Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
CHILDREN from across the kingdom are excited over the release of a new My Little Pony movie and the arrivals of their beloved characters for live shows at City Centre Bahrain.
The news has delighted two devoted fans in particular, sisters Alessandra McKeaney, six, and Sophia, five, who have a play area dedicated to the colourful characters and watch the TV series as much as they can.
Alessandra even dressed up in her own My Little Pony outfit for the Rainbows Halloween Party with make-up to match. “We just love them,” she said. “They have horns and wings and all sorts of things.”
The sisters live with their parents, dad John, a civil engineer and project manager, and mum Giovanna, and one-year-old brother, John Carlo, near Saar. The Northern-Irish expats have lived in Bahrain for six years.
Equine-loving Alessandra first came under their spell as a tiny tot after watching her first episode of the TV show and her younger sister soon caught the bug too and, with a little help from family, friends and annual visits by Santa, they now boast an impressive selection of ponies and paraphernalia including T-shirts, outfits, as well as themed jewellery, hairbands and clips.
They are set to join devotees at the mall for the ‘My Little Pony Live Show’ which is coming to the kingdom for the first time, as highlighted in last week’s GulfWeekly. Performances will be staged from Tuesday until October 28. The theatrical festivity is a spin-off of the highly-successful entertainment franchise developed by Hasbro, originally as a toy line for girls, and it coincides with the release of My Little Pony: The Movie now showing in cinemas across Bahrain.
The first toys were developed by Bonnie Zacherle, Charles Muenchinger, and Steve D’Aguanno, and were produced in 1981. The ponies feature colorful bodies, manes and a unique symbol, or ‘cutie marks’ on one or both sides of their flanks.
Hasbro launched the fourth incarnation of the franchise in 2010, which started with the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. This revamped incarnation not only appeals to the little girls that the toy line is primarily marketed to, but has drawn a cult following of teenagers, self-proclaimed geeks, and even adults that remember the original TV series, specials and films.
Children in Bahrain can join their favourite ponies in magical Ponyville and go on a journey of dance, song and laughter. They can also get ‘Ponyfied’ with My Little Pony activities and games.
Join the social media contest on facebook.com/CityCentreBahrain and on Instagram @CityCentreBahrain, for a chance to win My Little Pony movie tickets. Terms and conditions apply.
