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, projects like DARE and all the lumbering stabs by corporations to trick children out of money for hunks of plastic. Hasbro, for instance, didn't understand how television shows built around pre-existing toys had to be anything more than a 30-minute commercial for the product. They created the plot-lesscartoon with the singular goal of cramming in as many different characters in an episode as a little girl could remember while walking through the toy aisle of a K-Mart.

But when the show rebooted in 2010, it made a point of being everything previous iterations of the show lacked.

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Friendship Is Magic concentrated on character development, humor, conflict and, above all, providing lessons for girls on the complex nature of friendship. But all those elements accidentally perked the interest of another demographic entirely: young adult males.

"You might think I'm a Rainbow Dash guy. Nope, I'm Fluttershy all the way."

Now "Brony" communities are popping up