Have a Pinkie New Year Every Pony

January 31, 2014 Keith Chow

Last week, I talked about how much our household enjoys watching My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Since 2014 is the Year of the Horse, I figured that it only made sense for Hasbro (or The Hub, for that matter) to cash in on the festivities by licensing the Mane Six on some little red envelopes or lanterns or something.

So a couple weeks back, I hopped on the old Google machine to look for MLP-branded envelopes to place my daughter’s lai see in. While I didn’t find anything official, I did stumble upon these designs on someone’s deviantART page (pro tip: if you’re gonna hand make little red envelopes for Lunar New Year, you shouldn’t date them. We Chinese folk tend to reuse the envelopes every year. At least I do).

While I couldn’t find what I was looking for, I did come across a special edition Year of the Horse Pinkie Pie offered exclusively through Toys ‘R’ Us.

Honestly, I’m surprised Hasbro didn’t try harder to capitalize on the fact that it’s the Year of the Horse. So many missed marketing opportunities! Maybe when the Lunar New Year is recognized as a federal holiday? Speaking of which, I get that Pinkie is probably the most popular of the Mane Six, but wouldn’t it have made more sense to feature Princess Luna in the cheongsam? I mean, it is Lunar New Year, after all!

Also, some of my friends online have pointed out the cultural appropriation of it all. Is it cultural appropriation? And should I be offended? I mean, I stumbled upon the toy because I was actively seeking out MLP-related CNY paraphernalia in the first place. Your mileage may vary. Personally, I think it’s kinda dope to see one of my daughter’s favorite cartoon characters decked out in the regalia of a holiday our family celebrates. Besides, no one bats an eye at the Christmas-themed stuff.