New documentary goes behind the scenes at crazy cartoon conventionMy Little Ponies were the magical equine toys introduced in 1983 to the delight of small girls around the world.
Now the childhood classic is back - and it's found a surprisingly masculine (and much older) fan base second time around.
Meet the 'bronies', an 80 per cent male group of My Little Pony fans, who love the toy and the TV spin-off so much, they spend their lives dressing up as their equine heroes.
The bronies, most of whom are aged between 18 and 35, also express their love for My Little Pony by writing poetry and fan fiction, creating pony-themed avatars and by attending conventions, one of the largest of which is held in Manchester.
Now a new documentary has gone behind the scenes at BUCK, the British brony convention that attracts hundreds of My Little Pony fans living in the UK and Europe.
One regular attendee is 'Cheesey Burger', the 23-year-old head of the 'Manechester' bronies, who hails from Salford and says he loves everything about My Little Pony.
'16 to 25 year old males watching a show about ponies from a little girl’s show in 1985...' he muses. 'You’d normally think that that would be weird.
'But then I am weird myself, so I mean I watched it and I loved it and I can understand totally why anyone would get behind it.'
'It’s innocence, it’s fun, it’s colourful, it’s, you know, it’s a nice escape from the grey world as it were for the time being and it brings me joy,' says 48-year-old brony, Neil.
'It’s something I like to share and if I can share something good and, you know, make people happy, then great.'
Others say the sympathetic story lines covering issues such as friendship and fitting in is what most appeals to them.
'It’s not just about world problems, just about simple problems,' says one. 'It's things like having no friends, trying to find friends, finding out about friendship is magic.'
'Friendship is Magic', the strapline for the My Little Pony cartoon relaunched in 2010, is something you hear about a lot during a visit to BUCK and for many bronies, neatly encapsulates why they love the show so much.
'For me it was ironic at first,' says 'Spitfire', a teenage brony. 'But then I kind of got into it, you know, I appreciated the message within it.
'It’s got decent values to go by and you don’t find that on TV much anymore.'
While it's easy to see why sympathetic tales of friendship featuring strong female characters might appeal, what's harder to understand is the 'cosplay' element of bronydom.
Although not every brony feels the need to dress up, others choose to express themselves via colourful costumes, many accessorised with horns, that reference their favourite pony character.
'Bronies usually only dress up during meet ups or conventions to celebrate their mutual fandom, so it's not unlike a comicon event,' explains Ariel White, who produced the upcoming episode of Outsiders with Darren McMullen that features the bronies.
'This is not Peter Pan syndrome but a passion for a show that symbolises friendship amongst those who often find it hard to make friends.
'Often these young men spend much of their social interaction online and following the rerelease of the cartoon in 2010, the unlikely and often lonely fans found each other thus creating this subculture.
'We’re very accepting of everything, because you know, people come from all walks of life here,' adds Cheesey. 'At the end of the day we do watch a little girl’s show.'
And in an echo of White's comments, more say becoming a brony has given them a sense of security as well as a place where they feel accepted and fit in.
'A lot of people [at BUCK], I kind of feel would have very low self-esteem on a normal day,' explains one.
'They find it hard to make friends, and this is where they feel comfortable.. . They can interact with people, they can talk with people and it gives them a confidence boost. They feel as if they’re a part of something.'
'The fandom simply wants to find like-minded people whom they can become friends with,' adds White.
'At the end of the day, it's all about their key message: Friendship is Magic.'
The bronies appear on Outsiders with Darren McMullen, Friday at 10pm on the National Geographic Channel.SourceIf you wanna watch the episode where this appears, you can watch it here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1lsuob_darren-mcmullen-s-outsiders-episode-1_lifestyle