DVD Review: Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony

By Brad Henderson

Your average person may not know what a Brony is and neither did I until I stumbled upon this documentary. Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony sought out male fans of the cartoon and followed them to the BronyCon convention.

At first Bronies seems like it might exploit these people and show the “weird” side of them. However, it doesn’t and actually dives into a little of the psychology side of things, going against what most people think of these Bronies. Don’t go into thinking you’re going to go into the house of some weird old dude who dresses up as a pony and prances around.

I admit the first thing that came to my mind was that all these guys would be 30, single, and probably living in their parents’ basements. They actually say that exact thing as well, which cracked me up and also proved me wrong.

I only had one issue with this documentary and I will start with that. Bronies claims to be about “adult” fans but it isn’t; well, not all of them, anyway. Two of the main people they interview are kids. They may be in their later teens but I don’t even think they drive, so I would guess about 15 or 16.

There are interviews with five or six different people on how My Little Pony has changed their lives or become just a hobby that they love. To be honest, Bronies doesn’t show a weird side at all, but more of an understanding, and that is why I liked it. I don’t want to see people being exploited and criticized for what they love it. I imagine these people already try to hide it from their friends and family because even they admit it’s a little embarrassing.

Bronies doesn’t start off well but that quickly changes later on when they get into the people’s emotions and the loved ones who care about them. It actually hurts because these people are called names like “sissy” and “fag” for what they enjoy. Who the hell cares what someone likes? It isn’t hurting anyone. The only thing that it does is bring joy to their hearts and brings them closer together.

I was picked on for liking obscure horror flicks when I was younger. My taste was a little weird and I didn’t go ape shit for The Babysitters Club movie. True story. It wasn’t until years later that I met people just like me who were obsessed as much as I was. It felt good so I know how these Bronies feel.

Not only is Bronies a decent documentary, but it also shows you something else: human compassion for others. Think twice before you make a comment on someone’s lifestyle or something that they are passionate about. Just because it is aimed towards little girls doesn’t mean that these guys like little girls. Those who collect comics and G.I. Joe’s aren’t labeled as child molesters, so why should these dudes be labeled as that?

Watch Bronies because it is has heart and you’ll learn a lesson about humanity. That is certainly what happened to me.

Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony was release on February 17, 2013 by FilmBuff.