As you know, Barbie was a huge box office success. As a result, studios began grabbing the rights to other toy and game-based properties like Polly Pocket, Clue, UNO and Hot Wheels. Basically, executives ignored the moral of Barbie’s success. You don’t need to make a movie about a toy, you just need to make more movies geared towards women and girls, and we’ll show up. Anyway, another big property from my millennial childhood is about to get a big-screen glow up: My Little Pony. A live action movie is in the works!
“My Little Pony” is getting ready to gallop on to the big screen in a live action feature from Amazon MGM Studios and Hasbro Entertainment, Variety has confirmed.
Based on the popular toys that date back to 1982, the ponies have cantered into numerous animated series and feature films since the 1980s. The most recent feature-length outing was “My Little Pony: A New Generation” in 2021, which became popular on Netflix after its theatrical release from Paramount was canceled due to Covid.
This will be the first live action project for the 43-year old property, which has captivated several generations with its rainbow-hued animals with colorful neon manes and tails. The project is still in development with no creative team in place yet.
While the toys originally appealed mostly to girls, the 2010 series “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” lured a new type of fans: teenaged and adult men who dubbed themselves “bronies” and used their fandom to challenge conventional gender stereotypes.
My Little Pony toys have been sold in more than a thousand varieties, according to Hasbro. My Little Pony was recently inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
We knew that more movies featuring beloved properties from our childhoods were coming. I’m just curious as to who this movie is for. Is this being made for women who grew up with the 80s/90s franchise and/or Bronies, or are they trying to appeal to multiple generations, like Barbie and A Minecraft Movie? I think their best bet would be to gear this towards children, but no one pays me studio money for my opinion. There’s no word on casting yet, but I think that will be the biggest tell as to who this movie is for. I’m legit curious to learn more. Also, calling it now, but I bet they try to involve Jack Black in some way. He’s box office gold right now, and for better or for worse, has never met a franchise role that he hasn’t turned down.