A few months ago, I stumbled across my little sister illustrating her favorite “My Little Pony” characters. A million memories materialized in my head. I suddenly remembered cheering the main character, a purple unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, on as she vanquished evil with the power of friendship. I remembered the triumphs and challenges — illustrated by charming 2D graphics — that shaped my childhood.
The franchise started out as a toy brand and expanded into books, shows and movies. These cartoons have been around since the 1950s and have been beloved by generations.
Recently, I stumbled upon the new generation of the franchise. At first, I was curious. I called my sister over to view the episode with me. We expected the same graphics that made the show so endearing. Instead, we were greeted by 3D ponies with strange color schemes; they looked more like Sims pony models than the ponies we grew to love. Their eyes used to be starry and emotional. Now, they are dull and lifeless like corpses.
Appalled, I set that aside momentarily and skimmed through the plot. Instead of Twilight Sparkle, the story followed Sunny Starscout — some random new lead — and her boring sidekicks.
It wasn’t just “My Little Pony” that fell upon this curse of ugliness in new generations. The creators of “Strawberry Shortcake,” another childhood classic and one of my favorites, completely redesigned its characters in 2021, removing identifying features that made us love them so much.
The main character, Strawberry, lost her curly hair and puffy hat and developed straight hair and a flattened beanie. Her friend Lemon, a berry girl who used to have long hair adorned with ribbons and a girly personality, became a short-haired tomboy with goggles. I tried watching an episode or two to see if I had misjudged anything — if there was truly a saving grace in their personalities. It’s safe to say I was disappointed.
After checking out a few more media pieces to ensure they were safe from the horrendous transformation (and many weren’t, including recent Pokemon games and Disney films), I began to wonder what prompted such change. These continuations and new shows are frequently aired on Netflix and other popular streaming platforms.
3D animation has been rising rapidly in the past few decades. At some point in time, creators began to use 3D over 2D in shows to show the capabilities of new technology. Unfortunately, this approach undercuts the nostalgic charm that was initially the point of hand-drawn animation. The new animation is less artistic and no doubt more of an effortless moneymaker, but the truth is that it’s simply not as good.
2D animation was what drew many of us to watch the shows in the first place. Each style was hand-animated and unique, some of which had a storybook feel, which made the stories more engaging. It was the work of creative human beings.
Hopefully, shows and media will return to how they used to be in their prime. It’s a shame that the new generation of “My Little Pony” destroyed my immersion in childhood nostalgia. Going on, I will have to pretend that the new generation never existed.