Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony (2012)

Profiling the cross-demographic fanaticism for the ostensibly girl-orientated television series, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010).

Director:

Laurent Malaquais

Writer:

Nat Segaloff

Stars:

John de Lancie, Alex Tibcken, Tim Star

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John de Lancie	...	Self / Professor Pony / Discord
Alex Tibcken	...	Self
Tim Star	...	Self (as Starlight Ironhoof)
Lauren Faust	...	Self
Lyle Gilpatrick	...	Self
Jeanne Gilpatrick	...	Self
Tom Gilpatrick	...	Self
Yoav Landau	...	Self / The Living Tombstone (as The Living Tombstone)
S.R. Foxley	...	Self (as SR Foxley)
Tara Strong	...	Self / Tara Strong Pony / Twilight Sparkle
Jeffrey Wells	...	Self
Daniel Richards	...	Self
Kim Richards	...	Self
Benjamin Meyer	...	Self
Nadine Neumann	...	Self

Storyline

In 2010, producer Lauren Faust reworked the notoriously sexist My Little Pony franchise to attempt a quality TV series for both girls and their parents to enjoy, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. As it turns out, Faust succeeded beyond anyone's expectations with an acclaimed hit that also created an adult and teen male fandom no one saw coming, the Bronies. This film explores this following with a look at the franchise, the lives of particular fans around the world and the creative passions their seemingly unusual interest inspires. Although sometimes troubled by the prejudice of others, these kindred spirits enjoy a community experience both in spirit and at conventions that has a special magic all its own.

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Plot Keywords:

crowdfunded | fandom | my little pony | brony | television series | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the third animated segment, when the John de Lancie pony walks past different works of art, one of the pictures is of Tom the Rock, a "character" from the show. The text underneath says "Ceci, N'est pas un diamant", which means "This is not a diamond." In the 2-part episode "The Return of Harmony", Discord (John de Lancie's character) makes Rarity think that a rock is a diamond, and in her daze, she names it Tom.

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Goofs

When a clip of My Little Pony Tales is shown, it is identified as "Generation 2", even though it was still technically part of Generation 1, on the late end. "G2" refers to a line of toys that had no direct media tie-in.

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Quotes

Kira Buckland: Bronycon means to me, a place where people can go and be tolerated and accepted, it doesn't matter who you are, you can find a place in this fandom and you can be accepted and I think that's really cool, because a lot of other fandoms are restrictive.

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Connections

References The Powerpuff Girls (1998)

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Soundtracks

Fly (Instrumental Version)
Written, performed by, and courtesy of Yoav Landau

User Reviews

Surprisingly Homophobic for a Movie About Guys Who Like Sparkly Ponies

My biggest disappointment is that this film isn't at all funny.

It's primary reason for existing seems to be to proselytize the virtues of the cartoon and justify the reasons grown men are fascinated by it. If you aren't a brony, you aren't going to find much in this film, because it doesn't have a sense of humor about itself.

There is room in the market for a film like this, and because it was for a group of fans that seem a bit obsessive, it will probably make a profit. I can't really say it shouldn't have been made, simply that it does not speak to a broader audience.

The one thing that I did take away from the documentary was that even simple stories, if made with quality, can find an audience. People that have trouble relating to one another and develop real world friendships find a lot to love about a show that explains why friendship is magical. At least that's what I saw as the plot of this film.

Okay, now why the summary headline. . . I found this movie a bit disturbing for one main reason. Every My Little Pony obsessed man in this film felt they needed to tell us "I'm not gay." Like that makes their passion socially acceptable. They might as well be saying, "Sure, I like pink unicorns, but it's not like I like men! THAT would make me weird a pariah!" It's a rather homophobic view, in my opinion, and totally undermines the movie's supposed message of acceptance.

So it's not entertaining, particularly educational, or social conscious, but if you obsessively collect everything with a pony on it, you'll probably like it.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

BronyCon: The Documentary

Filming Locations:

Secaucus, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$350,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big Focus Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1