Decade of Pony

Вчера на канале Discovery Family вышло большое интервью с создателями сериала, работа над которым заняла в их жизни целых девять лет. Найти полную версию видео можно по ссылкам ниже. Ну а тем, кто плохо знает английский, остаётся надеяться, что кто-нибудь сделает к нему субтитры.
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Осторожно: на 20:30-20:50 в видео содержится большой спойлер финала сезона (официально выходящему завтра, в 03:00 по Москве).
Стенограмма записиJOSH HABER: You never expect a job to go more than a season. Three seasons is a success.

DANIEL INGRAM: Part of me thought, «This is definitely going to run a few seasons.» I don't think anybody anticipated nine seasons.

DEVON CODY: It's rare that you get to produce a show that hits like this one has.

BRIAN LENARD: It's so rich of a world. There was kind of no way that it couldn't last longer than it did.

SAMANTHA LOMOW: It really is a labor of love across an entire team, and I think that's what's made the series so special.

TARA STRONG: The ponies are all different colors, they're all different shapes and sizes, they come from different parts of the world, and they all love each other regardless of what they look like. And I think it's so important to be a part of something that teaches inclusion.

MIKE MYHRE: There is no cynicism, really. There's not a lot of sarcasm. It is very sincere.

INGRAM: It sets a bar very high on so many levels.

LAUREN FAUST: To know that it's had an effect on people all over the world — I think everybody was surprised. [laughs]

NICOLE DUBUC: It's lightning in a bottle. I'm just glad we have it. [laughs]

[MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC — A DECADE OF PONY]

STEVE DAVIS: The progression of My Little Pony really started in the 80s with a wildly successful toyline and TV show called «My Little Pony».

[MY LITTLE PONY 1980 THEME SONG]

DAVIS: And it was all about empowering little girls and to show the characters with kind of a depth that we had never seen before.

[MY LITTLE PONY FOOTAGE]
Ember: Twilight, will I ever fly like Firefly and Medley?
Twilight: No, Ember. Not all little ponies can fly.

LENARD: Hasbro was looking to revitalize the brand. They were looking for a new creative take on it to sort of modernize it. Make it feel fresh. And they found Lauren Faust.

FAUST: My Little Pony was my favorite toy when I was a little girl. So when Hasbro came to me and asked me if I was interested in developing it as a TV show, I really just kind of dived right back into how I played with them. So I had this opportunity to make the show the way I wished that it was.

MEGHAN MCCARTHY: The new series is more expansive. It has such a deep rich lore, which I think is a big draw for a lot of audiences.

[MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC THEME SONG]

ELIZA HART: My Little Pony was made at a time when people thought that girls of that age were not watching animation anymore. And so it was a pretty big leap of faith.

DAVIS: Friendship is Magic debuted on October of 2010. We were excited to create a show that could be cross-generational. Moms who grew up watching My Little Pony could enjoy the show alongside their kids and relive that wonderful experience that they had as children.

[THE TICKET MASTER]
Spike: A-ha!
Twilight Sparkle: Oh, Spike, that looks delicious.
Spike: [munch!]
Twilight Sparkle: Spike!
Spike: What?

HART: One of the things that really stood out about Lauren's vision for My Little Pony was the friendship theme. And it was such a strong theme, but it was also general enough that you could pull so many stories.

STRONG: This particular version was really all about these relationships, and all the kids want to be part of Equestria and part of this magical world that Lauren Faust had envisioned.

DAVE POLSKY: There's these really relatable, adorable, endearing characters. These characters have flaws.

[THE TICKET MASTER]
Pinkie Pie: But Twilight's taking ME!
[ponies argue]

JIM MILLER: You know, like, she's coming in close to camera.

JOANNA LEWIS: I think this show provides everyone with a template for friendship. It delves into nuances that other shows don't do.

KRISTINE SONGCO: The girls have evolved over the years. It's not one of those shows where this is someone's personality forever and ever.

[FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, PART 1]
Twilight Sparkle: I'm Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?
Fluttershy: Um… I'm Fluttershy.
Twilight Sparkle: I'm sorry, what was that?

SONGCO: Fluttershy starts off so sweet and shy, and she still keeps who she is, but…

LEWIS: She learns to stand up for herself.

SONGCO: Yeah.

LEWIS: And she then has that as a personality trait where she's stronger.

[FLUTTERSHY LEANS IN]
Fluttershy: Other ponies may be experts in THEIR fields, but animals are MY field of expertise. And if I say this is what I want, then this is what needs to happen! Oh, um, for the animals, of course.

DAVIS: Almost ten years ago, there really were not a lot of shows for girls that featured this kind of multidimensional character that they could relate directly to.

MICHAEL VOGEL: I think one of the things that's really cool about Pony that right away made it stand out as a different kind of show is that it was this weird mixture of really emotional storytelling, big huge «Star Wars»/«Lord of the Rings»-level mythology, and «Looney Tunes»-style humor.

[THE TICKET MASTER]
Rainbow Dash: Are we talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?

VOGEL: That mixture and blend of all those things made it appealing to just a much wider audience than we would've expected.

DUBUC: I think it's a good co-viewership show. Adults can watch it with kids, and both can take away what they need. At core, I always think — you never write to kids. You write great stories, and that gets you viewership. And I think My Little Pony is a perfect example of that.

DAVIS: Our animation teams wanted something that both parents AND kids could watch together. With complete plot lines and dialogue that could really engage fans of all ages.

HART: I think for a kid, this show brings just really positive themes and really fun characters that they can see themselves in. And I think for the adult audience, it's an escape from a world that can kind of stressful sometimes and a little dark. And even though we deal with dark things, we know at the end of the day, friendship is going to prevail over everything. And that is a world which I would love to live in.

[A ROYAL PROBLEM]
Princess Luna: You did it!
Princess Celestia: Only because you were here.

HABER: What is great about the show is how people of all stripes — boys, girls, old, young — could look at it and see something in it that is reflective in themselves. Something they could relate to.

CODY: I think that it just tells good, honest, heartfelt stories. Lauren did a really great job in setting it up. She created really strong archetypal characters, set a really good functional look for the show. And after she moved on, it was easy to take that and continue to run with it.

LEWIS: I think audiences keep coming back because they're cute. [laughs]

SONGCO: [laughs] And they love each other so much. That's something that you want to be a part of.

FAUST: What I really wanted to present in this show was that you don't always have to get along with somebody to still love them.

[GRIFFON THE BRUSH OFF]
Twilight Sparkle: Hey Pinkie. Sorry I accused you of misjudging Gilda. Looks like I'M the one who misjudged YOU.
Pinkie Pie: It's okay, Twilight. Even you can't be a super-smart smarty-smart-pants all the time.

[ACT BREAK]

ANDREA LIBMAN: [as Pinkie Pie] I really thought I had my taste/memory formula figured out, but I was completely and totally wrong!

LIBMAN: My favorite part about working on the show is the people that I get to work with. No question.

ASHLEIGH BALL: [as Rainbow Dash] So all I need to do is get Twilight to talk about a couple of memories?

KELLY SHERIDAN: [as Starlight Glimmer] What do you mean that's that? We don't have anywhere near enough memories for your section of the book.

TABITHA ST. GERMAIN: [as Rarity] What exactly are you doing back here? Surely you have enough memories by now!

STRONG: Probably the biggest challenge with voicing Twilight Sparkle is that she's often quite wordy.

[A FLURRY OF EMOTIONS]
Twilight Sparkle: We are NOT cancelling! It's going to be okay! It has to be okay! It's been so terrible so far it can't possibly end up— Oh…
Spike: Sorry.

STRONG: And we'll have seventy lines in an episode. And because I tape by myself, I'll be catching up. And something I'll do five episodes in a row. And your voice gets tired even if you're not screaming if it's just you for four hours.

BALL: At the beginning, when we first started, I would always record Applejack first and then Rainbow Dash second just so I could keep them separate. But over time, Applejack sort of maybe went through puberty or something. [laughs] She got a little lower in my register.

[THE RETURN OF HARMONY PART 2]
Applejack: I saw a vision of us feuding and fighting.

BALL: And then Rainbow Dash has always been a little bit higher.

[CASTLE SWEET CASTLE]
Rainbow Dash: There's going to be cider?!

BALL: Squeaky, and I have to clench everything to get her voice out.

REBECCA SHOICHET: The other cast members are incredible because they have done so much work. They're doubling roles or they're playing incidental characters, and they can pull these creative beings out of nowhere. Right out of left field.

ST. GERMAIN: [as ???] Twilight's so busy, the spa's the only place we could think of where we might run into her. [as Aloe] Ahhh, Rainbow Dash! So good to see you again!

LIBMAN: [as Pinkie] And then she remembered the time I visited Cheese Sandwich and realized what my life's purpose was.

LIBMAN: Pinkie Pie talks so incredibly fast.

[FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, PART 1]
Pinkie Pie: Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? Because I'm excited! I've never been so excited! well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went… [gasp]

LIBMAN: Sometimes I'll do a line really, really fast, and then I'll get the note that no one understood anything that she just said.

LIBMAN: [as Pinkie] First, I woke Twilight up and fed her some of this amazing cake, and then she remembered the time I rescued Ponyville from the parasprites.

LIBMAN: People ask me all the time if it's sped up in post, but it's not.

BALL: [as Rainbow Dash] You were right! This decompression thing is great!

ST. GERMAIN: At the times that somebody else is up at the mic, you get to just enjoy it. And when it's your turn, you get to get up there and then tickle their funny bones hopefully. [laughs]

LOMOW: As we work on the My Little Pony show, it really is a labor of love across an entire team.

NICOLE WANG: My current team is amazing, and everybody are just so friendly. Storyboard is not the easiest job. We actually work really long hours. You have to go nine hundred to twelve hundred panels, backgrounds, and characters.

DUBUC: There's so much talent on this show, and that's quite a gift — to have people care about what they're making and plussing it across the board.

DUBUC: We're on the writing side. We kind of get the first crack at it, and we try to make the best episode we can. And then it goes to the artists and the directors. And then sight gags are being put in and little character moments that you didn't even think of. And so it's really exciting as a producer to see the animatic coming back and be like, «That's brilliant! I love it!» And then when it goes to full animation, it's like even more amazing than I thought. So all along the way, everyone's just kind of building on it. It's great to work with that kind of talent,

KATRINA HADLEY: Working on this show has been really great. For me especially as a woman in this industry. Most of the shows I worked on when I was coming up were always boy leads. There were girl characters, but they were always sidekicks. There also had to be everything to every woman. So they were always really good at sports but also really good at math and really smart and really funny and really everything. And yet they… [laughs] They were kind of with these boy characters who were kind of dopes. And they always ended up being kind of the nag.

STEPHANIE MAHONEY: It's mostly female characters and they aren't perfect and they do fight with each other sometimes. They don't always see eye-to-eye. They don't always get along. And I think it's a really good message.

LOMOW: And I think that girls were able to see themselves in these characters in a way that really represented individual qualities that they could relate to.

HADLEY: You actually get to bring your own personal experience as a woman to these characters, and you get to bring women's perspectives to the screen. And it's just not something that happens enough.

[MAY THE BEST PET WIN]
Rainbow Dash: Style! Coolness! Awesomeness! And radicalness!
Twilight Sparkle: Aren't those all the same thing?

BALL: I think that there's definitely a ripple effect happening in animation. Lots of new cartoons are being made with that in mind. Just really awesome female characters.

HADLEY: I'm hoping that we're on the edge of a nice wave, this wave of women coming up in animation. Because when I started, I was the only girl on the storyboard floor. And now our entire storyboard crew is women. I had a meeting one day. Every single person in there in a senior role was a woman working on a woman's show for girls. It was amazing.

[ACT BREAK]

BALL: [singing as Rainbow]
Big adventures waiting obviously

DAVIS: One of the most exciting things about helming the show has really been working with an incredible cast and crew.

INGRAM: We talk about lightning in a bottle. Just the right people coming together who have a really good dynamic.

BALL: [singing as Rainbow]

INGRAM: And it's just really been very fun.

SHOICHET: The music that's been written has been epic. Really incredible musical theater-style type of songs.

[YOU'LL PLAY YOUR PART]
Twilight Sparkle:
It isn't that I'm ungrateful
For all the things that I've earned
For all the journeys I have taken
All the lessons that I have learned

SHOICHET: Twilight is a fun, quirky character. She's got tons of personality. I love being able to be the singing expression of her character, because she's got so much depth.

Twilight Sparkle:
What my role is meant to be

INGRAM: I love that, on My Little Pony, we did some big musical-featured episodes. Song episodes.

[PINKIE'S LAMENT]
Pinkie Pie:
For I am Pinkie, the bestest party pony around!

INGRAM: They're essentially little mini-musicals, so five or six songs in one episode.

[WINTER WRAP UP]
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
Let's finish our holiday cheer
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up
'Cause tomorrow spring is here
'Cause tomorrow spring is here!

[CAN I DO IT ON MY OWN]
Fluttershy:
Everypony has times in their lives

INGRAM: And we create this really fun, kind of musical theater storytelling experience. And we've done one of those almost every season, and that's something I'm particularly proud of.

SHOICHET: [singing as Twilight]
When I started out, I was unsure
I thought I knew all that I needed, didn't know what to expect

INGRAM: The actors on this show are incredibly talented singers, which is such a blessing. And so they get the songs in advance to practice to. They practice at home, they come in super-prepared, and we get really down to the details of the performance that way.

BALL: [singing as Rainbow]
Our friendships weave together stronger

INGRAM: The music process on My Little Pony is pretty similar to a lot of shows. We start talking about the songs very early on. When the scripts are coming in, I think they're planning where can we put some nice feature musical moments throughout the series.

BALL: [singing as Rainbow]
And the greatest spell you'll know

INGRAM: The songs are recorded with the rest of the dialogue so that they can animate to the songs.

[LET THE RAINBOW REMIND YOU]
Twilight:
Each one of us has something special
That makes us different, that makes us rare

INGRAM: I usually start songwriting with a very simple structure, so it'll just be piano, basic melody. And that's enough to send to all the rest of the creative team and have them give their input. And then from that point, we start adding the layers. And that's where we put in more voices and add the orchestra and all the guitars and all the instrumentation until the day that we come here and we record the actual cast.

[THE GOOF OFF]

INGRAM: We've been very lucky on My Little Pony to have these incredibly talented guest stars appear and sing songs. So we wrote a song for Felicia Day, John de Lancie, and this season «Weird Al» comes back.

[THE LAST LAUGH]
Cheese Sandwich:
If you want laughter, then stick with Cheese!
Accordion solo!

Pinkie Pie: Shred it, Cheese!

INGRAM: He does his reunion song, which is amazing as well.

SHOICHET: [singing as Twilight]
This is where the magic happens

[BEST FRIENDS UNTIL THE END OF TIME]
Mane Six:
Best friends until the end of time

SHOICHET: When I was a teenager, I always wanted to be a pop star. When I saw the results of doing a song and having it turn into…

[BEST FRIENDS UNTIL THE END OF TIME]
Mane Six:
We'll have each other's backs

SHOICHET: ...basically an amazing music video, it's so cool to be a part of that. And the little girl in me is going, «EEEEE! I'm a pop star!» [laughs]

[FRIENDS ARE ALWAYS THERE FOR YOU]
Mane Six and Starlight Glimmer:
Friends can change the world (ah-ah)
Friends can change the world (ah-ah)

BALL: I don't want it to be over. It's weird. It's like, thinking about some of these song sessions and how I wanted to pull my hair out a lot of the time. And now I'm like, «I'm never going to have that again.» [laughs]

[ACT BREAK]

[THE LAST PROBLEM]
Princess Celestia: My sister and I have ruled this land for quite some time, but even WE know that change eventually comes to us all. And though we know it can be unsettling, it's as natural as the rising and setting of the sun and the moon.

JIM MILLER: I think it's been a real honor to be able to end the show properly, not just have it stop. Give the characters and the world a bit of a proper send-off, maybe see a little bit where the characters will go in the future, and say goodbye to the characters that we've been with for nine years.

DUBUC: Now that the show is wrapping up and it's going to be over, I have stockpiled ice cream in my freezer, and I've got some jammies, and there may be some crying.

DAVIS: The thing that I'm the most proud of is that we've been able to reach so many people around the world with our positive messages about friendship, teamwork, and love.

FAUST: And I can't reiterate enough how grateful I am for the people who love this show and kept it living for so long. It's kind of a dream come true.

STRONG: It was a little bittersweet knowing that it was going to be the last season. And I've already spoken to fans at cons who are both devastated and satisfied that it's going out with a bang, and they appreciate that the show's been able to maintain this level of intrigue and entertainment for them.

INGRAM: I think My Little Pony will leave a legacy of just really high-quality children's programming. It sets a bar very high on so many levels, whether it's the storytelling, the animation, the depth of characters. And I think that's something I'm really proud to be a part of, and I think we've created something really special.

[THE ENDING OF THE END — PART 2]
Fluttershy: It's like the end of an era.
Rainbow Dash: Or the beginning of an even more awesome era!
Twilight Sparkle: All I know is whatever comes next is going to be perfect.

CODY: This might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It's rare that you get to produce a show that hits like this one has.

FAUST: I'm really proud of the reach it had. I think everybody was surprised. [laughs]

[THE CUTIE MARK CHRONICLES]
Pinkie Pie: And that's how Equestria was made!

VOGEL: A show like My Little Pony is a show that only comes along maybe once in your career, and it's rare to be able to work on a show that amazing for that long.

HABER: You never expect a job to go more than a season or two seasons. Three seasons is a success.

VOGEL: There's a way of telling stories in My Little Pony, and there's a heart that you put into it that you put into every show you do after that. I don't know that we'll ever reach the height to My Little Pony, but it's something that I think we're all going to try and do.

LIBMAN: It's so rewarding to be a part of something that's so beautiful. When I watch the show, I just feel so proud to be a part of it.

SHOICHET: The fandom was so unexpected. That's going to last and have a long life because it made an impact on so many people.

STRONG: Every time I look at the show or a billboard or any kind of merchandise, you see the ponies and you have to smile. And knowing that it brings happiness to people all over the world is such a rewarding thing.

[SONIC RAINBOOM]
Fluttershy: Yay.
Rainbow Dash: Ugh. You're gonna cheer for me like that? Louder.
Fluttershy: [deep breath] Yaaay.
Rainbow Dash: Ugh…

FAUST: The thing that I'm most proud of about Friendship is Magic… I'm proud that I could make a show for girls that was something legitimately entertaining to watch and it wasn't talking down to girls or stereotyping them.

[MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC THEME SONG]

DAVIS: Lauren is an incredible creative steward. She really led the charge in the beginning of Friendship is Magic.

[THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP GROWS]
All:
This is where the magic happens

DAVIS: Now we have four films, music albums, TV specials, and an ongoing digital series on YouTube. And our spinoff series, Equestria Girls, launched in 2013 as a movie. Now coming up next is the new, all-CG My Little Pony movie, the second one, and we know that everybody is going to love it. And we have a lot more things in store for the franchise. Stay tuned for lots more My Little Pony content.

[THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP GROWS]
Future Twilight Sparkle:
How the Magic of Friendship grows