Derpy Hooves

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Derpy, or Ditzy Doo, is a female Pegasus pony who was given the name Derpy Hooves by the show's internet following due to her cross-eyed "derpy" expression in the first episode. The name has since been adopted by the crew and Hasbro. Starting with Feeling Pinkie Keen, the show's crew began giving the pony crossed eyes intentionally and later gave her "Where's Waldo" type cameo appearances as a nod to the fans. The character is addressed by Rainbow Dash in The Last Roundup as Derpy, where she speaks for the first time. The scene was later altered so Rainbow no longer names Derpy, in addition to her voice being altered and eyes being less crossed. She is called Muffins, Equestrian Mailmare, orBubbly Mare, among various others, in merchandise. She shares her design with Sunshower Raindrops.

Origin

The face that started it all, in Friendship is Magic, part 1.

Alert viewers of the show noticed a googly-eyed Pegasus mare in the series' first episode, standing in the background in the crowd at Twilight Sparkle's welcoming party. After the image was captured and posted on 4chan's comics and cartoons board /co/, fans began speculating of the nature of this odd pony.^[3] The name she was given, Derpy Hooves, is derived from the slang term "derp", which is associated with someone who behaves in a silly manner and is often connected with crossed eyes.

== Development

==

Wall Eyes

Derpy was one of several background ponies chosen from a palette and placed in the scenes on the whim of layout artists. At first, her face wasn't supposed to be visible in that particular scene, but a later layout change uncovered it. Jayson Thiessen, the supervising director of the show, stated that he noticed and was amused by her expression. Since Hasbro had already given the episode a green light, he didn't order fixing Derpy's eyes. Thiessen relayed in a Q&A that he was so delighted after discovering popularity of Derpy that he requested altering Derpy's eyes in all episodes that hadn't been sent to the Hub yet. Lauren Faust, the show's developer, was delighted to find these changes and kept them in.

Name

First officially licensed Derpy merchandise, from WeLoveFine.com

Faust has acknowledged the fan following of Derpy early on. Before the name Derpy was used by the production crew, Faust stated that in one of the unaired episodes at the time, Winter Wrap Up, there is a mention of a "featherbrained" Pegasus named Ditzy Doo whose appearance is never established on-screen and if Ditzy should make an appearance, the show may assign Derpy's design to her. Faust later stated that "it sounds like [the name has] finally landed on 'Derpy Hooves'".

The character is called "Derpy" on-screen in The Last Roundup, detailed below. The episode's writer noted that the character's name in the script was originally Ditzy Doo, and she was requested to change the name to Derpy as a "tip of the hat" to the fans. Lauren Faust notes in her Bronies Documentary interview that she imagined Derpy as a "Harpo Marx kind of character who didn't speak and who no one really called out by name", leaving her mysterious and "a blank slate for the fans."

Even though background ponies typically have no official names, when Derpy was still a background pony an animator from the Philippine studio working on the show said that Derpy was nicknamed Stoneface, Bubbles, Bubblehead and Ditzy by the crew. Thiessen later relayed that the Canadian crew has adopted the name Derpy. Amy Keating Rogers sang her original rendition of the song "Smile, Smile, Smile" at Bronycon 2012, in which Pinkie Pie speaks to Derpy and calls her Derpy Doo.

IDW comics editor Bobby Curnow stated on June 21, 2014 "Derpy isn't the official name, there is no official name" and stated on December 5, 2014 "'Derpy' is not an official name".

Charity Auction

Lauren Faust's charity sketch of Derpy.

Lauren Faust participated in a charity auction for the 2011 Japan relief effort by donating several of her My Little Pony Friendship is Magic production sketches. In addition to sketches drawn in 2008, she drew a new sketch of Derpy which sold for 2,151 USD.^[16] The character was explicitly called Derpy Hooves by the auctioneer.

Quotes

"Mmm, muffins..."

• Derpy Hooves in Applebuck Season.

"This will be the best night ever!"

— The Best Night Ever, during At the Gala

"I just don't know what went wrong."

— The Last Roundup

"Nice work, Rainbow Dash!"

— The Last Roundup

"You okay, Rainbow Dash? Anything I can do to help?"

— The Last Roundup

"Oops...My bad!"

— The Last Roundup

"Yeah, Applejack! Woohoooooooooo!"

— The Last Roundup

"Do I know you?"

— Friendship is Magic Issue #9 page 8

"Mr. Cake! Do you have any muffins today?"

— Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell

"Mmmmf umph mrrfff, ump mrfffn ferf."

— Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity

"This is a demo, right?"

— Enterplay collectible card game Gen Con Indy 2013 demo card backs^[39]

Credit

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Wiki