My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a new cartoon from Hasbro, revolving around the--

...I'm leaving.

Get back here.

Despite the extremely girly name, saturation of pinks in the color scheme, and legacy attachments to the 80's, this cartoon is GOOD. Sit down, and I'll tell you why.

Okay, why should I watch this?

It's directed, produced, and overseen by Lauren Faust, wife of Craig McCracken. You might know her better from work such as The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. This is a woman who A. knows what she's doing, and B. doesn't go for the old "let's throw tea parties and defeat villains by sharing" !@#$.

And this shows though, STRONGLY, in Friendship is Magic. It feels much more like the Powerpuff Girls than any previous MLP cartoons-- the writing is clever and snappy, the humor is surprisingly witty, the voice acting is top-notch, the characters are distinct and likable, and in every episode there’s at least one joke or reference which was clearly put in more for the adults watching than the kids.

Oh, and the art is damned good too.

I don’t believe you. A My Little Pony cartoon that doesn’t rot your teeth?

I know! But this thing is on FIRE. Despite a rather unfortunate timeslot it's found a wide and devoted audience already, and is quickly shedding the old albatross of girl's cartoons past. A good chunk of that audience, surprisingly, is also male, and in the 20-35 demographic--though most of those would probably never admit to watching it, at least not in public.