The Grid recently did an interview with animator Craig McCracken, husband to Lauren Faust. They covered a mix of shows, from Fosters Home to the new Wander Over Yonder. Mixed in there were are few quotes about Friendship is Magic. Head on over
here for the entire thing, or below the break for the pony specific stuff!
Thanks to Candygram for the heads up!
On the show in general:
“I always knew the show was great,” says McCracken. “Lauren said, ‘I
want to make a show for little girls that their parents can watch and
it’s not stupid.’ When she grew up, everything that was made for her was
never good and everything that was made for her brothers was really
high-quality. Why can’t shows for girls be good?
On the Brony Fanbase:
“But the entire Brony fanbase was a complete surprise to both of us,” he
admits. “One of the reasons Bronies showed up was that the show was so
nice and the characters are friends with each other. There’s no angst in
it—it’s not dark or brooding or cynical or mean-spirited. It’s a very
positive and nice show where characters get along with each other. I
think audiences are starved for that entertainment.”
On why Lauren left MLP:
“It was not an easy decision and she’s not happy about it,” McCracken
reveals. “I know there were things she wanted to do with that series
that she just wasn’t able to do. It’s difficult trying to make a show
like that for a toy company. She had big ideas and I don’t know she was
able to get them on the screen, and there’s still some frustration with
that.”
Their take on Equestria Girls:
“I don’t think [Lauren]’s the biggest fan of that,” McCracken deadpans.
“That’s one of those things would have made her leave anyway. If they
had told her you have to turn them into human beings now and they have
to go high school, she would have said, ‘No, that’s exactly what I
didn’t want to do with this show.’ Lauren’s priority was telling stories
and Hasbro’s priority was selling toys. It’s a different way of
approaching the work and it was difficult for her to bridge that gap.”