MLP Movie - airing October 6, 2017

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Re: MLP Movie - 2017, Hasbro Allspark, Joe Ballarini Writing

Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 3:54 am

Sobana wrote:I just wonder if a new brand will do as good as FiM currently is. If not I don't see a reason to change it.


It all just depends on how the toys are doing. I need to see Hasbro's annual and/or quarterly report to know how the toys are selling. I should have a hold of it soon. But with that the case, as MLP is a toy brand first, it doesn't matter how well the show is doing. If the toys are entering a dip, they'll go for a relaunch.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 4:11 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:
It all just depends on how the toys are doing. I need to see Hasbro's annual and/or quarterly report to know how the toys are selling. I should have a hold of it soon. But with that the case, as MLP is a toy brand first, it doesn't matter how well the show is doing. If the toys are entering a dip, they'll go for a relaunch.

From what my memory serves me in 2011 the brand made $100 million, in 2012 the brand made $200 million, in 2013 the brand made $350 million and $650 in gross retail. Might be the reason they said "Say, let's keep going after the third season... and while we are at it, push out a spin-off and a movie." :party:

Which also leaves me with the strong impression they might not be ready to reboot the series just yet. :-I
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Postby doodlesplat (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 4:18 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:
It all just depends on how the toys are doing. I need to see Hasbro's annual and/or quarterly report to know how the toys are selling. I should have a hold of it soon. But with that the case, as MLP is a toy brand first, it doesn't matter how well the show is doing. If the toys are entering a dip, they'll go for a relaunch.
I agree absolutely, which was why I was so interested in how the toys have been doing compared to previous gens' historical performance. Could you let us know if you learn anything?
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 4:24 am

Sobana wrote:From what my memory serves me in 2011 the brand made $100 million, in 2012 the brand made $200 million, in 2013 the brand made $350 million and $650 in gross retail. Might be the reason they said "Say, let's keep going after the third season... and while we are at it, push out a spin-off and a movie." :party:

Which also leaves me with the strong impression they might not be ready to reboot the series just yet. :-I


And yet Transformers, which also has consistent high numbers, reboots every couple of years. I'm just putting it as simply as I can.


doodlesplat wrote:I agree absolutely, which was why I was so interested in how the toys have been doing compared to previous gens' historical performance. Could you let us know if you learn anything?


Of course. I should be able to get a hold of the booklet in April or May, and I'm going back to the meeting in May.
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:04 am

On this topic, does anyone know how long shows like MLP (i.e. shows intended to drive toy sales) usually last before a reboot comes around? It seems like a commitment as far ahead as 2017 would put the current version of MLP near the top of the pile in terms of longevity.
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Postby Marimo (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:22 am

It's usually just a few years I think. At most, the average is between 52-65, enough for a year's run for an anime or enough for syndication.

Though sometimes a certain iteration of a tie-in series meant to promote something could run for longer if it's really popular. Pokemon's popularity is probably what caused the original anime series to go beyond the initially planned Indigo League and why Ash is still around.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:29 am

Pony normally has a decade between reboots. The reason they reboot transformers so often is because fans are more interested in the characters and toys then the show. With transformers the toys create the show. But with pony it's the show that drives the toys. They know if they got rid of the show the toys won't sell. Not true with transformers.
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 5:47 am

Sobana wrote:Pony normally has a decade between reboots. The reason they reboot transformers so often is because fans are more interested in the characters and toys then the show. With transformers the toys create the show. But with pony it's the show that drives the toys. They know if they got rid of the show the toys won't sell. Not true with transformers.


A decade? G3 ended in 2009.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 6:31 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:
A decade? G3 ended in 2009.

G1 started in the 80s.
G1.5 started in the 90s
G3 started in the 00s
G3.5 reboot started late 00s

But the thing was G3 was never a series. It was just a couple of straight to DVD movies and a dozen 5 minute episodes and sing alongs that came with the toys. It was more of a period of art style then an actual show. It felt more like they were desperately trying to keep the brand on life support. Ponies didn't have a legitimate TV show since the 90s.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:40 am

G2 didn't even have a tv show, if I remember correctly. :pinkieshrug:
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 7:57 am

Sobana wrote:G1 started in the 80s.
G1.5 started in the 90s
G3 started in the 00s
G3.5 reboot started late 00s

But the thing was G3 was never a series. It was just a couple of straight to DVD movies and a dozen 5 minute episodes and sing alongs that came with the toys. It was more of a period of art style then an actual show. It felt more like they were desperately trying to keep the brand on life support. Ponies didn't have a legitimate TV show since the 90s.


I was referring to the brand, not the tv series. The brand was not reliant on the TV series, and there were always new toys for several periods of times.

You also can't really count the ".5" as a seperate generation, as it is the same generation. If FiM launched a show based off of the CMC or something, even if it was 4.5, it's still FiM.

On top of that, G3 was the only one to actually have a ".5".

ROBOT B9 wrote:G2 didn't even have a tv show, if I remember correctly. :pinkieshrug:


G2 was the one with a very small line. The G2 show was My Little Pony Tales.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 8:20 am

I use to think the same thing and use to argue the same thing as well. MLP generations are not based on the TV series but rather the toy releases. The series are just tied to the toy release. Pony Tales is considered G1.5 because it still used a lot of the same toy designs as G1. G2 was a new toy design but never had a show connected to it. So it skips from 1.5 to 3 in terms of speaking about the animated stuff. G4 is considered that because it's the fourth design in the series. Check any of the dozen wikis and they all list pony tales as 1.5.

So my original statement is still true, they do reboot the animated series about once a decade. :smug:
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 9:42 am

Interesting stuff from everyone here regarding the generations, but I was thinking more in terms of unbroken runs on TV. That can be pretty short for even successful, non-toy-driven shows, so I imagine the bar is pretty low.
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:42 am

Sobana wrote: Check any of the dozen wikis and they all list pony tales as 1.5.


Wikipedia: No. No mention of generation.
MyLittlePonyTales Wiki: No mention of generation.
MLP Wiki: Fails to mention Tales at all.
MyLittleWiki: Makes one mention of it being Generation 1. Not 1.5.

I don't see your point.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 10:55 am

PaulloDEC wrote:Interesting stuff from everyone here regarding the generations, but I was thinking more in terms of unbroken runs on TV. That can be pretty short for even successful, non-toy-driven shows, so I imagine the bar is pretty low.


Well, FiM has been running about 4 years now, that's got to be some kind of record for shows like this.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:05 pm

ShieldedDiamond wrote:
Wikipedia: No. No mention of generation.
MyLittlePonyTales Wiki: No mention of generation.
MLP Wiki: Fails to mention Tales at all.
MyLittleWiki: Makes one mention of it being Generation 1. Not 1.5.

I don't see your point.


Strange how none of the wikis mention generations when it is a commonly used term among fans. Either way, both pony friends and pony tales came out during the first generation of toys so fans call friends G1 and tales G1.5. No show ran during the second generation of toys so that is why Tales or anythig else isn't considered G2. The generations are based on the release of the toys.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:51 pm

ROBOT B9 wrote:
Well, FiM has been running about 4 years now, that's got to be some kind of record for shows like this.

As pointed out earlier, the plan had been to do 65 episodes of FiM and then ship it off into syndication forever, so the fact that it's gotten two more seasons (and possibly more than that) and this movie definitely means it's more popular than your average kid-oriented cartoon.
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Postby Bumble-B (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:58 pm

I wonder when the movie will be released :ponder

2017 when?

Because judging by the current tentative 2017 animated movie release date...

January- Captain Underpants (wow, remember that? :v: )
May- Lego Batman movie
June- How to Train Your Dragon 3, Toy Story 4, Despicable Me 3, and an untitled Dreamworks animated film
November- Another DW animated film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, an Untitled Disney animated movie
December- The Croods 2

Now, the heavy hitters are Lego Batman, How to Train Your Dragon 3, Toy Story 4, and Despicable Me 3. The latter 3 all being in June. Again, this isn't a final schedule so things may change. But I rather doubt Hasbro will try to go for June, even though Equestria Girls was released in June too. What about Q4? Well, if the DreamWorks film or Disney Film don't happen to be 'the next best thing' (my hopes being for the Disney film finally using the Paperman tech) then I could see September (EqG2) to December as a likely target window.
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:00 pm

I think it'd be released in September...school probably has only just started and there might not be that much competition.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:06 pm

Why not July?
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 1:30 pm

Hmm...July makes sense as well, plus there's nothing against it in that regard. When were the Transformers movies released? I know it's apples and oranges but Hasbro might stick to that schedule.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 2:45 pm

I would wager April. Weather is just starting to get good, more people out and about and you get that fresh movie spending money before any real competition starts.
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Postby Fizzbuzz (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 3:14 pm

Whatever the release date is, I imagine it'll depend somewhat on whether there will be a seventh season of FiM at the time. If there is, I think Hasbro would want to sit on the movie until after the season is done, especially if the movie will be the end of FiM.
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Postby Marioland1 (?) » Wed Dec 17, 2014 11:43 pm

Honestly, I really could see it as the end of the show. If so, we're still guaranteed a fair bit of pony in the middle, which is a pleasant thought.
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 1:50 am

I've gotta admit, I'm still finding the idea of ending the show with a movie kinda baffling. So, they'd spend all this money to get a film on the big screen, in the best-case scenario everyone loves it and legions of new fans are won, and then... sorry everyone, the show is finished? Why boost the prestige, reach and (hopefully) popularity of your IP with a film only to then end the whole thing?

Or are we suggesting the movie could be a transition point between the current gen and a new gen?
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Postby Perrydotto (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:07 am

PaulloDEC wrote:Or are we suggesting the movie could be a transition point between the current gen and a new gen?


That would be more my thinking at least, yeah. It seems like a smart point to do so, and G4 has been around for quite some time by that point.
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:20 am

ROBOT B9 wrote:I think it'd be released in September...school probably has only just started and there might not be that much competition.


Bad idea, September movies tend not to do well. There is a reason there is little competition there.
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Postby Headless Horse (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 2:45 am

It makes a certain amount of sense to do a movie at what the studio perceives as the peak of the show's popularity and power, like right when it senses that it's jumping the shark. You stand a pretty equal chance of the movie harvesting a ton of box office receipts at the most opportune possible time and then letting the property die a natural death (Beavis & Butt-head, Hey Arnold, Reno 911, Drawn Together), or exposing the property to a wider audience and kicking the show's popularity into a higher gear (South Park, Pokemon, 90s Batman). It's kind of an everybody-wins scenario for when the show reaches what everyone recognizes is middle age.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 3:55 am

You know by the time the movie comes out the series will be old enough to be it's own intended target audience. The circle will then be complete. :v:
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Postby SlateSlabrock (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 4:00 am

PaulloDEC wrote:I've gotta admit, I'm still finding the idea of ending the show with a movie kinda baffling. So, they'd spend all this money to get a film on the big screen, in the best-case scenario everyone loves it and legions of new fans are won, and then... sorry everyone, the show is finished?

I don't know about legions of new fans at this point, but it'd be nice if they could get a wide enough release to include my state this time. :bluh:
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 4:48 am

PaulloDEC wrote:I've gotta admit, I'm still finding the idea of ending the show with a movie kinda baffling. So, they'd spend all this money to get a film on the big screen, in the best-case scenario everyone loves it and legions of new fans are won, and then... sorry everyone, the show is finished? Why boost the prestige, reach and (hopefully) popularity of your IP with a film only to then end the whole thing?

Or are we suggesting the movie could be a transition point between the current gen and a new gen?


Really, lets be entirely honest. Are there going to be "legions of new fans won" from this? No. The fanbase is already loud enough that people at this point have already seen it, or don't want to. And there is no way people would actually pay to see this if they don't feel like watching the show. Meanwhile you have the target audience who will see it anyway, and the fandom who will probably just illegally pirate it.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 5:29 am

There are still a lot of people who don't know about pony. The fandom is only loud on the internet. This might get more parents aware of the brand and thus more sales. While transformers had a large fan base to begin with their movies did increase it popularity by a noticeable degree. Maybe ponies will have the same luck? :pinkieshrug:
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 5:43 am

SlateSlabrock wrote:I don't know about legions of new fans at this point, but it'd be nice if they could get a wide enough release to include my state this time. :bluh:


ShieldedDiamond wrote:
Really, lets be entirely honest. Are there going to be "legions of new fans won" from this? No. The fanbase is already loud enough that people at this point have already seen it, or don't want to. And there is no way people would actually pay to see this if they don't feel like watching the show. Meanwhile you have the target audience who will see it anyway, and the fandom who will probably just illegally pirate it.


I dunno man, the world is a big place and there's new kids being born every single day. Lots of kids don't have cable TV for example, and the broadcast situation around the world might mean there's some largely untapped audiences here and there.

I did say that would be a best-case scenario though (from Hasbro's POV, that is) so to be clear, I don't expect a massive up-swell of new fans either.

Sobana wrote:There are still a lot of people who don't know about pony. The fandom is only loud on the internet. This might get more parents aware of the brand and thus more sales. While transformers had a large fan base to begin with their movies did increase it popularity by a noticeable degree. Maybe ponies will have the same luck? :pinkieshrug:


You never can tell, and as you say, the internet tends to make things seem much more prominent (read: noisy) than they are to the rest of the world.
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Postby ShieldedDiamond (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:20 am

Please don't call me man.
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Postby PaulloDEC (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 6:59 am

ShieldedDiamond wrote:Please don't call me man.


Uh... okey dokey?
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 7:47 am

Sobana wrote:There are still a lot of people who don't know about pony. The fandom is only loud on the internet. This might get more parents aware of the brand and thus more sales. While transformers had a large fan base to begin with their movies did increase it popularity by a noticeable degree. Maybe ponies will have the same luck? :pinkieshrug:


Yeah, a movie can sometimes be more accessible than a TV show in some cases.
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Postby Sobana (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 9:40 am

Yeah, I imagine not a lot of places don't have access to the Hub/Discovery Family. And a lot of parents don't have time to browse the internet for entertainment for their kids. Finding a movie suitable for those under ten may be challenging. A pony movie would solve all those problems.
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Postby Bumble-B (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:50 am

If this is a direct continuation of the FiM series, I wonder how they'll handle easing in those new or not exactly familiar with the FiM series. I mean, by 2017 there would have been 6-7 seasons of growth and character development, as well as world building and lore.

Now, FiM isn't exactly complex :-P but I'm curious if they'll info dump bomb us, find a 'perfect' way of introducing it to non-fans/viewers, or more interestingly: Create a blank slate character who spends the entire movie around the Mane 6 and others.

For some reason, I can see the latter possibly happening. Some new pony character so audiences can self insert themselves into the movie. And the fans may not be 'too mad' if theres enough screentime for the Mane 6 too.

But who knows, I guess Twilight is more than enough for that role. Yet as Yoda once put it:

"Uncertain, the future is" :granny:
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Postby ROBOT B9 (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:56 am

They could just do a opening narration by Celestia to set up the world and character traits. Boom, problem solved.
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Postby Venusy (?) » Thu Dec 18, 2014 11:05 am

I can see a brief retelling of the pilot, Twilight's ascension, and maybe the replacement of the Elements of Harmony. Copy the intro storybook style from the pilot, just extend it to Twilight's legend.
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