Interview: Bronies of Ireland
Alright confession time… when I was but a wee gamer baby I used to get up every morning and watch My Little Pony (this was then followed by Muppet Babies and then Lambchop!) – I always made sure no one else was up for fear of one of my brothers catching me. Then the show vanished and soon I’d forgotten all about it…that is until a friend went on a recent rant about a mutual friend of ours watching ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’. I’d seen images of colourful Ponies and Unicorns online for ages, anyone who uses tumblr or Facebook is bound to come across an MLP reference at least once a day!
To cut this short my friend wasn’t all too impressed that a grown man would spend 30 minutes watching a kids show (for girls!) when he could easily spend 30 minutes watching a kids show (for boys!). The word Bronie was thrown around a lot so upon further investigation (I googled it!) I found that he wasn’t the only adult watching this show, in fact, thousands were and they were all calling themselves Bronies!
So what to do next? Simple, I found Bronies of Ireland on Facebook and I was lucky enough to catch Barry and we arranged for a chat about the group and the show!
Probably best starting off by telling us exactly what a Bronie is?
A Bronie is anyone considered to be outside the main demographic for My Little Pony – so anyone who watches the show and isn’t a little girl, who watches the show because they find it entertaining.
What’s the show about?
It revolves around Twilight Sparkle, who has been sent to Ponyville to gather information and report back to her Princess about what she learns about friendship. It’s not exactly complicated stuff but each episode tries to have a message or lesson in it without being too preachy. It’s all about the strength we gain from friendships and how to treat other people, which to be honest are lessons a lot of people could still learn from.
Does the show follow a structured storyline or can you just pick it up at any episode?
You can watch any episode and enjoy it without feeling like you haven’t a clue what’s going on it but there is some continuity in the series and they’ll reference events from past episodes. In season one the Grand Galloping Gala is frequently mentioned and in some episodes the characters are getting ready for it, making dresses and such, and the season comes to and end with them all attending Gala.
How do fans of MLP: Friendship is Magic react to the original show?
A lot of people in the Bronie community despise the old one – from time to time an occassional sh*tstorm will brew when someone does a piece on the Bronies but they won’t do their homework and end up using clips or images from the old show and it annoys people. Then there is another a group of Bronies who feel the original show should be respected because the new one has evolved from it in so many ways – the music, songs, colours and even the characters.
Why has the show been so successful, do you think?
Years ago, kids shows were really patronising and everything was dumbed down for kids to the point that they are now insufferable to watch. I think the creators of MLP: FM have realised that and the new show doesn’t do that at all. It’s very clear in what it tries to portray but at the same time it’s no preachy, the ponies act and speak like they would if they were real people. It’s clever too because the writers throw in references for adults to get too, like in one episode a character called Spike falls into a bowl of punch and one of the character exclaims the punch has been spiked! That’s stuff kids will laugh at it but they won’t understand!
Why should people watch the show?
I don’t think anyone should watch it but they should give it a try – watch it without judging it. I realise that the show isn’t for everyone.
Got a favourite character?
Officially, it would be Fluttershy – she’s a shy and timid Pony who sort of begins to grow out of her shell and I can relate to that.
Ok, onto the Bronies of Ireland, what exactly do you guys do?
We have monthly meetups, we all get together to head to the pub, go for food, we’ll check out Toy Shops for new merchandise, we’ll host screenings and we go to a lot of conventions. We’re all heading to ArcadeCon next, we basically just hang out and have fun together. A lot of people originally felt watching the show and being from Ireland meant they’d find no one else who was into it like they were so that’s where the idea for Bronies of Ireland came from and we’ve become a very strong tight knit group!
How do you tell people you’re a Bronie?
Honest answer? I don’t always! I know it must sound insane, a grown man watching this show and running a group for it’s fans but when I do tell people I let them know that I know it sounds weird but I tell people to sit down and give it a shot themselves and the vast majority will still think I’m weird but some people find they love the show too.
Ok, so what’s a Pegasister?
Ah it was generally considered for a while that guys were Bronies and girls were Pegasisters or Fillies but most girls call themselves a Bronie anyway so it’s become accepted that Bronies can be guys or girls. It depends on the person, so just ask them what they like to be called.
What’s the best part of being a Bronie?
I think it has to be making friends. I’ve met so many people because of the show, at meetups, conventions, I’ve even gotten back in touch with old friends because of it.
The internet is full of Pony inspired stuff, drawings, animations, music videos, everything really, what’d your favourite Bronie creation?
Oh wow that is difficult! I’d have to look at the bigger projects and even then it’s still tough to decide. I think the biggest Bronie creation would have to be Derpyhooves. In one episode fans noticed that one of the Ponies had been derp eyes by accident and she quickly became a huge hit with the fans, later on in the show she had a line where all she said was ‘I like muffins’ and she became dubbed Derpyhooves the Muffin Queen. Hasbro recognised the fans loved her and she ended up getting a bigger part on the show, she has her own fan art and backstory, all because the fans picked up on a slight animation error.
Finally if you were trapped in an Arcade for eternity, what one game would you play to pass the time?
All the hardest questions for last! I think I’d have to say Metal Slugs, I am abysmally bad at that game and I could easily say Street Fighter or something like that but I’d have those cleared in a day or two. Yeah Metal Slugs, definitely, if I’m going to be stuck here forever might as well try and get through something I’m not good at!
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You can keep up to date with the Bronies of Ireland by clicking the links below:
Barry and the Bronies will be hosting a special panel detailing the explosion of multimedia projects inspired by My Little Pony at ArcadeCon 2012.
Oh and one last clip… the opening song sounds amazing in Italian…
Editor-in-Chief, part-time super villain and hoarder of cats. If you can’t find me writing, I’m probably in the kitchen!
