| Genre | Parody Abridged series Black comedy |
|---|---|
| Creator | Jenny Nicholson Griffin Lewis |
| Starring | Jenny Nicholson Griffin Lewis Various voice actors |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Num episodes | 10 |
| Runtime | 5–15 minutes |
| Network | YouTube |
| First aired | June 16, 2011 |
| Last aired | January 6, 2016 |
Friendship Is Witchcraft is a fan-made abridged parody web series based on the animated television show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.[1][2] Created by Jenny Nicholson and Griffin Lewis under the pseudonym "Sherclop Pones,"[3] the series ran from June 2011 to January 2016 and gained popularity within the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom, also known as bronies.[4][5]
Overview
The series reimagines the characters and storylines of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic with darker, more satirical themes. Episodes typically feature voice acting, original musical numbers, and comedic reinterpretations of scenes from the original show.[6][5]
In January 2013, Friendship Is Witchcraft was blocked from YouTube in the United States due to a DMCA claim by Hasbro.[4]
Reception and analysis
In a collection of essays on Friendship Is Magic and its derivative works, author Jen A. Blue examined the series as an example of fan commentary on both the original show and its fandom. Blue argued that rather than simply parodying Friendship Is Magic, the series functioned as a parody of the fandom's expectations and fan works themselves. She commented that the series incorporated elements characteristic of "cult shows" and meme-driven content, suggesting it transformed the source material into something resembling adult-oriented cartoon comedy. Blue wrote that the series mocked fan tendencies to impose darker interpretations on the original show and to approach it with the kind of conspiracy-theory viewing typically associated with more complex serialized television.[5]
As an abridged series,[7] Friendship Is Witchcraft employed a process of recontextualization, taking the visuals of the original work and pairing them with new audio to create comedic dissonance. Unlike many abridged series that focus on imperfections in audio-visual matching, the series primarily derived humor from showing familiar characters behaving in drastically different ways while maintaining their core personality traits.[5] The series was known for its provocative humor and creative approach to the source material.[1]
See also
- List of fan works of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom
- Music of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction
- PONY.MOV
References
- ^ Hargraves, Hunter (December 19, 2022). Uncomfortable Television. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-1-4780-2419-4.
- ^ Halley, Jean O'Malley (2019). Horse Crazy: Girls and the Lives of Horses. University of Georgia Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-8203-5536-8.
- ^ Jamison, Anne (November 26, 2013). Fic: Why Fanfiction Is Taking Over the World. BenBella Books. p. 337. ISBN 978-1-939529-19-0.
- ^ Scotellaro, Shaun (2013-01-16). "Friendship is Witchcraft & Equestria Girls Taken Down". Equestria Daily. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ Blue, Jen A. (2016-01-20). My Little Po-Mo: Unauthorized Critical Essays on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season Three and Derivative Works. pp. 141–147.
- ^ Collins, Malcolm (2013-08-22). "The Abridged Series: An Emergence of a New Genre". HuffPost. Retrieved 2025-05-28.
- ^ Capps, Borealis (2024-03-13). "The Evolution of Abridged Anime Part 3: What's In A Name?". Anime Herald. Ferreira, Samantha (ed.). Retrieved 2025-05-28.