My Little Pony has been revamped several times with new and more modern looks to continue its appeal to the market, with each new look called a "generation" by the show's collectors and fans.

The franchise is mainly targeted at young girls, although in the 2010s, it gained a cult following by an unintended audience of adult, mostly male fans.

The first incarnation's popularity peaked in 1990, but the following year Hasbro decided to discontinue the toy line due to increased competition.

[5] Hasbro launched the fourth incarnation of the franchise in 2010, which started with the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which ended on October 12, 2019.

[10] My Pretty Pony is a ten-inch-tall hard plastic figurine that can wiggle its ears, swish its tail, and wink one eye.

They were manufactured in redesigned poses with jewel eyes and turning heads and are smaller, slimmer, and longer-legged than their 1982 counterparts.

Some of the licensed merchandise released in Europe included beanbag plushes, magazines, clothing, perfume, wrapping paper and coloring books.

Some "Generation Two" ponies were sold as detachable key chains, including Morning Glory, Sundance, Light Heart and Ivy.

My Little Pony: Friendship Gardens is a virtual pet game developed by Artech Studios and published by Hasbro Interactive.

It is set in a fictional location named Equestria, and the main characters include Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy.

[a] Hasbro announced the start of the current "Generation Five" toy line in February 2021, with a 3D CG-animated film (produced by Entertainment One and animated by Boulder Media) and a follow-up television series.

According to Hasbro's Emily Thompson, vice president of global brand management for Entertainment One, the new line is aimed at Generation Alpha, which "has a higher emotional intelligence, and they expect a lot more from their entertainment"; to that end, the themes of the show will be aimed around diversity and inclusion but will still include nods and Easter eggs to the prior generation.

[17] The main characters of Generation Five includes Sunny Starscout (a female earth pony), Izzy Moonbow (a female unicorn) and Hitch Trailblazer, (a male earth pony),[18] alongside Pegasus siblings Pipp Petals and Zipp Storm.

[24]: 1:1–5  Media coverage in the 2000s reported on collectors' conventions, finding it odd that adult women are interested in My Little Pony.

[25][26] Despite Hasbro's target demographic of young girls and their parents,[27][28] the fourth incarnation of the franchise became a cultural and Internet phenomenon as the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic television series generated an unexpected fandom, with many male fans between 13 and 35[29] creating a large fanbase and a multitude of creative works, fan sites, and conventions.

When the media adaptations of the franchise debuted, there was much controversy in the United States about television advertising targeted at children.

Relaxed regulation in the 1980s on cross-referencing between programming and commercials led to toy-based shows, such as Mattel's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Hasbro's Transformers, G. I. Joe, and later My Little Pony 'n' Friends.

Character designer Chris Battle pointed out that the media adaptation of My Little Pony is seen as less valid because it is aimed at girls.

[24]: 2:5  Director Lauren Faust, who was creative developer of the relaunch of the My Little Pony franchise in 2010, wrote that she expected people who have not even watched the animated series "to instantly label it girly, stupid, cheap, for babies or an evil corporate commercial."