My Little Pony

Ernie & Bert ponies celebrating Friendship Day.

My Little Pony is an entertainment franchise created by Hasbro, first in 1981 as My Pretty Pony, and in 1983 under its now iconic moniker. The pony toys traditionally feature colorful bodies and manes, as well as a unique character-specific symbol on one or both sides of their hips (in the most recent incarnations referred to as "cutie marks").

The original toy line further inspired four animated television series, several animated specials, and two animated feature-length films. The franchise has been revamped multiple times over the decades to appeal to new generations, while the brand's sales increased considerably with the introduction of the fourth incarnation of the franchise in 2010, entitled My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

Although no official crossover product with a Henson-related franchise has been introduced to the market, Hasbro tweeted out an image of specially created prototypes to celebrate "Friendship Day" in 2015. Among the friendship pairings were Ethel and Lucy from I Love Lucy, Cher and Dionne from Clueless, Laverne and Shirley from Laverne & Shirley, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime from Transformers, as well as Ernie and Bert from Sesame Street. The Ernie pony features a Rubber Duckie cutie mark, whereas the Bert pony sports a Bernice cutie mark. The original tweet read:

“Happy #MLPFriendshipDay!
To celebrate, we've created #MyLittlePony figures honoring iconic best friends!”
—Hasbro Twitter feed 2015-07-30

References

• In one of the promos for The Hub's Fraggle Rock-A-Thon, Gobo Fraggle receives a postcard from Uncle Traveling Matt, detailing his visit to Equestria. The postcard depicts the six main ponies from the Friendship is Magic series and the background uses a pattern of Pinkie Pie's silhouette.
• In one of The Hub's "Ask a Fraggle" spots, a viewer asks Gobo and Red Fraggle "Are you guys Bronies?" (a term used to refer to adult male fans of My Little Pony). The Fraggles don't know what that means, so their answer is no, they're Fraggles. Red says they like to play with their friends, and Gobo adds "Because friendship is magic."

Muppet Mentions

• In the Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks short, "Pinkie on the One", after her drum solo, Pinkie Pie does an imitation of Animal.

• In the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic season six episode "Viva Las Pegasus", a pony caricature of Scooter appears as the stage manager at a Siegfried & Roy-type show.

• In the comic story, "How Star Swirl Got His Hat, Yet another version of the same story by Katie Cook" (first published in IDW My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #19), a plush toy of Kermit the Frog is seen on display.

• The cover A of issue #48 of IDW My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comics makes reference to The Muppets, including Rarity as Miss Piggy, Rainbow Dash as Animal, Twilight as Kermit, Applejack as Rowlf, Spike as Scooter, Fluttershy as Gonzo, Pinkie as Fozzie, and Luna and Celestia as Statler and Waldorf respectively.

Connections

• Ivy Austin voiced Sparkler in My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina (1985 special)
• Rachel Bloom voiced Autumn Blaze in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode "Sounds of Silence" (2018)
• Emily Blunt voiced Tempest Shadow in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)
• Fran Brill voiced Applejack in My Little Pony (1984 special)
• Sofia Carson voiced Pipp Petals in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Nancy Cartwright voiced Gusty and a Bushwoolie in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film), Posey, Truly, Baby Cuddles, Baby Heart Throb, and others on My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986-1987 series)
• Kristin Chenoweth voiced Princess Skystar in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)
• Peter Cullen voiced Ahgg in My Little Pony: The Movie and Captain Crabnasty in the two-part My Little Pony 'n Friends episode "Fugitive Flowers" (1987)
• Danny DeVito voiced Grundle King in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film)
• Taye Diggs voiced Capper in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)
• Sandy Duncan voiced Firefly in My Little Pony (1984 special)
• Skip Hinnant voiced the recap announcer on My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986-1987 series)
• Vanessa Hudgens voiced Sunny Starscout in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Ken Jeong voiced Sprout in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Madeline Kahn voiced Draggle in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film)
• Jane Krakowski voiced Queen Haven in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Maurice LaMarche voiced Chancellor Neighsay in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2011-2019)
• Phil LaMarr voiced Alphabittle in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Cloris Leachman voiced Hydia in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film)
• Katie Leigh voiced Fizzy, Ribbon, Heart Throb, Lickety Split, and others on My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986-1987 series)
• James Marsden voiced Hitch Trailblazer in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Ullanda McCullough voiced a singing seapony in My Little Pony (1984 special)
• Michael McKean voiced Argyle in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Patton Oswalt voiced Quibble Pants in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episodes "Stranger Than Fan Fiction" (2016) and "Common Ground" (2019)
• Elizabeth Perkins voiced Phyllis Cloverleaf in My Little Pony: A New Generation (2021 film)
• Rhea Perlman voiced Reeka in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film)
• Rob Paulsen voiced Tex in the two-part My Little Pony 'n Friends episode "Somnambula"
• Tony Randall voiced the Moochick in My Little Pony (1984 special) and My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film)
• Stu Rosen played additional voices on My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986-1987 series)
• Tabitha St. Germain voiced Minty, Wysteria, Thistle Whistle and others in various direct-to-videos (2003-2009), Scootaloo in Meet the Ponies online shorts (2008), and Rarity, Princess Luna, Granny Smith and others on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019) and spin-offs
• Zoe Saldana voiced Captain Celaeno in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)
• Meredith Salenger voiced Clear Sky in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode "Common Ground" (2019)
• Liev Schreiber voiced the Storm King in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)
• William Shatner voiced Grand Pear in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episode "The Perfect Pear" (2017)
• Sia voiced Songbird Serenade in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)
• Chantal Strand voiced Tiddlywink in direct-to-videos (2006-2008), Starsong in in Meet the Ponies online shorts (2008), and Diamond Tiara and her mother Spoiled Rich in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2011-2019)
• Tara Strong voiced Twilight Sparkle in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010-2019) and spin-offs
• Russi Taylor voiced Morning Glory, Rosedust, and others in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film) and reprised the roles (plus Cupcake) in My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986-1987 series)
• Frank Welker voiced a Grundle and a Bushwoolie in My Little Pony: The Movie (1986 film) and Pointer and others on My Little Pony 'n Friends (1986-1987 series)
• Paul Williams voiced Rep in My Little Pony: Escape from Catrina (1985 special)
• "Weird Al" Yankovic voiced Cheese Sandwich in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episodes "Pinkie Pride" (2014) and "The Last Laugh" (2019)