Horsie Heroes

Horsie Heroes
Genre	Historical Fiction Animation
Created by	Theodore Alwin
Theme music composer	Amaya in’Saulli
Opening theme	Adventure’s Beginning
Composer(s)	Amaya in’Saulli
Country of origin	Rohane Alista
Original language(s)	Alistinian, Rohirric, Draconic, Mystrian Common
No. of seasons	3 (2020-)
No. of episodes	48 (16 per season)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Theodore Alwin
Production location(s)	Berabil
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Queen’s Favorite Productions
Distributor	Berabil Broadcast Network
Release
Original network	BBN
Picture format	1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Original release	14 June 2020 (2020-06-14) – present
External links
Website

Horsie Heroes is a Rohanian children’s cartoon created by Theodore Alwin that began airing on Sunday, the 14th of June, 2020, on BBN. According to Alwin, he “always had loved history, especially big heroic history, and wanted a way to teach some of that to children while letting adults have fun.” According to accounts from Alwin, he was inspired by the joy he saw from a Rohanian child meeting one of Silverdale’s ponyfolk for the first time while on a business trip in Silver City to put a twist by turning the historical figures of the founding of the Dragon Sea Alliance into cartoon animals.

The show is noted for the consistency of the story compared to most children’s media; while based on historical figures, the show has been praised for “making [them] seem like real people who learn lessons from experience,” by Children’s Media Watch of Rohane Alista. The show has toned many historical events into a more palatable form, but still covered some of then issues with the heroes of the legends.

Overview

Horsie Heroes largely focuses around Prince Jockie, a pony version of Jacobi Turak, and his adventures with his friends and allies through the world, fighting against sinister evils and threats to his homeland, Rein Outissa (a fantasy ponified version of Rohane Alista), then the homes of his friends and allies. Episodes tend to focus on the story over morals, though generally each episode seeks to use the story to teach morals, and are known to take liberties with history in some places, either in order to sanitize some events for children or to allow the story to continue in a set pace.

As the show continued, more characters besides Prince Jockie began to have focus episodes. According to Alwin, this was a deliberate attempt to give more people a character to connect to, and to allow the show to tell the kind of stories the stern Prince Jockie wouldn’t fit as well. In addition, as the seasons have moved on, some cast members have risen or fallen from importance, often but not always following their historical significance.

Characters

Main article: Characters of Horsie Heroes

Character	Description
Prince Jockie	Prince Jockie is the main character of the show, the pony prince of Rein Outissa. He is prickly, stern, and shrewd, but has difficulty connecting with other characters. Many early episodes focused around his interactions with other members of the cast, especially those with very conflicted personalities. However, he is known to have more to him than meets the eye; in Mareon’s introductory episode, it’s revealed he loves cutesy fairytales. By the season finale of season three, Prince Jockie has become King Jockie, and romantically linked to Mareon and Marethra. He remains stern and shrewd, but has grown to show genuine care and friendship with most of the rest of the cast.
Princess Tyvern	Princess Tyvern is a wyvern, and princess of Draccy. She’s boisterous and energetic, but very caring over those she considers herself close to, often putting herself at risk to help them, sometimes recklessly. She’s one of the characters with an increasing amount of focus episodes as the show continues. Princess Tyvern doesn’t get along well with Prince Jockie at first, but over time they grow friendly. She grows less reckless over the seasons, maturing into a leader and mentor. She is a parody of Tynah Blackfang.
Princess Eyvern	Princess Eyvern is Tyvern’s half-sister and friendly rival, and princess of Gallopstan. She’s haughty but brave, and always has her trademark hammer, R-G, which she sometimes talks to. She has less focus episodes than most of the main characters in the cast, with hers being noted as some of the riskiest and darkest of the show. She grows close to Jockie as the seasons pass, her haughtiness revealed as worry about her future. Some critics have noted that her plotlines seem to incorporate an unrequited love for Jockie. She is a parody of Eyvel Arnheim.
Layla Sharpwing	Layla Sharpwing is a pegasus from Stablevale. She is connected to mystical forces, and has an eager but slightly childish outlook most of the time. However, when in danger, her personality seems to flip as she becomes determined and practical. She’s one of the character who has had an increasing amount of focus episodes. Layla has had the least overall development of the major characters from episode one, though she has become somewhat less naive as the seasons pass. She is a parody of Lila Glimmerstone.
Lartho the Penguin	Lartho the Penguin is a self proclaimed Hero of Justice from The Frozenlands. He is known for his trademark catchphrase, “IT’S JUSTICIN’ TIME!”, which he never says in anything less than a yell. As he was introduced in season three, he hasn’t had much development or any focus episodes yet.
Mareon Icedrop	Mareon Icedrop is a pony with strange dragon wings. She is very lazy and decadent, but when her friends need help, she’s often the one who can get things done for them. By the end of season three, she is engaged to Jockie. She is a parody of Marron Turak.
Marethra	Marethra is a unicorn who can summon light beams at will. She’s stubborn and energetic, but also brave, curious and caring. She heals her friends, but she’s also the one they turn to when they’re scared. By the end of season three, she is engaged to Jockie. She is a parody of Mythra Turak.

Episodes

Main article: Episodes of Horsie Heroes'

Reception

Horsie Heroes almost immediately became beloved in Rohane Alista. Children and parents alike are known to enjoy watching it, with it becoming the most popular children’s morning program in Rohane Alista before the end of its first season. The show is also noted to have sparked a renewed interest in Rohanian history, especially the Age of Unification, which was only fanned when it was revealed Jacobi Turak was actually alive.

The show has been nominated for several awards, and won “Best Animated Show, Serial” at the 2021 Rohanian Screen And Show Union awards.

The show has a cult following in Dyste, the show often being seen as a fun interpretation of the early Dragon Sea Alliance and the relations between the nations and people. Unsurprisingly, Princess Tyvern is a fan-favourite.

In Silverdale, the show enjoys popularity with massive hype for season four and how it’d handle the myth arc of the fable ‘Dragon Wars.’ Layla enjoys high popularity, while Marethra enjoys fan favourite status.

In Sorrelia, Horsie Heroes has consistently been one of the most popular foreign shows, owing to a general dearth of other foreign entertainment that's relatable to sentient equines. It has enjoyed high ratings and mostly favorable critical reviews. However, there has also been some negative critical attention; for example, the Daily Snob blasted the show for a "simplistic, unrealistic and frankly rather speciesist" portrayal of sentient equines. Overall, however, it enjoys a decently sized fandom of all ages. Recently, the state-run Sorrelian Broadcasting Agency has classified Horsie Heroes as "mild monarchist propaganda", keeping it licensed but recommending to make subtle adjustments to the Equestrian dub in order to make Jockie appear like more of a bumbling buffoon, and to air the show next to stories about evil and decadent monarchs such as Sombra or Black Clover.