko inDa coco (talk) 05:06, April 23, 2019 (UTC)

Shadow Play, Part I and Shadow Play, Part II

• These episodes seem likely to have taken their name from the ancient art of shadow puppetry, also known as shadow play.--Kilmarnock28 (talk) 17:22, August 5, 2017 (UTC)

Season eight

School Daze - Part 1

• The picture of a pony with a long nose on the chalkboard behind Applejack, along with the apple she is holding that has a hat, buttons and a carrot, is obviously a reference to Pinocchio (since his nose would go longer if he told a lie). --Lightening McQueen (talk) 20:13, March 26, 2018 (UTC)

• Chancellor Neighsay's appearance and magical abilities are reminiscent of the Marvel Comics character Doctor Strange.

School Daze - Part 2

• The melody when Twilight walks gloomily towards the school (3:05) HIGHLY RESEMBLES the song "A Million Dreams" from "The Greatest Showman. based on the context/background of the scene and the lyrics of the latter, this is more than likely, right?

- "I think of what the world could be, A vision of the one I see" - Twilight Sparkle Helped save Equestria (their world) DOZENS OF TIMES thanks to her vision/ideology (friendship).

more to back up my claim:

They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy -

They can say, they can say I've lost my mind -

I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy -

We can live in a world that we design

There's a "house" we can build -

Every room inside is filled -

With things from far away - —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wisteriapetshops (talk • contribs)

School Raze - Part 1

• Cozy Glow crowning herself the Empress of Friendship is similar to Napoleon Bonaparte crowning himself the Emperor of France.--Kilmarnock228 (talk) 20:41, October 10, 2018 (UTC)

My Little Pony Equestria Girls

• During performance of Equestria Girls in Cafeteria Twilight jumps on Techies' Table. Which reminds, that she is also can be considered a Techie in her world.Wizeman (talk) 03:13, September 16, 2013 (UTC)

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

• I said this before but Awesome As I Wanna Be is a lot like something Avril Lavigne would sing. I heard it on Tv Tropes and after thinking about, I think it's true. It also said that Tricks Up My Sleeve sounds like "the legendary" Britney Spears songs from the early's, and I have to agree, do you?Whitehorse24 (talk) 19:55, March 6, 2016 (UTC)Whitehorse24

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Summertime Shorts

• I think Mad Twience is a reference to Weird Science Wizeman (talk) 11:17, August 27, 2017 (UTC)

Advertising

Television

• I don't know where I should put this, but on a show called The Super Hero Squad Show, by Marvel Animation, there is an episode where a bad guy called the "Stranger" calls Beta Ray Bill a My Little Pony. I'm not sure if this is an allusion, so I'll leave it here for now.(っ◕‿◕)っ ♥ ☂ᗩᒪḰ℃◎ᾔ⊥ґї♭ṧ €∂ї☂¢øυᾔт 20:12, December 14, 2012 (UTC)
  • Sounds like a reference more to the line in general, not necessarily to FiM (G4). And anyway, that would belong more on the list of FiM references in other media, which was mvoed to the Fan Wiki due to excessive lack of citations. ~Bobogoobo (talk) 04:56, December 23, 2012 (UTC)

Merchandise

Comic

Issue 10

• On Page 20, an image is shown of Fleetfoot hunched over Big Mac in a manner extremely similar to Snoopy's vulture impression from the Peanuts comics. The comics have made blatant peanuts references before, so this isn't out of the question. --ElderlyPinata (talk) 19:56, July 14, 2015 (UTC)

Issue 16

• On Page 11, second panel, the evil queen says "Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are", which is a reference to Jack Torrance from "The Shining" (1980). RatsAbout (talk) 23:14, May 12, 2020 (UTC)
  • That expression is as old as the children's game Hide-and-Seek. It's been in popular use since before The Shining.   00:25, May 13, 2020 (UTC)
    • That's true. There's nothing really to suggest that it references that particular film. The earliest I film I know that has that phrase is "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), but I'll leave it at that. RatsAbout (talk) 06:16, May 13, 2020 (UTC)

Issue 24

• On page 5, Discord says "Friendship: The Gathering", that is an obvious reference to Magic: The Gathering right? --Slejeivw (talk) 07:37, June 3, 2015 (UTC)

Issue 43

• When Applejack turns evil, she built a wall around her apple. This is similar to how Donald Trump wants to build a wall around America.Whitehorse24 (talk) 20:00, June 25, 2016 (UTC)Whitehorse24

Issue 52

• On page 16, there are two artifacts on the first panel. The leftmost artifact looks like the wizard hat from the Fantasia segment "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". The other artifact looks like a piece of the Triforce. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RatsAbout (talk • contribs)
• On page 17, Pinkie Pie dressed as a mummy yells "Give me back me gold" and Twilight says she's thinking of Leprecolts. This is likely to be a nod to the 1993 film Leprechaun. RatsAbout (talk) 19:49, August 1, 2019 (UTC)

Issue 62

• On the third panel on page 17, Twilight casts a spell making a magic sign over a griffon soldier's head reading "Hey! Pony Tones! Talent Scout!" as a distraction. This is a reference to Tones and I. RatsAbout (talk) 19:40, March 2, 2020 (UTC)
  • Can you elaborate on this? I don't see how this isn't an in-universe reference to the Pony Tones.   21:20, March 2, 2020 (UTC)
    • Just did a basic search to cross-reference the name Tones and Talent Scout. I'm guessing Pony Tones is a play on Tom Jones, but I don't think there's much of an allusion at this point in the comic, now that I think about it. RatsAbout (talk) 21:37, March 2, 2020 (UTC)

Issue 91

• On page 15, The lyrics sung are similar in style (and choice of words) to that of Spice Up Your Life. RatsAbout (talk) 16:16, 23 December 2020 (UTC)
  • Aside from the generically positive message of the lyrics, I see no similarities between the two songs whatsoever.   16:27, 23 December 2020 (UTC)

Micro-Series Issue 1

• I know it's probably coincidence, but Twilight mentioning that at the end of the world, a Pegasus would survive instantly made me think of The End of Ponies, and I've never even read that fic. -- This is Jonny Manz, signing off! 09:39, February 24, 2013 (UTC)

Micro-Series Issue 8

• The male pony on page 19, has a mild resemblance to the G1 pony Teddy (similar mohawk) from My Little Pony Tales in addition to carry a teddy bear and his mood. RatsAbout (talk) 14:10, September 9, 2020 (UTC)
  • Aside from the teddy bear (which is a tenuous connection in and of itself), this character and Teddy look nothing alike.   14:22, September 9, 2020 (UTC)
    • It's not the colour scheme I'm referring to, it's the style of mohawk mane, his snappy remark and his facial expression, but otherwise everything else is different from Teddy. RatsAbout (talk) 14:25, September 9, 2020 (UTC)
      • Then your comparison holds even less weight since (1) "snappy remark" and "facial expression" aren't specific to any one character, not even Teddy, and (2) this character doesn't have a mohawk - his mane is curly.   14:42, September 9, 2020 (UTC)

Micro-Series Issue 10

• On page 5, panel 2, a building is called the "12th Precinct". This seems to be a reference to the police headquarters of the same name in the TV series "Law & Order". RatsAbout (talk) 17:53, October 7, 2019 (UTC)
• On page 8, Flim and Flam are having a dispute with Flax Seed and Wheat Grass over a cart. Luna's method of settling the dispute is pretty much a reference to the Judgment of Solomon. RatsAbout (talk) 17:53, October 7, 2019 (UTC)
• On page 18, one of the wagons has the label "Lions & Tigers & Bears...You know the Rest". An obvious reference to The Wizard of Oz. RatsAbout (talk) 17:53, October 7, 2019 (UTC)

Friends Forever Issue 16

• On page 2, the number 616 is written on Cheerilee's board. Could that be a reference to Earth-616 of the Marvel Universe? --Slejeivw (talk) 01:31, June 4, 2015 (UTC)

Legends of Magic Issue 6

• Page four of the issue features a temperamental male pony with a duck for a cutie mark who wears a sailor hat, is colored blue, and has a white mane and tail. It seems reasonable to me that this could be intended as a nod to Donald Duck, particularly as we've previously had ponies clearly meant as tributes to his nephews as seen in Micro-Series Issue 8.--Kilmarnock228 (talk) 09:09, September 28, 2017 (UTC)

My Little Pony Holiday Special 2017

• The comment about "Hearth's Warming Season" starting the day after Nightmare Night seems similar to how Christmas decorations begin to be sold and Christmas music starts to be played soon after Halloween.--Kilmarnock228 (talk) 08:32, December 14, 2017 (UTC)