G1 Does anyone know, why Starsine is the new Chosen One™?

LilyLightly020

LilyLightly020

Teeny Tiny Baby Pony
MLPTP Supporter
Joined
Jan 21, 2023
Messages
234
I get it, she has rainbow mane and tail, and wings and generic star symbol, and all of that makes her very much marketable, but come on! There are so many more ponies! Why does she have to be on almost every piece of "retro" MLP merch?

(Also, funfact: her German variant looks like Princess Celestia, and her Venezuelan variant looks like Daybreaker)
 
Last edited:
I want to see more Bowtie!
 
I know how you feel, it seems as if they just choose random aesthetically pleasing ponies without putting much thought. As long as they can appeal to mainstream people who barely know anything about the franchise and don't care about specific G1 ponies, and just buy the merch because it feels trendy and retro. This probably only says poorly about my own knowledge, but when G1 retro merch started popping up, I didn't even know Starshine's name (Back then I mostly knew the names of ponies who appeared in the cartoons, and the original six).

Even so, they don't have to use her again and again and if mainstream people really don't care about what ponies are on the shirts they wear, there are lots of other aesthetically pleasing ponies that would have the added bonus of appealing to fans.

But even with the other characters they do choose, they mess up the colors a lot.
For example, on the tag of these flip-flops, why is Tootsie colored like Firefly?
flipflops.jpg


Then there is this dress. It may be hard to discern because of the small image, but some of the ponies aren't recognizable to me. Like who is that purple unicorn with Lickety Split's cutie mark? And the unicorn colored like G3 Cotton Candy... And, this time Tootsie is in Medley's colors.
dress.png
 
Sprout said:
I know how you feel, it seems as if they just choose random aesthetically pleasing ponies without putting much thought. As long as they can appeal to mainstream people who barely know anything about the franchise and don't care about specific G1 ponies, and just buy the merch because it feels trendy and retro. This probably only says poorly about my own knowledge, but when G1 retro merch started popping up, I didn't even know Starshine's name (Back then I mostly knew the names of ponies who appeared in the cartoons, and the original six).

Even so, they don't have to use her again and again and if mainstream people really don't care about what ponies are on the shirts they wear, there are lots of other aesthetically pleasing ponies that would have the added bonus of appealing to fans.

But even with the other characters they do choose, they mess up the colors a lot.
For example, on the tag of these flip-flops, why is Tootsie colored like Firefly?
View attachment 80517

Then there is this dress. It may be hard to discern because of the small image, but some of the ponies aren't recognizable to me. Like who is that purple unicorn with Lickety Split's cutie mark? And the unicorn colored like G3 Cotton Candy... And, this time Tootsie is in Medley's colors.
View attachment 80518
Click to expand...
I get you, totally. They have so, so many ponies to choose from that they don’t have to stick to the same one over and over

It does bug me when they get their own ponies all wrong, as if they’ve forgotten themselves.

Also the unicorn that looks like G3 Cotton Candy is Milky Way :Milkyway:
 
StormMaeker said:
I get you, totally. They have so, so many ponies to choose from that they don’t have to stick to the same one over and over

It does bug me when they get their own ponies all wrong, as if they’ve forgotten themselves.

Also the unicorn that looks like G3 Cotton Candy is Milky Way :Milkyway:
Click to expand...
Oops, I am sorry for forgetting about Milky Way! I think my brain replaced her with the Celestial pony of the same name haha
 
Sprout said:
Oops, I am sorry for forgetting about Milky Way! I think my brain replaced her with the Celestial pony of the same name haha
Click to expand...
No need to apologise, there’s so many names I don’t even remember them all! And I can’t get my head around why Basic Fun named that one Milky Way as if they’re not planning to remake the original
 
StormMaeker said:
It does bug me when they get their own ponies all wrong, as if they’ve forgotten themselves.
Click to expand...
I don't think Hasbro gave always that much thought in their products. There are three G1 Cuddles and a couple of other duplicate names. They mixed up a lot of names in the german translation.
And I don't think, Hasbro is responsible for all the clothes. They sell the copyright and the designs, but the designers do what they want with them.
 
Sprout said:
I know how you feel, it seems as if they just choose random aesthetically pleasing ponies without putting much thought. As long as they can appeal to mainstream people who barely know anything about the franchise and don't care about specific G1 ponies, and just buy the merch because it feels trendy and retro. This probably only says poorly about my own knowledge, but when G1 retro merch started popping up, I didn't even know Starshine's name (Back then I mostly knew the names of ponies who appeared in the cartoons, and the original six).

Even so, they don't have to use her again and again and if mainstream people really don't care about what ponies are on the shirts they wear, there are lots of other aesthetically pleasing ponies that would have the added bonus of appealing to fans.

But even with the other characters they do choose, they mess up the colors a lot.
For example, on the tag of these flip-flops, why is Tootsie colored like Firefly?
View attachment 80517

Then there is this dress. It may be hard to discern because of the small image, but some of the ponies aren't recognizable to me. Like who is that purple unicorn with Lickety Split's cutie mark? And the unicorn colored like G3 Cotton Candy... And, this time Tootsie is in Medley's colors.
View attachment 80518
Click to expand...
Oh right, I almost forgot the messing colors up part. I have a T-shirt dress with a purple-maned wingless Surprise on it.
StormMaeker said:
And I can’t get my head around why Basic Fun named that one Milky Way as if they’re not planning to remake the original
Click to expand...
Yes.
Flicksi said:
And I don't think, Hasbro is responsible for all the clothes. They sell the copyright and the designs, but the designers do what they want with them.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if this is how this works in the fashion world, but I know that in beauty, the license owner always has to give a last nod to every last bit of the final designs. In that case, someone's literal job is to sign off on these.
 
Last edited:
Leave a Whisper said:
She is very pretty, and everyone loves a rainbow pony.
Click to expand...
Yes, she is, and I too love rainbow ponies. But I'd love to see some variety.
(And colors without having to throw a few days' worth of my paycheck at a brand, but that is another discussion.)
 
LOL, agreed I do get a little tired of the same ponies or the poor attention to sticking with the correct colors. I just assumed it was something with cheap marketing/licensing but I really don't know much about how that all works. I do know I want a pair of MLP flip flops now though!
 
I think the simple answer with G1 retro merch is that Hasbro doesn't know what they made back then. They licensed the Fancy Swirl artwork without knowing they'd never been produced. The backcard artwork that was featured on a lot of merch several years back - Summer Wings, Fancy Pants Babies, etc. - was saved from the trash by an employee, much like most of the historic MLP items and art we've seen presented at Pony Fairs in the past.

When they made the 25th anniversary Collector and Rainbow Ponies, they had employees bring in their childhood ponies to make the molds because the original molds had been "lost." I'd venture to guess that maybe they polled some of their employees on what their favorite G1 ponies were and went with that for licensing the retro merch we've been seeing. The June Rose BF pony is a super-odd choice, otherwise. They're catering to the Xennial crowd's nostalgia for the ponies they loved most. For many of us, a Collector or Rainbow Pony was our first pony. (My earliest memories are of Blossom and Starshine.) Starshine and Windy are immensely popular right now because of the rainbow hair and unicorn/pegasus trendiness happening at the moment.

ETA: Milky Way and others had already been rendered in retro art specifically made for Pony Fair, so that's likely why they're included now - Hasbro doesn't have to pay anyone to design any "new" characters when they can just use those that have already been done.

300px-600579_430871080279351_1616217998_n.jpg300px-291054_519436618089463_1527758338_o.jpg300px-1979246_741880972511692_380202017_o.jpg300px-11026597_962108547155599_3744925054864881184_o.jpg300px-1044018_1186808721352246_2859200370187005862_n.jpg2013GroupLogo.jpg300px-2014RPonyLogo.jpg300px-2016LogoGroup.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top