5 Interesting My Little Pony Facts

If you're thinking of beloved and recognizable toy lines released by Hasbro, My Little Pony naturally comes to mind. It debuted in 1983; since then, it's been popular in stores all over. However, we have a few things you might not know about the cute My Little Pony franchise.

1. My Little Pony was inspired by a real-life pony

When she was a child, Bonnie Zacherle (the creator of My Little Pony) and her family stayed in Japan where her Dad, who was a Colonel and a vet, was taking care of quarantined animals leaving and entering the country. Bonnie was particularly taken by a chubby Korean pony called Knicker. Unfortunately, when they were leaving Japan, it wasn't possible for Knicker to be taken along. 

She later told of how her Dad had promised her a horse, even though there were a few conditions to be fulfilled, all involving taking care of the horse. She never got her horse at the end of the day, but Knicker left a lasting impression on her. She made the ponies chubby because Knicker was a little chubby. She mentioned that she felt it happened because of the short stature of ponies. Seeing as they don't have the long-legs seen in thoroughbreds.

2. My Little Pony was initially supposed to be a gender-neutral toy for preschoolers.

The colorful ponies we're now accustomed to weren't the original plan. Bonnie Zacherle envisioned real-animal-looking toys– dappled grey, pintos, palomino, appaloosa  – and they were intended to be for preschool boys and girls. The decision to stay with bright colors came after a conversation between Bonnie and her marketing manager. Bonnie wasn't particular about "girly" colors like purple and pink. However, the ponies were tested with bright colors at the marketing director's insistence, and after that, it was vetted and sealed by the company.

3. Rare ponies are quite valuable

Besides releasing My Little Ponies in shops and stores, Hasbro also sent mail-order ponies out. One of such, a Rapunzel Pony, was sold for as much as $800 way back in 2012. Hasbro also released its pony molds to organizations around the globe. An author of numerous collector guides, Summer Hayes, spoke to Collectors Weekly about ponies produced in Venezuela that collectors never knew about. A random person located storage of new '80s Ponies from Venezuela and then sold them on eBay to collectors. Turns out that every few years, a new variation is found. A new variation was discovered in 2016; a Greek version of a G1 pony. It was on sale on eBay for $750 at the time.

4. Marvel’s first domestic theatrical film was My Little Pony: The Movie

My Little Pony: The Movie featured voice actors like Madeline Kahn, Rhea Perlman, Cloris Leachman, Tony Randall, and Danny DeVito. It had its official release in June 1986. The movie debuted over a month before Howard the Duck by Willard Huyck, causing My Little Pony to become Marvel Studios' first domestic theatrical film.

However, the release was not particularly noteworthy. Critics rained down on the movie with the Los Angeles Times saying the film was similar to “being immersed in cotton candy for an hour and a half: The sticky-sweet cuteness is piled on so thickly that adults leave the theater checking their teeth for new cavities. The sugary cuteness of the Little Ponies masks corporate greed as cold and sharp as a razor blade”— The domestic box office grossed just $5,958,456 in total.

5. My Little Pony is currently on Netflix and YouTube

In a press release last year, Hasbro and Netflix announced a forthcoming My Little Pony movie. The proposed title is "My Little Pony: A New Generation." In the film, Equestria is now a land without magic, and ponies are in a state of paranoia and fear. James Marsden and Vanessa Hudgens are notable names among the voice actors on the project. Earlier this year, Hasbro revealed a YouTube My Little Pony series. Also announced were two Netflix MLP specials going on for the whole year. Even though an original version of this story already aired in 2016, it has received an update for 2022.