Lauren Faust Returns With A Few Of Her (Super) Best Friends

The new DC Nation animated block on Cartoon Network saw the launch of a new batch of shorts by Lauren Faust who recently breathed new life into Hasbro's My Little Pony Franchise!  The series entitled Super Best Friends Forever features the adventures and friendship of Supergirl, Wondergirl, and Batgirl!  The first short is only about a minute long and can be viewed below.

There's really not much of a story to consider here as the whole story is built around one gag (conning Wonder Girl into 'borrowing' her sister's invisible jet), so let's talk a little bit about the characters.  First, the painfully obvious.  None of them resemble their comic book counterparts.  Canon is more or less thrown to the wind, but hey, it worked for Teen Titans, right?

Riiiiiight?

This is first and foremost a Lauren Faust creation.  It's here for comedy first, not the super heroic exploits the comics are known for and you know what?  I'm okay with that.  If you tried to fit an action story into a 60 second short, you'd really have nothing more than punching and posturing.  This new comedic take works and it works well in its’ format.

Batgirl seems a bit spastic for my tastes, not at all like her normally serious self, but then I have to consider the energy Tara Strong is putting into her vocalizations and it just makes everything click.  The fact that her facial expressions are pure gold in every frame doesn't hurt matters either.

Next we look at Supergirl.  I really like her design.  She's not a stick like Batgirl or Wondergirl.  She has a broader build that's indicative of the kind of power her solar-charged Kryptonian muscles are packing.  She also has a deeper voice than the others that I really, really like.  Waaaaaay too often female voice characterizations are limited to a very few archtypes.  It's nice to hear a deep (even a bit raspy at times) yet still appealing voice coming from a female lead.  Of all the characters in this group, she seems to be the one that goes against type the most.

Finally we come to Wondergirl.  I like her.  I like the fact that she looks Greek and sounds exotic, but her personality is a little flat compared to Batgirl's exuberance and Supergirl's mischievous streak and apparent temper.  She is a bit stick-like compared to Supergirl, but she's tall and has a certain power to her movements.  Of all the characters I think she'll need the most development (or what little development one can hope to get from one minute shorts).

All in all, Ms. Faust seems to be living up to her hype.  The short was fun and entertaining and I look forward to more of the same.  For those interested, I found an interview with Lauren on youtube conducted by the kind folks at Media Geek Zone.  Enjoy!

Tara Strong Raps Like A Pony, Christkids Animates Like A Star!

In response to a vocal tweet of Tara Strong performing a short rap in the voice of Twilight Sparkle (the character she voices on Lauren Faust's AMAZING remake of Hasbro's My Little Pony property) youtube user and animator par excellence (apparently) Christkids has created a short animated version of Mrs. Strong's original material.

One small wrap for a voice artist!  One giant leap for animated fan fiction!!!  Enjoy.

Bronies React To Teens React To My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: A Thought Provoking Rebuttal To The Hormonally Unbalanced!

Guess what everyone!  I've got a new video posted below fresh from you tube that is both thoughtfully constructed and entertaining!  That's great, you say!  Where is it, you ask?  Well, you can skip down at the end to find it if you want, because first I'm going to be talking up a blue streak in true ranting fashion!

Teenagers (A Short Definition) -- A group of emotionally overdosed human beings who believe that reinforcing petty, childish conformity to the most popular social norm in their circles of experience will somehow elevate their maturity to the level of adults.

When it comes to this particular age group, I honestly don't have a lot of good things to say.  I know that this behavior is part of our natural development but does it have to be so darned obnoxious?  Case in point, the program known as Teens React To ... a series of videos where teenagers are herded together and exposed to brief clips of tv shows, movie trailers, ect. and then, well, they react to it and give their opinions.

The series was created by Benny and Rafi Fine, a duo of professional filmmakers, who have garnered (according to info posted on their youtube channel) over 350 million views from their web created content.  So what does any of this have to do with anything?

Recently one of their panels of 'polished experts' decided to pick on a show that is both near and dear to my heart, namely My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic a startling re-imagining of Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise developed by Lauren Faust (of Cats Don't Dance, Powerpuff Girls, and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends fame!).  The series has reached a wide audience, creating diehard fans, some of whom affectionately refer to themselves as Bronies (for male fans) and Pega-Sisters (for the ladies).

The video Teens React To My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is more or less an attack on the fanbase by the teens involved, who I might add, ONLY WATCHED THE INTRO TO THE SERIES, and nothing else.  As Mr. Holmes once stated:

"It is a Capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence.  It biases the judgement."

From A Study In Scarlet, Chapter 3

But thankfully there is a voice of reason shouting above the inane prattling of the hormonally poisoned delegation!  A group of Bronies have decided to fight fire with fire, offering their analysis of the teens behavior!  A commentary on a commentary, you say?  And a sound one indeed!  Enjoy!

(Special thanks to AC Racebest for the video)