• Massive Jayson Thiessen Q&A From Bronycon


    It's animated because this is important!

    So a BroNYCon attendee wrote up the vast majority of Jayson's responses to audience questions while he was at the con. On his left you can see Seth in his Trixie getup. And by that I mean a Trixie shirt. That he wore while he was out having fun without us. Jerk.

    Writeup is here.

    Oh, and Seth says to tell you guys that the balloon ponies from the Comiccon poster are confirmed for season two. He 'overheard it'.

    Full text is after the break.



    Well, when I say "met" I guess I mean more like "sat with for an aggregate total of probably like two hours and asked him all the questions I've had pent up for the past however many months I've been doing this crazy pony thing".

    By which I mean of course that I went to BroNYCon.

    Jayson Thiessen and Sethisto were the Guests of Honor at this event at which I'd say a healthy 300 people showed up, many in costume and most bedecked in pony t-shirts and other paraphernalia. (It took place in about 2000 square feet of unventilated studio up above some kind of sock factory in the middle of Chinatown; no, this fandom isn't Comic-Con grade yet, but it's just getting started.) The feature event was a big-screen projector showing of S02E02 introduced by the man himself, followed by a long Q&A session.

    But really the main reason I was there was to corner Jayson and find out what makes this show tick, beyond what we haven't already heard from one interview or another. So before the showing, before anyone had really noticed him and his wife (a part-time storyboarder on FiM, aside from her own projects—these creative types seem to tend to marry within the industry), I jacked my way into a chair across his table and treated myself to some interview-disguised-as-casual-conversation.

    What follows is an unorganized digest of all the little points that I learned both from sitting with Jayson and from the Q&A session. I'll spoiler everything that's remotely spoilery, but stuff about the feature episode itself I'll put in the episode thread for now.


    The big question, for me: Why on earth is this show so good? Whose idea was it to make a show this uncompromising in quality, when expectations for anything with the MLP label were basically nil? The answer, it seems, is the production staff and Studio B. His team is just that good. Hasbro wasn't really trying to create an amazing show with quality several orders of magnitude higher than anything the property had seen in the past; they (i.e. Lisa Licht) wanted to make something, but they didn't know what exactly until Lauren showed up with her Galaxy Girls pitch. At that point things just sort of gelled. And that's down to the specific personalities involved; Lauren and Jayson are both perfectionists, and they instantly clicked on the project, to the point where they would "finish each other's sentences". And Jayson simply refuses to let anything go out the door with his name on it that doesn't meet his standards, which are to make everything—even ponies—the best thing they can possibly be. I get the feeling that the project could easily have gone to some other studio/showrunner, and it could have turned out no better than, say, G3.5. It's just fortune that it ended up in the hands of a team—and though Jayson steadfastly refuses to toot his own horn, you can tell he's a huge part of it—that would drive it to that level of quality simply because it's what they do, and they can't conceive of doing anything else.

    My theory that Hasbro was throwing huge amounts of money at this show was unfounded, Jayson was quick to correct me. Apparently they really are doing it on a shoestring. And yet the team never really feels budget pressure, he said. I asked whether there was anything he found he was unable to do because of constraints on money or content (I worked in as many of Nissl's questions as I could, as well as my own); he said budget was never really a problem, but sometimes Hasbro did veto some ideas. (They're primarily involved right at the beginning of the production process, during scriptwriting and planning; beyond that they really stay out of the way.) As often as not, though, they treated these occasions as opportunities to apply some additional creativity and make it even better than it otherwise would have been. And sometimes what Hasbro points out to them is just common sense, things that they should have realized to begin with. One example he gave gets its own bullet point:

    "Applebuck Season" was originally about "applebumping", i.e. Applejack would harvest apples by ramming trees with her head. (You can see how the script originally had her consciousness deteriorating already, huh?) But Hasbro said, uh, maybe that's not quite the kind of thing we want to be encouraging kids to do, y'know? So they rejiggered the concept into applebucking, which works as a drop-in replacement to the story—making it about sleep deprivation instead. So applebucking ends up both becoming an iconic Applejack "thing", and the story turns out quite a bit more fun than a lesson about repetitive long-term cranial trauma. :gah:

    All the great little "bits" that they keep throwing in—from high-quality animation that they sweat and sweat until it's perfect, to Sondheim-homage musical numbers, to outright references to things only adults will get—are basically the Studio B staff just entertaining themselves rather than anyone in the audience. Jayson said that what makes this show so great is the result of a million little wonderful surprises, occasions where someone assigned to some task just comes back with something that goes way above and beyond the expectation and throws everything into a whole new and awesome light; and all those things sequenced together inevitably ended up making the whole show just that awesome. Hasbro giving them a very loose rein and generally a policy of "why the hell not?" was what brought it all together. Case in point: Discord. Discord was a character straight off Lauren's pen, because apparently she'd been bingeing on Trek:TNG lately at the time that script got written. She decided to play him just like Q, because why the hell not? She'd originally planned to have Discord voiced by a De Lancie soundalike; but then during one of the meetings, someone (Jayson said it might well have been him) just said, "Why don't we just try to get the real guy?" Sure it cost money, but Hasbro said why the hell not? And John was free, and he was game, so there's our Discord. Why the hell not?

    So as to who they're performing for, it's not us, it's not 6-year-old kids, it's themselves. They're just doing what they think makes the show as great as they can, to entertain each other as best they know how. In other words, the creative team on this show really is just having that much fun making it. Best thing I could ever have heard.

    The creative team Jayson has surrounded himself with, from co-directors to storyboarders to this and that role, is largely people he's worked with in the past and with whom he shares a general creative vision. That pretty much stands to reason. He knows what works, and who works, and the better these people know each other, the better the end product is—especially when it's comedy we're talking about, and the show gets more and more self-referential as everyone just has an absolute blast playing with the characters and how they'd react in certain situations. (Those who have seen the latest episode know this in spades.) This, by the way, is the kind of humor Jayson loves best—not the "let's do an episode in Dr. Seuss style" kind of thing that a show like PPG or Samurai Jack would do, but stuff that's character-driven and consistent within the universe. This, by the way, is something he's new to as a director—visually he draws on his experience from his work on Pucca, but as far as deep characterization this is something he's never really done before, but it's something he's fallen in love with as a style.

    Hasbro's toy division is almost completely divorced from the entertainment division, to the point that Jayson hardly ever even thinks about what the toys are doing. The only time he ever has to worry about it is when Hasbro comes to them and says something like "hey guys, can you put this balloon in the show somewhere? No big, just see if you can; you know, be creative or something. Love ya babe, keep it reaaal". So they respond to those kinds of requests, but other than that the toys are barely on their radar.

    And vice versa. Apparently on the subject of show-accurate toys, Hasbro is "looking into it". It's some kind of enormous financial undertaking to rework everything now that it's all in production, and apparently they just don't really see the need—I guess it's selling fine as-is.

    On Lauren's departure: it was personal reasons. Which is to say she just up and told everyone she was burning out, and she withdrew right at the top of her game. It was a huge surprise to everybody, and nobody saw it coming, but they all respected her decision. The upshot is that there weren't any creative disagreements or corporate politics involved, it was just something she felt she had to do; and she'd mind-melded with Jayson and the rest of the team enough by then that they basically have all the handle on where she wanted to go with it that they need. (I wish I knew why nobody's thought to ask about this subject directly in prior interviews. It's clearly Lauren's story to tell, but it's nothing that sensitive or mysterious.)

    Jayson really understands by this point why it is that we dudes all fell in love with the show: that it gave us an excuse to ditch all the poisonous, self-perpetuating cynicism and bile that we'd become used to throwing around at the world and each other, and to just appreciate something sweet and beautiful because it was objectively good enough that we didn't have to feel weird about it if we didn't choose to. He mentioned that there are times when he's reviewing a story and he feels himself start to get choked up over a particularly emotional moment, or to feel himself getting carried away by something as gorgeous as the meteor shower scene (I suggested that, he didn't bring it up himself—I must confess I probably did as much talking as he did; let's all feign surprise), and he says he really understands in those moments what the show means to us, how we must all feel. He gets it.

    By that same token, he's adamant about not changing the show to suit "our" tastes; he firmly believes that if the show exactly as it is is what we fell in love with, then by God they're going to keep making that show. (Whenever some fan in the audience would ask some dumb question about "hey are you gonna put some OCs of high-profile fandom contributors in the background?", the rest of the crowd would shout him down or cheer when Jayson said no.)

    What would he have done differently? He said the early episodes in S1 were pretty chaotic, since they didn't really know what they were doing; if they'd had those episodes to do right now, now that they've got the whole production all worked out and smooth, they probably would have turned out considerably better, or at least it would have involved a lot less fumbling around and painful learning experiences.

    Jayson is very big on animation fundamentals and holding true to history's guiding lights—Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, all the big names. One thing he said (when one of the guys I was sitting with mentioned Flash) was "It's not Flash, you know… it's animation." Meaning the tool is just that, a tool. The stuff that comes out of it can look terrible regardless of the tool, if you don't care about the final product. But Jayson does care; if someone half-asses a couple of frames with a sloppy tween, he'll kick it right back saying I WANT TO SEE ACT-TING! But this is no different from someone doing a really crappy inbetween drawing in a traditional sequence; it's just another tool. (Seriously, Jayson is just such a laid-back, personable guy, and I can only imagine having him for a boss would just be so great.)

    One guy getting his con poster signed asked for Jayson to give up some kind of hint for Episode 3. Maybe in riddle form? Jayson hemmed and hawed for a bit, then said Tick-tock, time's running out.

    Chocolate rain? Real Internet reference, or crazy coincidence? "You'd have to ask the writers." But he says that he recognized the gag the instant he saw the script, and knew that anyone in the audience paying any attention would immediately make that connection; so he proceeded with the episode as though it were a real reference. ("Let's just say yes." :smirk:)


    A few bits from the Q&A session after the episode. There were a lot of real groaner questions, stuff I couldn't believe these guys were squandering this kind of opportunity on, like the WHAR MY LOOONA one that led off or the guy who was all like "Will the flower ponies show up again? Specifically Roseluck? :haw:" (and was all like "Yessss!" when Jayson said sure why not). But there were also some pretty worthwhile tidbits to be gleaned:


    Is Equestria the name of the whole planet, or just a country? He's not really sure if they've thought about it in that detail. Equestria "may have a border".

    There are more 2-parters coming. He says they're a lot more work, but the results are worth it.

    There's a "scary" episode on the way.

    Derpy? He says she's definitely going to be around. "In fact, there may even be a specific Derpy 'bit'."

    There won't really be any "heavy" stories coming that they can foresee. They're going to be staying away from that kind of thing.

    Where do zebras and griffons come from? They really haven't given that any thought, honestly.

    Which Scootaloo do you like best: Scootaloo, Scootaloo, or Scootaloo? "Well, I don't really like Scootaloo, so that takes the options down to Scootaloo or Scootaloo." :nngh:

    We "may" see more of the ponies' parents.

    What was it like working with John de Lancie? Oh it was great, from all you can gather from a Skype conversation (c'mon, the voice acting director's a whole different person/stage of production, and all Jayson would have really had in the way of interaction with him was a preliminary get-to-know interview). But "I sure wouldn't mind getting him back again". With all that implies.

    They get their glue from the store, just like everybody else. :rainbert:

    "It's always been the plan" to release a soundtrack CD. :awesomedash:

    Season 3 greenlighted? "Answering that would get me fired." Read: almost certainly

    Do the CMCs get their cutie marks? "I don't know, we haven't really figured that out yet." Read: no

    "There is a new villain." (He put on an "oh shit" expression right after this, like he legitimately didn't mean to let that slip out.)

    There has been no serious talk about adding humans, sea ponies, or other G1 elements to the show. (Nor does Jayson seem to really have any familiarity with any of the previous gens.)

    Favorite pony? Whichever one is on screen at the time in a scene he's working on, obviously. (He loves 'em all and could never decide. See, he does get it.)

    Okay, that's about all I can piece together in any kind of coherent manner from my notes (aside from some stuff about today's episode that I'll go post in that thread now). What I will say about watching the episode on a big washed-out underpowered projector playing out of some dude's VLC, with a not-great sound system and 300 pony-festooned guys in folding chairs and the show's director standing on stage holding a microphone and looking distinctly uncomfortable yet with the broadest aw-shucks grin on his face you can ever imagine, is that it's one of the best things to experience I can easily remember. You know what all these guys did when the theme song came on, right? Yup: sang along. How could they not? They belted it the fuck out, all 300 of them, in an unbalanced, unpracticed, slightly psychotic, thoroughly heartfelt man-chorus. I USED TO WONDER WHAT FRIENDSHIP COULD BE. All I could do was stand there doubled over in laughter, because it's one of those situations where all you can do is laugh, because if you don't you'll just burst into tears.

    I don't know where this whole pony thing is going, but this can't be the peak of it. 300 attendees is pretty paltry by convention standards, and I don't know what kind of incentives they can offer people to sweeten the pot now that we've had Jayson show up at one; but somehow I get the feeling that this thing is far from done growing. Maybe bronies will be booking the Doubletree a few years down the road. It happened for Star Trek, right?

    Hell, I don't know. What I do know is that this was one hell of a way to spend a new-ponies Saturday.

    100 comments:

    1. I wish I could have went to BronyCon.

      Also, pic is lulz.

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    2. BroNYCon was awesome! And I inner fanboy'd at getting Jayson and Sethisto's autographs and pictures!

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. I like the part where the eyes pop out (happy face)

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    5. There was a lot of more info. WAY MORE INFO. I just read the damn whole thing. I can't explain all of it but one word: EPIC. VERY EPIC.

      I squealed at the sight and reading of that post!

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    6. "There are more 2-parters coming."

      :O

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    7. someone better ask him if Discord is going to make another appearance

      be a shame for such a good character to only show up in two episodes

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    8. The new season is gonna be awesome!

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    9. oh god you guys are breaking our poor server

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    10. With every spoiler came another 20 slugs of anticipation.

      Break out the chocolate rain and Discord dance music, boys. This calls for one epic party.

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    11. Awwww Yeaaaaa

      lol, Oh Scootaloo, I doubt there is a cutie mark for eating a shoe

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    12. "Tick-tock, time's running out" Oh boy time to break out the wild theory hats.

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    13. More two-parters? Okay, I guess...

      Soundtrack for sure? Excellent! :)

      New villain? Just keep up the quality.

      "Scary" episode?

      :O

      Make it at least equal to "Party of One" and this will be my most anticipated episode of the season! XD

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    14. Jayson! Why do you give us so many nice things? Now I have ANOTHER interview by you I have to read.

      I just started reading it and I'm already liking it.

      All the thank yous have been said numerous times, but again, thank you Jayson, thank you Lauren, thank you Hasbro/Studio B.

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    15. This puts my heart to rest, I feel the rest of the year's gonna be a blast.

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    16. Scary Episode? Awesome! I'm glad he shot down the OC's characters. (Even though I have multiple ones myself.) They should be pure Fandom. Also that poster about Fan Fiction was dumb, he obviously never saw Fallout Equestria. But no really, there are really good fan fictions, just got to search hard for them, like good music these days.

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    17. Chicken eating a shoe? That's the best chicken.

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    18. Balloon ponies? Say what?

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    19. @Roman500
      Maybe a time-travel episode?
      I can see how they could incorperate a Friendship lesson over long periods of time...

      Or maybe it's a thriller episode like a kid-friendly "24"

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    20. I'd prefer to keep fandom out of the show. It creates a nice divide.

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    21. "It was always the plan to release a Soundtrack CD."

      Okay, if I'd been in the crowd during that, I would have stood up right then and there, thrust my arms into the air, and yelled a hardy

      YEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

      Seriously, best news ever.

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    22. Wow, that was so much info my brain is gonna explode! New villain, another 2-parter, a scary episode (Almost certainly Halloween), a sound track, Discord actually WAS supposed to be just like Q because of Lauren, Derpy gets her own 'bit' sometime, and then the most interesting tidbit of all - the riddle for Episode 3:

      "Tick-tock, time's running out."

      I am salivating over the possiblities, and I know what's in my mind is way off mark haha. Oh god I am so excited now, perfect way to end the day, it's just been so crazy with pony ever since I woke up :D

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    23. @Bmoreravens12
      Well, you have to realize that to a large extent it's a community thing. Ponygoons tend to have a very negative perception of fanfiction (it took us a long time to even allow fanfiction in any respect, and it's relegated to an obscure subforum that gets very little traffic), with good reason; most of it is very, very, very bad, and many of the worst authors tend to be the most vocal and stupidest about it. I'm just going to pull out a quote from myself here:

      "I don't share the universal dislike a lot of people have for fanfiction and OCs and such; I definitely see where it comes from, and to be honest it's more than deserved, but I genuinely think that they're not necessarily bad things and they have the potential to produce some legitimately interesting stuff. Of course, that ultimately just makes the delusional jackasses who are drawn to them like flies even worse; there's always a bunch of dumb fandom questions like this, and you really have to wonder when these people are going to get it through their heads that the staff doesn't care about your dumb fanfic and chances are none of us do, either. (The answer, of course, is never.)"

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    24. Oh god that was awesome in so many ways.

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    25. http://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/knpb5/scootaloos_big_adventure/

      Source of the gif.

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    26. The gif may mean that the message is important, but I can't stop looking at the adorableness long enough to read whatever the message is about!

      ...........Okay okay I'm reading it!

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    27. Race.
      It's a race, and Rainbow Dash is losing.
      Rainbow Dash.... hates losing.

      Or Rarity has another deadline.

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    28. Another new villain?

      PLEASE BE VOICED BY JOHN DIMAGGIO! PLEASE!

      Also, soundtrack! Hell yes! But it better include William Anderson's awesome music and not just Daniel ingram's songs.

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    29. "Tick-tock, time's running out."

      Hmm, so many possibilites.

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    30. SCOOTACHEW FOR THE WIN!

      Sorry, had to say that, its fun to say.
      Anyways, cant wait for the soundtrack release, I really hope its the score as well as the soundtrack, and what would make my day is if they included tracks that were going to be in the show but never made it in, I would die a happy person if they included sheet music for just one song, just one, thats all I ask. (3 disk collectors edition, yeah!)

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    31. "There were a lot of real groaner questions, stuff I couldn't believe these guys were squandering this kind of opportunity on"

      Gah! I can't stand those people! Seriously, like at Blizzcon Chris Metzen (the guy in charge of WoW) would answer like 5 questions during his panel. Tens of millions of fans with thousands of awesome questions only Metzen could answer... and the guy he calls on asks a question you could find on Google in three seconds.

      At least it looks like the majority of the people at BronNYcom boo'd those that asked the stupid questions.

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    32. @A Pony Farce

      That's a great quote. I totally agree with it.

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    33. Holy shit the runaway guys just referenced bronies during the final episode of the new super mario bros wii at 8:03

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    34. Side note, that animated GIF looks like something from a Miyazaki film. I think that same rolling over onto one's back animation was in the Ponyo trailer xD

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    35. Am I the only one who thought "Scootashoe" when I saw the picture?
      Everyone else seems to be thinking "Scootachew" and I feel all left out.

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    36. XD Scootachew.

      Also, so much speculation. O_O

      Guess I need to bust out a bow-tie and fez for the third episode (you know where I'm going with this).

      Also, a new villain? This should be incredible.

      And Al Capony is going to appear (also known as the right balloon pony), that will definitely be interesting.

      Cannot wait for the rest of the season.

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    37. Who gave that chicken a shoe?

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    38. That was a fun read, and that face at the end is priceless.

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    39. Idea:

      The Tick Tock clue is stating that time is running out to make a delivery.


      A delivery being made by DERPY!!!!

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    40. If Episode 3 involves time travel, I will set up every paycheck I receive for the rest of my life to be split evenly into the bank accounts of every perosn who ever worked on this show.

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    41. The only time he ever has to worry about it is when Hasbro comes to them and says something like "hey guys, can you put this balloon in the show somewhere? No big, just see if you can; you know, be creative or something. Love ya babe, keep it reaaal".

      And now I'm imagining a giant Hasbro H in the room with mickey mouse style white glove hands giving a smooth finger point worthy of Billy Dee Williams while saying "keep it reaaal."

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    42. "There's a "scary" episode on the way."

      MORE scary than DISCORD?!

      ...I'm not sure I even want to know...

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    43. This one:

      "...he's adamant about not changing the show to suit "our" tastes; he firmly believes that if the show exactly as it is is what we fell in love with, then by God they're going to keep making that show.."

      I completely agree.

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    44. Whoah whoah whoah!

      Holy revelations Batman. A lot more forthcoming than in the last audio interview.

      -"Hasbro did veto some ideas."

      Pretty much inevitable. I'd rather not know the details because you drive yourself crazy thinking "what if".

      - I love that Lauren is a TNG fan. Did she start watching it last year?

      -"Hasbro's toy division is almost completely divorced from the entertainment division"

      Figured as much. My wings are so pretty!!!!!

      -"Apparently on the subject of show-accurate toys, Hasbro is "looking into it"

      Why must this be so hard. -___-;

      -"Season 3 greenlighted? "Answering that would get me fired."

      I honestly don't get why Hub/Hasbro treats it like a state secret. Why is that even an issue?

      -Spoilers

      Wow all those tidbits sound incredible.

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    45. "Is Equestria the name of the whole planet, or just a country? He's not really sure if they've thought about it in that detail. Equestria 'may have a border.'"

      Although they could easily retcon it, the current evidence points to Equestria being a country and not a planet. During the episode, "A Bird in the Hoof," Twilight declares, "She might ban you from Equestria!" At this point, Fluttershy imagines herself in a thick, dark forest. Unless she has imagined herself on Endor's moon, this strongly suggests Equestria is a country.

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    46. BroNYCon was absolutely amazing, and Jason was such a cool guy during all of it. We got a lot of great answers from him, especially that little "new villain" slip up. Can't wait for that!

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    47. I guess the "new villain" thing is something to look forward to. We may not have many details about it, but it sounds interesting. :P

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    48. Not a single mention of Doctor Whooves. If disappointment was a color my OC would BE that color.

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    49. @Raefire

      Dude yes! John DiMaggio would own in this show!

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    50. Scary? I don't like scary. It really hurt me seeing the ponies I've come to love end up acting like that. Especially Fluttershy. Probably just as much as it hurt Twilight seeing them in such a state.

      That said, they need James Earl Jones to voice a villain.

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    51. Man, I should kick myself for not going. It's only an hour away by train! But... didn't really have anyone to go with. /onlybronyinarea

      But man, awesome answers! Hopefully that scary episode does have to do with Halloween. I was hoping for holiday-themed episodes; just like the good ol' days!

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    52. I can picture Derpy applebumping when she wants a snack.

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    53. I was so entertained by scootaloo that I nearly forgot to read the post. Lots of good information in that one!

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    54. The hint means Dr. Whooves will be appearing. ...I joke, that's impossible. ...well he might appear but... ANYWAY!

      Applebumping. Glad that was changed! So very glad!

      And I forgot what else I was going to comment on.

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    55. Wo-HOLY SHIT that guy on the right is pretty fucking ugly.

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    56. Oh c'mon, did NOBODY watch the latest Dr. Who?

      "Tick tock, time is running out..."

      The Doctor is supposed to die in the season finale next Saturday. Probably completely unrelated to what he might be hinting at, but that IS indeed a Dr. Who reference, and just might mean Dr. Whooves...

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    57. "...he's adamant about not changing the show to suit "our" tastes; he firmly believes that if the show exactly as it is is what we fell in love with, then by God they're going to keep making that show.."

      I love him.

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    58. The only two bits of information I want to know were not asked- Will there be more Luna, and will there be more Trixie? Bronies, I am disappoint.

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    59. @MiColt

      Yeah. I watched this week's episode of Who after reading the interview, and I couldn't believe how much Jayson's line resembled the nursery rhyme from the end of the episode.

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    60. I am grinning like an idiot. Jayson is completely awesome. He keeps proving that over, and over, and over again! The show is in excellent hands. I seriously cannot wait for the rest of Season 2!

      It sounds like Jayson had a lot of fun, and everyone else did, too! I'm extremely happy about that. You can't make up this kind of heart-felt appreciation. :D

      And about Lauren Faust, I can only imagine her personal heartache she has and probably still is experiencing over leaving the show. I can't put my finger on it, but I suspect she dearly loves the show and is extremely proud of it. As damn well she should be! We can only conjecture, but I wonder if she didn't want her own burnout (if that was indeed the problem) to drag the show the down. I'm sure she also wishes she stayed on--I have no doubt she had a TON of ideas of where she wanted to take the show. My heart goes out to her! It makes me sad just thinking about that heartache!

      I feel it was a decision made out of love and generosity, more than anything! I think she wanted to see her creation thrive! I think it takes a very mature person to let someone else take the reins of such a beloved project one has invested so much of oneself in. It's sad to let it go, but it's completely worth it when it blossoms into something truly, astoundingly beautiful!

      That said, I have high hopes for the rest of Season 2, having thoroughly enjoyed what I've seen so far! Should we eventually find out whether Season 3 is green-lit, I think Season 2 will remove all doubt of whether MLP:FIM will continue to be awesome.

      Personal prediction: by the end of season 2, my very, very stubborn anti-brony friends will sheepishly admit they love ponies, and will have become hard-core bronies themselves. At which point I will laugh with sheer joy.

      High hopes? Yes.
      Unrealistic? Maybe.
      Do I care? Nope! :D

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    61. @Danfish77

      It has already been confirmed by multiple sources that Luna will be returning in Season 2.

      It has been suggested that it won't be a short appearance, either. It's been said she'll appear enough to satisfy most fans.

      Fear not! :)

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    62. That was EXCELLENT. It's good to be able to stop worrying over the fate of my favorite pony show.


      Jay, you awesome.

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    63. Oh lawd, tbat was AMAZING.
      So much new info, I was squealing throughout. Season 2 is gonna be /)^ε^(\ *SO AWESOME*

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    65. All kinds of juicy info.
      A new Villian- Though he did confirm there would be new villians/antagonists back in the interview.

      Soundtrack- allways planned...Yay!!!

      More 2-parters- Epic! /)^ε^(\

      Scarry Episode- Can't wait.

      "Tick-tock, time's running out."- so many possibilities. Time-travel, deadlines, a race, ect. reminds me of a tag line from Ultraman or Batman.

      A little dissapointed about the lack of sea-ponies and other G-1 stuff due to his lack of experiance with it, but you never know. Lauren did say she had some stuff planned out and some stuff not planned.

      Lack of show-accurate toys- Meh. Give'em time, took Bandai almost to season3-4 of teen Titans to get decent toys.

      The Balloon Due and Derpy bits- Looking forward.

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    66. Somehow I ended up finding Jayson, but not Sethisto... :(

      The whole con was SO sketchy; but that's okay because I like sketchy. literally the entrance was a tiny white-walled room with an elevator and two buttons, hidden from view, half a block from a place selling durians and fish. I met 3 homeless people and a transvestite on my way there; it was epic. XD

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    67. ...I knew I missed something...
      YAY FANIMATION!

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    68. Applejack going around the farm bumping her head into trees all day sounds silly. Good thing they switched it to bucking, that makes more sense.

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    69. Great to hear an inside look on that from Jayson. Also, some of those "hints" or "spoilers" have me way pumped for the rest of the season! :D Keep it up, FiM team!

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    70. "On Lauren's departure..."

      Oh wow, thank you so much to the interviewer for asking this. I've been wondering about this since she announced it in May. She seemed so into the show that I couldn't see why she would leave unless the show was being compromised in some way, because she seemed to hint at something sinister she couldn't discuss in her letter.

      But leaving because of workload and burn-out is a totally understandable reason, the schedules they work to seem pretty brutal.

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    71. " Tick-tock, time's running out." - So does this mean that Jayson is a fan of Doctor Who?

      I'm a bit curious to see if a new villian means someone like Discord or someone small scale like Gilda.

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    72. @XKat's*
      I agree, but...
      I just hope that mindset doesn't keep them from trying new things in general. (new ≠ 'fanservice')

      And it certainly doesn't have to be anything big either: just like how in nature mutations are often small and inconsequential, but allow for a diversity that helps improve the species overall.

      They'd have to use their judgement though, when deciding what changes would be benign... Because some mutations are deadly.

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    73. "Jayson really understands by this point why it is that we dudes all fell in love with the show: that it gave us an excuse to ditch all the poisonous, self-perpetuating cynicism and bile that we'd become used to throwing around at the world and each other, and to just appreciate something sweet and beautiful because it was objectively good enough that we didn't have to feel weird about it if we didn't choose to."

      This. Over and over, this.

      Why do I watch this show, when there are other shows, and good ones, actually aimed at my demographic? Why was this show the subject of the first fanfics I've ever written? Why?

      Because it made me smile. Truly, unconsciously, warmly, widely, smile.

      And because it wasn't until I felt that happening that I realized how long it had been since anything - out in the sick, sad world OR in the fiction I'd consumed previously - had done so.

      Laugh? Certainly. Cry? Occasionally. But smile? Smile like a happy child? Smile like no matter how bad it gets, there's always hope and always a way through? That took Ponies.

      And there are no words for how grateful I am.

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    74. What? somethings going on? I was too busy watching scootaloo tear up a shoe.

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    75. @Saddlesoap

      That's it, I think that's why the show's so addictive.

      My evening went awry yesterday and I ended up getting home at about 5 in the morning.

      Woke up today, tired, hungover, pissed off. Sort of force myself to watch the new episode, because I'm not really in the mood, but I know I need to avoid getting anything spoiled online.

      By the end of the episode, it was like someone had injected serotonin directly into my brain. Hangover's gone, I'm in a great mood, my energy's come back.

      The show's like joy pills.

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    76. I think I know what the ponies in the balloon look like close up and clear. Is this that poster? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYdVCHtAVU

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    77. @ismbof Scratch that link. Here's a better one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzYdVCHtAVU&feature=player_detailpage#t=648s

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    78. Entertain themselves, and taking a page from the greats. I assumed this, but glad to hear it confirmed. I'm mixed on what the spoilers detail tbh, though some of it sounds great.

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    79. I gotta say, the whole "they're making it for themselves and by their own standards" thing makes me really happy. It's a similar response to the ones given by all the guys that made Looney Tunes, which are easily some of the best cartoons ever.

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    80. I smell a Halloween episode!
      *Cough cough* http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/08/story-all-hallows-eve.html

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    81. @MiColt
      I HOPE SO
      then the new villain could be pony Davros!

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    82. @Saddlesoap

      That quote sums it up much more eloquently than I ever could. I know; I've tried.

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    83. On the Comic Con Poster, are you supposed to be able to see who the ponies in the balloon are clearly, or is it more blurry and indistinguishable? Because I got mine off of eBay, and I don't want to find out it's a fake ;_;

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    84. "So as to who they're performing for, it's not us, it's not 6-year-old kids, it's themselves. They're just doing what they think makes the show as great as they can, to entertain each other as best they know how." This sounds VERY similar to how SpongeBob is made. When they like what they're making, and do it for themselves rather than just catering to others and making something they may not personally like, it turns out great. Common sense, but not something enough studios, or even creators, do

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    85. This is awesome. Thanks to the attendee for doing the writeue.

      "By that same token, he's adamant about not changing the show to suit "our" tastes; he firmly believes that if the show exactly as it is is what we fell in love with, then by God they're going to keep making that show."

      YES. This is all I needed to hear :') Fandom is awesome but I've seen too many instances of creators/writers being negatively influenced by fandom and pandering to the base.

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    86. *writeup

      Oh and the scary episode is probably the Halloween episode. Cutie Mark Crusaders trick-or-treating?

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    87. BronyCon was AMAZING! I was the one that asked him where ponies get their glue from :V

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    88. "Which Scootaloo do you like best? Scootaloo, Scootaloo, or Scootaloo?"

      God damn it Punchline.

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    89. So much information, and yet I still wait for a date for Episode 3... Well, soom enough hopefully. Soon enough.

      I could make a lot of guesses on what it all means, but then it will turn out only one of them will turn right. Interesting they are not wanting to cover a "heavy" episode, but I do wonder if they will ever do a "sad" episode of some sort, something like a friend leaving or something... guh. If that ever happens, I think we shall all be upset. And yet I have a depressing feeling that the finale of the show might involve that... don't worry though, we still have at least 50 episodes before something like that might happen! Let's not be too glum people.

      A Scary episode is interesting, are they going to try some sorta spooky premise episode? Maybe we actually get to see Zombie Ponies for once? Or will they legitimately try to make it scarier than anything we've seen so far. If so, yikes. The Balloon Scene in Return of Harmony was Scary Enough, That said, Disney have surely done much scarier things (Haunted Woods in Snow White, Pleasure Island and Monstro in Pinochio (God damn you Monstro, you gave me an eternal fear you did), the adventure of Ichabod and freaking Chernabog from Fantasia). If They are going to go by them as an example... yikes. Discord was already really freaky, and these plans to make it scarier than that? We need to be careful...

      And that Tick-Tock huh... well, that could mean anything really. It could be a sign that Episode 3 is going to feature a time-controlling Villian, Time Travel could be a key element, or it could be they got a Famous Time Lord of the past to do a guest voice or it's going to be a rather goofy 24 Parody like that one Simpsons Episode. Who knows. I just want to know when the next episode will air so we can all find out.

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    90. @MudPuppy

      Spongebob is still kicking long after the soul of the show moved on though. Hope something like that doesn't happen here, but it's either leave them wanting more or outstay your welcome with these sort of things, so I hope they have a plan...

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    91. >repetitive long-term cranial trauma.

      I lol'd. Yet some still managed to see it as alcohol abuse... well, alcohol kills brain cells XD


      I'm not one creative type except for writing, but my crush is, and you know what I've noticed in her? Her best works are made when she is making it for her own "shit and giggles". She knows this already, but drawing for yourself instead for your costumers and commissioners always leads to better results, sometimes I remind her that when she is clearly not enjoying one job and next time she will decline that certain theme and/or client.


      And with a show as good as this, it should be the other way around. The toys being based on the cartoon, not viceversa. In this way, Hasbro still thinks of the cartoon as a 22 minutes commercial. Shame, because it would be amazing that they'd break that 80's mindset. But I'm sure this is the toy division just being lazy and not company's philosophy.


      SOUNDTRACK!? ALL MY BITS, TAKE THEM!!!!!

      New villain? I'm not really that shocked. S1 had many antagonist yes, so why not?

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