Filli Vanilli

Did You Know?

• The episode is part of the complete Region 1 Season 4 DVD Set by Shout! Factory, released on December 2, 2014.
• Under the title "Flutterfear," it was included in the "My Little Pony: Maud Pie" DVD, released on January 8, 2018.

Plot

Fluttershy sings to her animals in the morning, and her friends suggest she perform with the Pony Tones vocal quartet at a benefit concert. She refuses due to stage fright, despite being a fan of the group. At rehearsal, Big McIntosh, the bass singer, loses his voice in a turkey call competition. Fluttershy consults Zecora, who cannot cure Big Mac in time but can recreate the Poison Joke effect that gave Fluttershy a deep "Flutterguy" voice. Rarity proposes that Fluttershy sing backstage while Big Mac lip-syncs. The concert succeeds, and more performance requests come. Fluttershy continues singing for Big Mac offstage, enjoying it. Disappointed, she is allowed one last performance, but accidentally knocks down the curtain, revealing herself. The audience cheers, but Fluttershy flees. Her friends find her at her cottage and convince her that facing her fear was not as bad as she thought. She agrees to perform privately with the Pony Tones and to join the band permanently once she overcomes her stage fright.

Production

Amy Keating Rogers pitched the episode idea in September 2012. The initial title was "The Return of Flutterguy," changed to "Flutterfear" because the earlier title gave "too much information." It was later renamed "Filli Vanilli," referencing the German-French duo Milli Vanilli, who were caught lip-syncing. Both songs, "Music in the Treetops" and "Find the Music in You," were composed by Daniel Ingram. Trevor Hoffmann orchestrated "Music in the Treetops," while Hoffmann and Caleb Chan orchestrated and arranged "Find the Music in You."

Broadcast and reception

Entertainment Weekly released a preview of Fluttershy singing on February 14, 2014, a day before the episode aired on The Hub. Nielsen ratings showed it was watched by approximately 0.3 percent of American households, with 584,000 viewers. Reviews were mixed. Sherilyn Connelly gave a "D-" rating. Sofie Liv of The Agony Booth rated it 3 out of 5, calling it "slightly above average" and praising it as well told with funny jokes and good musical numbers, but noted it was not new territory for Fluttershy. Daniel Alvarez of Unleash the Fanboy gave 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising the handling of stage fright and calling it a potential classic, though he found Pinkie Pie annoying. Raymond Gallant of Freakin' Awesome Network rated it 8 out of 10, calling it fun with great humor and praising the song "Find the Music in You" as one of the show's catchiest, but criticized Pinkie Pie's portrayal as too mean-spirited and out of character.