|
The second generation of My Little Pony, by
collectors usually called gen2 or G2, was first released in late 1997,
and would run until it was replaced by the third generation in 2003.
While Gen2 was released worldwide in 1997, it was discontinued after
about one and a half years in the United States and Canada because of
poor sales. The ponies were still sold in Europe for another five years,
where they remained to be quite popular.
Generation two ponies differ quite a bit from the
original ponies. They are smaller, skinnier, and in their eyes they have
a little gem. All Gen2 ponies were released with their own little set of
accessories, while the regular generation one ponies were released with
just a comb or brush and a ribbon. They also could all move their heads
which was not common in the first generation ponies. The third
generation ponies that were released in 2003 didn’t continue with the
accessories with every pony, and regular ponies once again were released
with only a brush.
The normal set of Gen2 ponies were called secret
surprise ponies. These ponies came with a few accessories and each year
a few ponies were added to this set, until they were renamed hobby
ponies in 2002 and none came out in 2003.
Ponies with a larger amount of accessories were also
released, and these were called magic motion ponies because these ponies
could move a part of their body; their front leg, their tail when you
turned their head or their back legs. They usually came with larger
accessoiries like a jewellery closet or a tea party table.
Of course larger playsets were also released; there
were the smaller ones like Sweetberry’s Kitchen in 1999, and larger ones
like the mansion playset in 2003. All playsets came with at least one
pony, with the exception of the garden playcase that was released in
1997.
A special part of the generation two line were the
Royal Ponies. While generation one had some princesses, the royal line
of generation two is much broader and has a lot more different ponies in
different kinds. First released in 1999, there was the normal set of
regular princesses, which were like the royal counterpart of the secret
surprise ponies. The royal ladies each had a magic motion feature, and
there were several royal playsets like Queen Sun Sparkle’s magic throne
and the royal castle in late 2000.
Of course royal ponies had their special sets as
well, for example the magical unicorns, who also came with clip on
wings, or the romance ponies, a set of a prince and a princess, of which
the princess could talk if the prince kissed her on her cheek.
Generation
two had baby ponies as well. First released in 2000, they came in pairs
as twins, or they came with their mother. Later they would also be
released as twins with a little play area, or in a playset like little
Flitter and the Giggle Garden Nursery. Generation two babies were rather
small and more popular than their parents with collectors, due to their
cute faces and slamm chubbier legs.
Over all, about 185 generation two ponies were
released in the seven years that they were released, and they had their
small share of merchandise as well, with for example bean bag toys, a
magazine in france and several jigsaw puzzles. While they were never as
popular with collectors as their Gen1 and Gen3 family members, they are
slowly gaining popularity with collectors worldwide, and become
increasingly sought after on the internet and other second hand markets.
|
