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Tomorrow is the 35th birthday of Andrea Libman, the voice actress for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, and still the youngest voice actor for the Mane cast. That should give you an idea of how much time has flown since My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’s debut on October 10th 2010. For nearly a full decade, Ponk and Flutters have been entertaining us with their bubbly, high-energy misadventures in Ponyville, and relatable morality tales about social anxiety, respectively. And they wouldn’t have been as popular and engaging as they were if Libman hadn’t walked into the show’s recording booth about 10 years ago. (Sheridan, don’t get any bright ideas…)
Many bronies first fell in love with Pinkie Pie the second they realised what kind of character she’d be- the comic relief. Her constant, long-winded spiels about meeting Twilight in the pilot episode, her tendancy to break out into songs about making cupcakes or spooky voodoo magic, her upbeat yet baffling commentary for the ‘Running of the Leaves’. Exactly which memorable burst of comedy won you over doesn’t matter, what does is that she keeps every episode she’s in a joy to watch. When you hear the light, squeaky sound of her galloping bounce (pronking), a smile is sure to spread across your face.
As the show’s marched on, Pinkie’s grown from a 90s Disney sidekick, into one of the most complex characters in modern television. With the life around her constantly getting bigger and more suspenseful every 26 weeks, her heart has still stayed heck-bent on spreading joy to the wide, wider and widest world of Equestria. She single-hoofedly ensured that Yaks would be friends and allies to Ponykind, befriended the long unseen race of sea ponies for her friends, and travelled to the North Pole to seek guidance from reindeer for nothing more than a holiday present.
When all’s said and done however, the one thing she fears the most is her friends no longer taking her seriously. It may take a nightmarish balloon party or her sister getting a boyfriend to break her cheerful facade, but when it happens, Libman’s vocal performance really shines through. Fear, anger and grief are hard emotions to pull off for the “silly character” without making them annoying, but putting emotion ahead of action managed to make Pinkie’s first depressed episode, in Party of One, among the most famous moments in the show’s history. It shows us that, at the end of the day, all this pink horse needs to stay a beacon of happiness for an entire land, is her best friends.
But if you’re the kind to need to cool down and think to yourself quietly, Fluttershy’s the pony for you to latch onto. Her very, very first scene, where she meets Twilight for the first time, quickly demonstrates who she is- a very timid individual who likes to be in her own world with cute animals, struggles to say her own name to new ponies, and latches onto Spike, throwing questions at him like there’s no tomorrow. (And there almost wasn’t.)
It’s not a well-kept secret that a large number of bronies are on the autism spectrum, and those on it are very likely to see themselves in Fluttershy. Her routine fixture of taking care of animals, struggling with a simple social interaction, inability to read her own tone of voice, and obsessive need to learn everything she can about Spike and baby dragons, make her out to seem autistic herself to some viewers. While I don’t think this interpretation was what Libman or creator Lauren Faust had in mind for her, she managed to strike a special chord with autists and aspies alike, and kept them interested in how she could solve her own problems.
Said problems included not being able to cheer Rainbow Dash on hard enough, taking lessons in assertiveness from Iron Will which backfired tremendously, and figuring out how to say ‘no’ to a species of creatures far smaller than herself. These aren’t just the sorts of problems people on the spectrum have to deal with (I’ll stop with the autism thing now), we all have to make decisions about pushing ourselves or railing ourselves back all the time. It’s just a part of life that some people aren’t able to cope with. But Fluttershy has managed to, time and time again. Isn’t that inspiring?
While Fluttershy’s role to the ongoing story of Friendship is Magic may not be as important as Pinkie’s, she was the one who made a friend out of one of the show’s most ruthless villains, Discord. On top of that, she’s managed to open her own animal sanctuary, now dedicating her life to healing injured animals, or just helping them to relax. I don’t blame you for getting teary-eyed if you compare her first scene in the first episode, to how she is in She Talks to Angel, if you’ve seen it yet. Fluttershy is a beautiful reminder that you can turn your weaknesses into strengths to make friends you never could’ve fathomed, and more importantly, you can, and should, follow your passion into the greatest experiences of your life.
Andrea Libman, if you’re reading this (I’ll post it on Twitter later anyway), I believe I speak for everyone who’s ever been a fan of this series when I thank you and congratulate you. These two ponies are now icons of animation, up there alongside Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and SpongeBob SquarePants, and it’s because of your excellent performances. While whipping up a silly voice is key to making a cartoon character notable, it’s equally important to inject emotion and passion into the mix. That made these girls more than just entertaining drawings, but best friends to the audience. This is going to be your last birthday during the show’s run, so make it a full-on Flutter Fest, Pinkie Party, Bon Bonanza, or whatever you want it to be, because you deserve it.
Happy Birthday
Many bronies first fell in love with Pinkie Pie the second they realised what kind of character she’d be- the comic relief. Her constant, long-winded spiels about meeting Twilight in the pilot episode, her tendancy to break out into songs about making cupcakes or spooky voodoo magic, her upbeat yet baffling commentary for the ‘Running of the Leaves’. Exactly which memorable burst of comedy won you over doesn’t matter, what does is that she keeps every episode she’s in a joy to watch. When you hear the light, squeaky sound of her galloping bounce (pronking), a smile is sure to spread across your face.
As the show’s marched on, Pinkie’s grown from a 90s Disney sidekick, into one of the most complex characters in modern television. With the life around her constantly getting bigger and more suspenseful every 26 weeks, her heart has still stayed heck-bent on spreading joy to the wide, wider and widest world of Equestria. She single-hoofedly ensured that Yaks would be friends and allies to Ponykind, befriended the long unseen race of sea ponies for her friends, and travelled to the North Pole to seek guidance from reindeer for nothing more than a holiday present.
When all’s said and done however, the one thing she fears the most is her friends no longer taking her seriously. It may take a nightmarish balloon party or her sister getting a boyfriend to break her cheerful facade, but when it happens, Libman’s vocal performance really shines through. Fear, anger and grief are hard emotions to pull off for the “silly character” without making them annoying, but putting emotion ahead of action managed to make Pinkie’s first depressed episode, in Party of One, among the most famous moments in the show’s history. It shows us that, at the end of the day, all this pink horse needs to stay a beacon of happiness for an entire land, is her best friends.
But if you’re the kind to need to cool down and think to yourself quietly, Fluttershy’s the pony for you to latch onto. Her very, very first scene, where she meets Twilight for the first time, quickly demonstrates who she is- a very timid individual who likes to be in her own world with cute animals, struggles to say her own name to new ponies, and latches onto Spike, throwing questions at him like there’s no tomorrow. (And there almost wasn’t.)
It’s not a well-kept secret that a large number of bronies are on the autism spectrum, and those on it are very likely to see themselves in Fluttershy. Her routine fixture of taking care of animals, struggling with a simple social interaction, inability to read her own tone of voice, and obsessive need to learn everything she can about Spike and baby dragons, make her out to seem autistic herself to some viewers. While I don’t think this interpretation was what Libman or creator Lauren Faust had in mind for her, she managed to strike a special chord with autists and aspies alike, and kept them interested in how she could solve her own problems.
Said problems included not being able to cheer Rainbow Dash on hard enough, taking lessons in assertiveness from Iron Will which backfired tremendously, and figuring out how to say ‘no’ to a species of creatures far smaller than herself. These aren’t just the sorts of problems people on the spectrum have to deal with (I’ll stop with the autism thing now), we all have to make decisions about pushing ourselves or railing ourselves back all the time. It’s just a part of life that some people aren’t able to cope with. But Fluttershy has managed to, time and time again. Isn’t that inspiring?
While Fluttershy’s role to the ongoing story of Friendship is Magic may not be as important as Pinkie’s, she was the one who made a friend out of one of the show’s most ruthless villains, Discord. On top of that, she’s managed to open her own animal sanctuary, now dedicating her life to healing injured animals, or just helping them to relax. I don’t blame you for getting teary-eyed if you compare her first scene in the first episode, to how she is in She Talks to Angel, if you’ve seen it yet. Fluttershy is a beautiful reminder that you can turn your weaknesses into strengths to make friends you never could’ve fathomed, and more importantly, you can, and should, follow your passion into the greatest experiences of your life.
Andrea Libman, if you’re reading this (I’ll post it on Twitter later anyway), I believe I speak for everyone who’s ever been a fan of this series when I thank you and congratulate you. These two ponies are now icons of animation, up there alongside Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny and SpongeBob SquarePants, and it’s because of your excellent performances. While whipping up a silly voice is key to making a cartoon character notable, it’s equally important to inject emotion and passion into the mix. That made these girls more than just entertaining drawings, but best friends to the audience. This is going to be your last birthday during the show’s run, so make it a full-on Flutter Fest, Pinkie Party, Bon Bonanza, or whatever you want it to be, because you deserve it.
Happy Birthday
