My Little Pony (universe)

My Little Pony is an entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro which is marketed primarily to girls. It started as a line of plastic pony toys developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger and Steve D'Aguanno which have been produced since 1983. The ponies feature colorful bodies, manes and a unique symbol on one or both sides of their flanks. These are referred to in the two most recent generations as "cutie marks." My Little Pony was revamped at least four times with new and more modern looks to appeal to a new market.

Following the original My Pretty Pony toy, introduced in 1981, My Little Pony was launched in 1983 and the line became popular during the 1980s. The original toy line ran from 1983 to 1995 (1992 in the US), and inspired animated specials, animated feature length films, and three animated television series.

The brand was moderately profitable from early 1990s until the beginning of the 2010s, when its popularity drastically exploded into previously undreamed of demographic groups such as teenage boys and adult men and women after the introduction of the fourth incarnation of the franchise, which started with the unexpectedly great success of the 2010 animated television series, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.