I am a Man...

And I watch a lovely little cartoon called "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic."



No. I'm completely serious. This is probably one of the funniest new animations I've seen in recent memory outside Adventure Time with Finn and Jake and Regular Show. This little gem was developed and produced by Lauren Faust, an artist and animator well known for her work on Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends alongside her husband, Craig McCracken. Her work clearly takes inspiration from other sources and the initial commercial roots of the original Hasbro franchise, but it goes beyond that altogether (and far beyond the Memes, let me tell you) in order to become something wholly original. The main characters are exceptionally well-defined as females in almost every archetypal role possible for a protagonist with visible motivations and flaws, the animation is flawless and the comedy-while sometimes gendered because of their primary demographic-is side-splitting.

I was introduced to this series by people on Skype, and as with nearly everything I'm recommended to see, I was skeptical not only by the nature of the story by the title and what people had said, but also because of MLP's history. The original "My Little Pony and Friends" was I show I watched with rose-tinted glasses back in my childhood years. The rotating cast and conventional "pink, pretty and hooved" mentality was bought in for girls, but there wasn't really any conflicting storylines with depth; it was meant to be marketable and we were dumb children. Who were we to care?

Also, for the record-since I don't want this brought up here: I am a heterosexual and a man, and I am proud of being such. I watch this show because I am a fan of a good storyline. Despite the demographic or lack thereof, I watch this series because I found something well-made to be entertained by, and I will continue to do so.

But this Pony show blew my mind just in the pilot. Cutsey names, but with strong humor. Traditional lessons for children, but presented without pandering. Action and conflict without dumbing down to the primary demographic without glorifying or detracting from narrative tropes. And the potential for something greater waiting in the wings in an arc storyline of magic, friendship and harmony. I am as hooked to this as I am hooked to Burn Notice, White Collar, and the Friday Action Block plus One on Cartoon Network.

And one of the reasons I'm hooked to this series is the fact that the author is defending her own work in the greatest Take That I think I've seen in media thus far. Kathleen Richter, an graduate from the University from California and an outspoken feminist on Ms.Blog, decided to deride the show for not displaying values to girls that spoke to things outside the pony-girl-princess archetype, as well what she claimed as 'pony racism.' Lauren Faust responded...and did she ever respond.

I think I can say this with absolute honesty and without a shred of doubt or misplaced conviction:

YOU GO GIRL! WHOOOOOOOOO!