| Filli Vanilli | |
|---|---|
| |
| Season №: | 4 |
| Season episode №: | 14 |
| Overall episode №: | 79 |
| Original airdate: | February 15, 2014 |
| Written by: | Amy Keating Rogers |
| Storyboard: | Emmett Hall and Tony Cliff[1] |
| Featured characters: | The Pony Tones |
| Songs: | Music in the Treetops Find the Music in You |
| See also | |
| credits • transcript • gallery • allusions animation errors • statistics • speculation | |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Simple Ways |
Next Twilight Time |
Filli Vanilli is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the seventy-ninth episode overall. When a member of the Pony Tones loses his voice before a performance, Fluttershy disguises her voice to fill in for him due to her stage fright. The title is a reference to the controversial German R&B group Milli Vanilli, whose lead singers were found to not only be lip-syncing in their concerts, but also using other singers for their music releases.
Production, development, and release[]
According to Amy Keating Rogers, the idea for the episode was pitched back in September 2012.[2] She also claims to pitched it as "The Return of Flutterguy", but the title was too spoilery, so it was changed to "Flutterfear", which was subsequently changed to the current title.[3]
Applejack says "For corn's sake!", a line originally written for Fall Weather Friends.[4]
Google Play has this episode's original air date listed as January 31, 2014.[5]
For her work as both Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in this episode, Andrea Libman won the 2014 UBCP/ACTRA Award for Best Voice.[6]
The scene when Rarity invites Fluttershy to join the Pony Tones and the latter reveals her stage fright reappears in Memnagerie.
Summary[]
Fluttershy's voice[]
Fluttershy sings to her animals.
At Fluttershy's cottage, Fluttershy says good morning to her animal friends, feeding them and joining the birds in glorious song. As the animals applaud Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack appear, impressed by their friend's singing talent.
Rarity in particular wonders why Fluttershy, with her beautiful voice, isn't already a member of the Pony Tones — who are to perform at Fluttershy's fundraiser for the Ponyville Pet Center the following evening. While Fluttershy is one of the Pony Tones' biggest fans and is thankful for their involvement, she refuses to perform with them because of her terrible stage fright. Rarity understands her friend's plight, and the six friends go to set up the fundraiser together.
Find the Music in You[]
As multiple ponies help with the fundraiser preparations, Rarity and her fellow Pony Tones practice for their upcoming performance. They sing a short version of Find the Music in You, with Fluttershy watching in awe. Rarity dismisses the other singers to rest their voices for the day, and Fluttershy thanks Rarity for her efforts.
The other Pony Tones shocked after learning Big Mac has lost his voice.
The next morning, the Pony Tones meet for rehearsal, but Big McIntosh is running late. When he finally arrives, the others are shocked to discover he's lost his voice during a turkey call competition (which he lost to Pinkie Pie). With the Pony Tones now without one member, Fluttershy fears for the fundraiser's outcome. When Rarity mentions having no "remedy" for the situation, Fluttershy gets the idea to consult Zecora.
At her Everfree Forest hut, Zecora examines Big McIntosh and says she can cure him, but not in time for the Pony Tones' fundraiser performance. As Fluttershy wonders where they'll find a replacement for Big Mac's bass voice, Zecora reminds her of her run-in with the poison joke that deepened her voice. She offers to make a brew of poison joke leaves that will turn Fluttershy into "Flutterguy" again. Fluttershy is nervous about singing in front of everypony, but Rarity finds a solution to that problem.
- "What if you sang not in front of everypony?"
- — Rarity
Fluttershy finds her voice[]
Fluttershy enjoys singing without having to perform in front of an audience.
The fundraiser for the Pet Center is a success, and ponies gather near the stage for the main event. The Pony Tones sing Find the Music in You, with Fluttershy—and her poison joke-affected voice—supplying Big McIntosh's vocals behind the curtain. When the song ends, the ponies in the crowd cheer, and Fluttershy is motivated to sing more.
The Pony Tones are approached by a Pegasus stallion and asked to perform at his daughter Zipporwhill's cute-ceañera the next day. Rarity is uncertain because it's so last-minute, but Fluttershy doesn't want to disappoint Zipporwhill and convinces her to say yes. The Pony Tones thus perform at Zipporwhill's cute-ceañera, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Mayor Mare, for the spa ponies at the Ponyville Day Spa, and for Cheerilee's class at the Ponyville Schoolhouse. With each performance the Pony Tones give, Fluttershy starts to lose herself in her singing, giving Big McIntosh trouble keeping up with her improvisations.
Caught in the act.
Moments before their performance at Sugarcube Corner, Rarity informs Fluttershy that Big McIntosh's voice is better, meaning she no longer has to sing for him. Rarity and Big McIntosh notice Fluttershy's disappointment and agree to let her sing for him one last time. However, during the song, Fluttershy gets carried away and knocks the curtain down, exposing herself to the audience. Though the ponies cheer for her, Fluttershy's stage fright gets the better of her and she bolts out crying. Big McIntosh helps her friends assess the situation shortly before they follow.
The Pony Tones' newest member[]
The Pony Tones turn from a quartet to a quintet.
Fluttershy's friends find her alone in her cottage, with her voice back to normal after her bath. Due to Pinkie Pie's lack of subtlety, Fluttershy bursts into tears and runs off into the night with her friends following once more. The ponies have no shortage of compliments for Fluttershy and her performance, but she vows to never perform in public ever again. Rarity reminds Fluttershy that it was her who encouraged the Pony Tones to perform for every possible occasion — she knew Fluttershy had wanted to sing. Fluttershy thinks back on the crowd's reception of her singing and smiles.
As the newest member of the Pony Tones, Fluttershy sings a reprisal of Music in the Treetops/Find the Music in You for her pony and animal friends. When she hears the Pony Tones have been booked for an Apple Family Zap Apple Jam Extraordinaire event, Fluttershy is reluctant to perform, but says she'll "get there someday".
- "Baby steps, everypony. Baby steps."
- — Fluttershy
Fluttershy writes her lesson in the friendship journal and sings with one of her birds just before the episode closes.
Quotes[]
- For more quotes, see the episode's transcript.
- Fluttershy: Oh... You... um... you didn't hear me... um...
- Pinkie Pie: Singing in the most beautiful voice ever?!?
- Rarity: Pinkie Pie!
- [thwack]
- Rarity: Don't be ridiculous!
- Pinkie Pie: Aw, but I'm so good at it!
- Fluttershy: I have... stage fright.
- Pinkie Pie: [gasps] Is it contagious?
- Twilight Sparkle: Stage fright isn't a disease, Pinkie.
- Rarity: A...a...a turkey call? You lost your voice doing a... a turkey call?!
- Pinkie Pie: Lost his voice and the title! [gobbles]
- Zecora: Remember when you pony folk stumbled into poison joke? Miss Fluttershy had an unusual change, deepening her vocal range.
- Fluttershy: [from Bridle Gossip, deep male voice] I don't want to talk about it.
- Rarity: Yes, yes! Your voice became really low, making it sound like...
- Fluttershy: [gasps] Flutterguy!
- Fluttershy: I just don't think I could sing in front of...
- Rarity: You must! For the animals!
- Applejack: Big Mac, you've got some 'splainin' to do!...Turkey call?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Trash your voice?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Zecora remedy?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Not quick enough?
- Big McIntosh: Nnope.
- Applejack: Needed a deep voice?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Poison joke?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Flutterguy?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Better now?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: And that shy filly was livin' her dream in the shadows because she couldn't bring herself to come into the spotlight?
- Big McIntosh: Eeyup.
- Applejack: Well, for corn's sake! Let's go!
- Twilight Sparkle: What Pinkie meant to say is that you were really great!
- Pinkie Pie: Wait! Didn't I say that?
- Rarity: Hardly!
- Pinkie Pie: Whoops. You were great!
- Rainbow Dash: You totally blew my mind!
- Applejack: Incredible!
- Pinkie Pie: Though, no offense... you kinda sounded like a dude.
- Fluttershy: [crying]
- Pinkie Pie: Uh, a great-sounding dude!
- Rarity: For all her babbling, Pinkie was right about one thing.
- Pinkie Pie: Only one?!
- Fluttershy: I'll get there someday. But for now... baby steps, everypony. Baby steps.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Jim Miller (2014-02-15). @TheBiggestJim: Morning all. Today's #MLPSeason4.... Retrieved on 2014 February 15.
- ↑ Amy Keating Rogers (2014-02-15). @KeatingRogers: I pitched the idea for today's.... Retrieved on 2014 February 15.
- ↑ Amy Keating Rogers (2014-02-15). "Pitched this as...". Twitter. Retrieved on 2014 February 15.
- ↑ Amy Keating Rogers (2014-02-15). @KeatingRogers: @AlbertZaballero I agree! I just.... Twitter. Retrieved on 2014 February 15.
- ↑ My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic - Movies & TV. Google Play. Retrieved on 2014 February 24.
- ↑ 2014 UBCP/ACTRA Awards Nominees Media Release. Union of BC Performers (2014-09-22). Retrieved on 2014 September 22.
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