fun my little pony gimmick ponies!!! (G1)
if you're a fan of my little pony then you'd probably know that they're not strangers to gimmick ponies in later generations. however today i want to talk about some generation one gimmick ponies as i find it super interesting to look at the first gimmick ponies that they tried out!
(gimmick pony refers to a pony that has a set "feature" on release, i.e. a talking pony)
year 9 (1991) - sweet surprise ponies
these ponies were most likely "inspired" by tonka's keypers, as they had a similar concept where they had a lock that opened a compartment on their bodies (and they were released between 1985-1992).
there were four ponies released in this set, they were slightly larger than the regular adult ponies and came with both a key and a surprise (either a ring or a bracelet). the secret compartment was styled as a saddle that would open up whenever the key was inserted into the pony.
year 10 (1992) - sweet talkin' ponies
sweet talkin' ponies could say three different phrases when their sides were squeezed.
there were two ponies released in this set that were unnamed in the US but given the names 'chatterbox' and 'talk a lot'. they also released talking german and spanish versions.
year 12 (1994) - surprise twins pony
these were ponies exclusive to uk & europe. it consisted of a pony with a decorative charm around her neck that when you pressed on, would open up her belly so that she would give birth to twin ponies (each around the size of a pony charm).
it's interesting to consider the possible reaction if she was instead released in the us (would a midge scale outrage happen??). because of how small the babies are they were frequently lost and are now one of the most expensive ponies on the online market.
year 8 (1990) - drink 'n wet baby ponies
drink 'n wet baby ponies gimmick was that they were able to drink water from their bottles and then they would wet their diapers - when they did this, hearts would appear. each pony came with two diapers in a box, a useable baby bottle, a changing table, hair comb & ribbon.
there were four ponies released in the us & the uk, with argentina releasing three colour variants of baby cuddles. in the uk two of the ponies were released with different names as the original names were re-used from earlier in the generation.
there's definitely more gimmick ponies that exist and far more gimmick ponies that released in later generations, however those are my favorites and ones I found most interesting! i hope you enjoyed and perhaps learnt something new 🩷
