Country of origin United States
Canada Original network The Hub | No. of episodes 26 | |
 | ||
Original release October 10, 2010 – May 6, 2011 | ||
The first season of the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, developed by Lauren Faust, originally aired on The Hub in the United States. The series is based on Hasbro's My Little Pony line of toys and animated works and is often referred by collectors to be the fourth generation or "G4" of the My Little Pony franchise. Season 1 of the series premiered on October 10, 2010, on The Hub, an American pay television channel partly owned by Hasbro.
Contents
The show follows a studious unicorn pony named Twilight Sparkle as her mentor Princess Celestia guides her to learn about friendship in the town of Ponyville. Twilight becomes close friends with five other ponies: Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Each represents a different face of friendship, and Twilight discovers herself to be a key part of the magical artifacts, the "Elements of Harmony". The ponies share adventures and help out other residents of Ponyville, while working out the troublesome moments in their own friendships.
Development
Hasbro selected animator Lauren Faust as the creative director and executive producer for the show. Faust sought to challenge the established "girly" nature of the existing My Little Pony line, creating more in-depth characters and adventurous settings, incorporating Hasbro's suggestions for E/I ("educational and informational") content and marketing of the toy line.
Cast
Voice actors for this season include Tara Strong portraying Twilight Sparkle (with Rebecca Shoichet as her singing voice). Tabitha St. Germain and Kazumi Evans portray Rarity and her singing voice, respectively. Ashleigh Ball voices both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Andrea Libman portrays both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, and Cathy Weseluck plays the role of Spike. Supporting voice actors include Nicole Oliver as Princess Celestia, Claire Corlett playing the role of Sweetie Belle, with Michelle Creber as her singing voice (who also plays the role of Apple Bloom), and Madeleine Peters voices Scootaloo.
Voice actors for minor characters consists of talents such as Nicole Oliver, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, Peter New (as Big Macintosh), Kelly Metzger (as Spitfire exclusively in "The Best Night Ever"), Matt Hill portraying Soarin', Cathy Weseluck as both Mayor Mare and Golden Harvest. Brian Drummond and Tabitha St. Germain play the roles of The Cakes. Chantal Strand portrays the voice of Diamond Tiara and Bon Bon, Shannon Chan-Kent voices Silver Spoon, and Brenda Crichlow voices Zecora. Snips and Snails are voiced by Lee Tockar and Richard Ian Cox, respectively. The Diamond Dogs are played by Scott McNeil (as Rover), Garry Chalk (as Fido), and Lee Tockar (as Spot).
One-off roles are portrayed by Lee Tockar as Steven Magnet, Maryke Hendrikse as Gilda, Kathleen Barr as Trixie and Hoops, and Blu Mankuma as the voice of Fluttershy/Flutterguy (in "Bridle Gossip", when affected by the poison joke). Trevor Devall and Rena Anakwe played the role of Hoity Toity and Sapphire Shores, respectively. Michael Daingerfield Hall portrayed Braeburn, Erin Mathews was the voice of Little Strongheart, and Scott McNeil as Chief Thunderhooves. Finally, Vincent Tong was the voice actor for Pony Joe and Prince Blueblood, and James Wootton played the Mule.