Ferb Fletcher

"Well, a brother is a brother, but I couldn't have asked for a better one than Ferb."

- Phineas

Ferb Fletcher is one of the titular characters of Disney's popular animated TV show, Phineas and Ferb. He is a British child of the Fletcher family currently living in the American city of Danville. He is the stepson of Linda Flynn and son of Lawrence Fletcher. Being a national of Britain, he speaks with an English accent. He is one of three children of the Flynn-Fletcher household among his step-siblings Phineas Flynn and Candace Flynn.

People he knows as friends include Buford Van Stomm, Baljeet, and Isabella Garcia-Shapiro. He also has a crush on Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.

His known alias, Ferb, is evidently short for a longer name, however, he was interrupted when he came close to mentioning what that name was. ("Vanessassary Roughness")

Ferb almost never speaks, but is not actually shy as others would assume. He is very courageous and has the ability to think quickly and stay calm in the midst of desperate scenarios. A notable skill of his is a technical and technological proficiency he shares with his stepbrother which he can easily take advantage of and build almost anything he chooses to.

Personality
Ferb is a very intelligent boy who rarely speaks. His intelligence and skill are tested every day in his and Phineas' nearly impossible plans, and he always succeeds. Ferb does not show much facial expression and only occasionally smiles or frowns. He is very focused, but he has once been distracted from his goals after seeing Vanessa at Blueprint Heaven. Although very young, Ferb occasionally demonstrates a mindset that is more akin to a young adult than a child. This is demonstrated especially in the case of Girls, even going as far as to say that he also takes part in these nearly impossible plans "...for the ladies." However, this doesn't stop Ferb from enjoying more juvenile activities.

In addition Ferb enjoys participating in unusual and/or downright eccentric activities or antics; such as doing dolphin style swimming in the sea (Swiss Family Phineas) to going down a water-slide using butter as a lubricant (Elementary, My Dear Stacy).

Ferb also has a huge appetite, to the point that he reverts to a primal mindset when he hasn't eaten lunch. Although he rarely talks, Ferb demonstrates a wry wit and isn't afraid to speak his mind when it suits him. Like his step-brother Phineas, he is persistent in making summer great.

Ferb was devised as a character devoid of ill will. Marsh explained, "It was important to us that [Phineas and Ferb] never did anything with any animosity. They never tried to get their sister in trouble or outsmart their mother and get away with it." Instead, he and his brother create things for the sheer enjoyment of it or to help out others ("and for the ladies"); for example, Ferb and Phineas carve Candace's face into Mount Rushmore for her birthday, set up a roller derby for a rematch race with his Grandmother Betty Jo's old rival, create a haunted house for their friend Isabella to cure her hiccups and make a super-computer to find out what to do for their mom after being so kind to them.

Povenmire and Marsh intended for Ferb's drive to create be stem primarily from a desire to have fun, and in one episode, "Thaddeus and Thor", Phineas openly confirms this as his and his brother's only goal in their daily schemes – though Ferb adds that they also do it "for the ladies."

In the original pitch to overseas The Walt Disney Company executives, Povenmire and Marsh constructed storyboards and recorded them with dialogue and sound-effects. As a prototype, Ferb did not speak at all. However, after considering comedy's "big duos" including Wallace and Gromit and Jay and Silent Bob, the creators chose to have Ferb speak at least once in most episodes (but in "Summer Belongs To You" he spoke nine times and in "The Lizard Whisperer" gives an entire short speech that lasts about 45 seconds), though to remain silent and allow Phineas to speak for him the majority of the time. Although Ferb's taciturnity is generally not commented on in the series, Phineas mentions it while he and his brother were in England on the episode "A Hard Days Knight": "I'll be the top half since I tend to do more of the talking and you will be on the bottom part because of your long spindely legs". Despite being quiet, Ferb is a polyglot, being able to speak in human, animal, and alien tongues.

Ferb also seems to possess good insight, which is probably the main character trait, other than his silence, distinguishing his character from Phineas. Jean Yoo, an official press member for Disney Channel, notes that when Ferb does speak, "it always shows a greater understanding of the situation than his countenance would indicate." such as "Platypuses are the only mammals to lay eggs," "Well, he [Buford] was all up in my face," or "Candace, we [Phineas and Ferb] are just kids." He also has a crush on Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.

Physical appearence
As a toddler, Ferb wore a collared light beige shirt, dark purple overalls and black shoes. Currently, Ferb wears a similar collared beige shirt with a button, very high-waisted dark purple pants with a light purple belt and black tennis shoes. His hair is thick, scruffy and leaf-green. His head is tall and rectangle-shaped, with a large cubical nose, and also shaped like an "F". He has dark blue eyes, one of which is larger than the other.

His swimwear is a dark purple pair of swimming trunks with yellow spots, then a light purple lining, with dark green sandles. His winterwear consists of a grey jacket with silver buttons, black snow pants, dark green boots, red gloves, a red hat, and a dark green plaid scarf. For bedtime, his PJ's are yellow with a zipper in the collar with foot coverings and later on a yellow with a turnover collar and cuffs, white buttons and no foot coverings.

Creation and conception
Thomas Sangster voices Ferb. Ferb was created by Phineas and Ferb co-creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who originally met as layout artists on the Fox Network animated series The Simpsons. Phineas and Ferb was inspired by their boyhood memories of summer vacation; Povenmire and Marsh both felt the theme of school in television had fallen to redundancy and wanted to create a series that took place solely in the summertime.

Ferb's name was derived from that of a mutual friend of Povenmire and Marsh named Frank, who "owns more tools than anyone [they] know." Frank was a set-builder who had worked building and designing sets for shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Frank's wife disliked Frank's name and gave him the unusual nickname "Ferb".

Design and voice
Ferb's voice is provided by British actor Thomas Sangster, who uses his same voice for Ferb when speaking. However, whenever Ferb sings, Danny Jacob provides his singing voice most of the time (except for in The Ballad of Badbeard (song) and The Twelve Days of Christmas) At first, Ferb's voice seems to be slightly high and low-pitched at the same time (like Phineas' younger voice in the first half of the first season), but beginning with "Hail Doofania!" and the second season, his voice is deeper and more fancy, due to Sangster going through puberty. Ferb was originally to be voiced by Mitchel Musso before the character was made British. We knew Thomas Sangster from Love Actually and Nanny McPhee and he was able to express so much. But he did it in a studio in London and never met or saw anybody else working on the show. He'd seen one episode where somebody else was the voice that he had to portray and he just got it.

In the series' pilot episode, "Rollercoaster," Ferb was voiced by actor Mitchel Musso. When Phineas and Ferb was picked up as a full series, Povenmire and Marsh chose to make Ferb British and cast Thomas Sangster as his new voice. However, they enjoyed Musso to a level that they recast him as the voice of the character Jeremy Johnson; although Musso no longer voices a title character, his new role allows him more lines. Sangster himself is a British actor and was among several cast members hired that hailed from England. Marsh had lived in the country for seven years and developed a fondness for the culture and people.

Songs Ferb has sung

 * Backyard Beach
 * Gitchee Gitchee Goo
 * I Love You Mom
 * Truck Drivin' Girl
 * The Ballad of Badbeard
 * Big Ginormous Airplane
 * Come Home Perry
 * Gimme a Grade
 * Spa Day
 * Wedding Adventure
 * Summer Belongs to You!
 * The Twelve Days of Christmas
 * Rollercoaster
 * Summer (Where Do We Begin?)
 * Ferb Latin

Phineas Flynn
Phineas is not just Ferb's stepbrother, he is also his best friend. Fеrb always helps Phineas with their daily activities. If it wasn't for Phineas' creativity and Ferb's knack for inventing things, their daily activities would never happen. An infrequent running gag in the series is that Phineas accidentally causes Ferb bodily harm as a result of the former's obliviousness.

The two have known each other for almost their whole lives, and spend every second of the day together. Perhaps the greatest example of the two's everlasting friendship is when Phineas states that he couldn't ever ask for a better brother than he.

Candace Flynn
Ferb helped Candace countless times, and loves her as a brother loves a sister. He helped build Candace plenty of things, with help from Phineas. Not much is known of Ferb and Candace's relationship, due to the fact that Ferb rarely speaks to her at all. It is also shown she doesn't know his full name as Vanessa asks her and she replies "I... don't know". ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!")

Perry the Platypus
Ferb is very close to Perry, and seems to care for him as much as Phineas does. Perry will sometimes sleep on Ferb's bed with him. ("Oh, There You Are, Perry)"

Steve the Chameleon
"Steve" is a Chameleon Phineas and Ferb found in their backyard. Steve seems to prefer Ferb over Phineas, who fed him lots of mushrooms. Ferb even gave a long speech to inspire Phineas and Isabella to keep searching for him. At the end of the episode, it is taken that they keep Steve as their pet ("The Lizard Whisperer").

Lawrence Fletcher
Lawrence is Ferb's biological dad. Ferb helps Lawrence out a lot and loves him very much. Ferb has been heard referring to Lawrence as "Father, not "Dad" or "Daddy" ("Picture This")

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro
Isabella is a good friend with Ferb, perhaps because he's the stepbrother of her crush, Phineas. Isabella doesn't seem to have a romantic interest in Ferb like she does with Phineas (although, in the Across the 2nd Dimension online game, The Dimension of Dooooom!, 2nd Dimension Isabella appears to have an interest or crush in Ferb, and said she will try to get to know the Ferb in her dimension). However, when Candace implies to Isabella that she may instead end up marrying Ferb, Ferb responds by giving a winking look in her direction, implying that he may have some affection for her, but he may just be teasing her. ("Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo"). Or, perhaps he just considers himself a "ladies' man." ("Thaddeus and Thor") Ferb was aware of Isabella has crush on Phineas. When they were stranded on the island, Ferb listened while Isabella talked about Phineas not noticing her, and offered her a handkerchief. Sometimes, when he sees her and Phineas together and talking, he simply walks away from them. ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!", "The Doof Side of the Moon")

Vanessa Doofenshmirtz
When Ferb is picking up plans for his and Phineas's latest contraption, he first meets Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. He develops a romantic attraction to her, which leads to a mix-up between the plans he was picking up and those that Vanessa was picking up for her father. When later asked by Phineas how he got the plans confused, Ferb responds "I was weak." ("I Scream, You Scream")

Ferb encounters Vanessa again while test-driving Meap's spacecraft. When he sees that he passed by her, he backs up the spacecraft and looks at her as if he were trying to flirt with her. She responds by smiling at him kindly ("The Chronicles of Meap"). During "Vanessassary Roughness", Ferb repeatedly offers his help to Vanessa, even though he is initially rebuffed. She learns his name, and calls it out when she is in trouble. She even kisses him on the cheek at the end of their adventure.

When Phineas and Ferb take off in their new ship to travel around the world, Vanessa lands on its cockpit. She sees Ferb, and joins the group of kids for a short period of time. During their time in Paris, Vanessa complains about her dad being evil, and Ferb says "Well, if you love somebody, you have to meet them halfway." He sees a rose stand, but by the time he returns to his post with a rose, Vanessa had left with her dad, Major Monogram, and Perry in a hovercar ("Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!").

Jeremy Johnson
Jeremy participates in many of the activities that Phineas and Ferb plan ("Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror", "S'Winter", "Crack That Whip"). Ferb helped Jeremy dance on a national television show by doing the dance moves for him. At the end of the competition, Jeremy admitted the truth about his dancing and gave Ferb all the credit ("Nerdy Dancin'").

Baljeet
Ferb has helped Baljeet in some of his projects ("Unfair Science Fair", "Attack of the 50 Foot Sister", "The Baljeatles"). He has also been seen to give Baljeet some sympathy when playing a video game, in which he could've easily beat Baljeet due to his internationally ranked video game skills. Ferb let a pecking bird control his game while he himself was reading a book, therefore letting Baljeet win to save his "fragile nerdy ego". In the end, though, he refused to admit it to Baljeet. ("Brain Drain")

Buford Van Stomm
Ferb once used a Vulcan-style pinch on Buford, after Buford accused him of calling Buford a shark ("Raging Bully"). At some point, Buford nicknamed Ferb "Bean pole McGee". ("Take Two with Phineas and Ferb": Tony Hawk)

Irving
Not much is known about the relationship because they do not interact much, but Irving has once got a lock of his hair ("Hide and Seek").

Disney Parks
Phineas and Ferb made their theme park debut at Disneyland for a taping of the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade in 2009. They then appeared at Walt Disney World for an appearance in a Disney 365 spot about the Phineas and Ferb video game with Alyson Stoner. Afterward, they, along with Perry, appeared at Disney's pavilion of the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas on June 7, 2010. The three later appeared as meetable characters at the newly designed Disney Store at The Shops in Montebello, California. Phineas and Ferb are now making regular appearances at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney California Adventure.

Skills
Ferb is shown to have great accuracy ("Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!", "Suddenly Suzy", "Ain't No Kiddie Ride"). Ferb is good at playing the guitar, saxophone, trombone, synthesizer/keyboard, maracas, tambourine, bass, trumpet, bagpipes, harmonica, violin, harp, and the drums. He is very intelligent and can think on the spot. He can ride and owns a bike.

Despite not talking much, Ferb has many talents in using his vocal skills. He is fluent in French, Japanese, Martian, and dolphin, and possibly more ("Run Away Runway", "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!", "Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)", and "Voyage to the Bottom of Buford", respectively). He can also sing and can dramatically change the pitch of his voice (as seen in the Backyard Beach, Gitchee Gitchee Goo and Spa Day songs, along with his participation in the haunted house). He has an expanded vocabulary ("Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror", "Flop Starz", "One Good Scare Ought to Do It!", "Lotsa Latkes").

Ferb has mechanical and technological skill. He has almost single-handily built a roller coaster and track, a real radio-controlled race car, several arenas and stadiums, a space laser (which was supposed to be an ice cream maker but the plans got accidentally switched), a monster truck, a shrinking submarine, and a time machine.

He also has incredibly great dancing skills, which he helps Jeremy with for Candace on a national dance show ("Nerdy Dancin'"). When he grows up he wants to be a movie director. However, he already was twice ("Lights, Candace, Action!", "Nerds of a Feather"). Also Ferb has proved to be good at cooking, being a chef at Chez Platapus and at Phineas and Ferb's truck stop diner.("Chez Platypus", "Road Trip")

Background Information

 * "Ferb" is revealed to be a shortened version of his actual name. The birth-name of the man whom Ferb is named and based on is Frank, so it is likely the same goes with the cartoon Ferb.
 * He has one eye that is larger than the other. The eye furthest away from the viewpoint of the audience is one that is almost always larger. When Ferb turns his head, the size of both eyes change, swapping sizes (the small eye enlarges and the large eye shrinks). However, his right eye is the larger of the two when he is viewed head on. This may be an homage to Bill the Cat, the feline from Berkeley Breathed's various comic strips. Bill's eyes also change size, with the larger eye always being closest to the reader's viewpoint.
 * Ferb was named after a friend of creators Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire who knows everything about tools. Though, as stated by the creators, "Ferb is anything but quiet."
 * In Rocko's Modern Life, a show that Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire worked on, someone with the name "Ferb" is mentioned many times.
 * In the Original Pitch, Ferb is one of the few characters to remain pretty much the same as his initial outcome. The only difference is that he doesn't speak at all. This could be that the creators didn't intend on Ferb ever speaking.
 * According to Candace, Phineas and Ferb smell of motor oil and confidence.
 * He has obtained 5 world records. 4 with Phineas in "Bowl-R-Ama Drama" and "De Plane! De Plane!" (largest bowling ball, largest pinball game, 2 records in 1 day, largest paper-mache airplane), and 1 without Phineas in "Elementary My Dear Stacy" (as shown, fastest flowing on a water slide).
 * Due to an old English phone booth with the name Chelsea on it in the back of his side of the room, it is possible he is from Chelsea, London.
 * Actor Thomas Sangster records his dialogue for Ferb in England.
 * Two Space Adventure fans say he as a invisible cape like Harry Potter owns ("Nerds of a Feather").
 * He is a fan of Stumbleberry Finkbat and Space Adventure.
 * He can play chess very well as he played chess to escape the maze from "We Call it Maze".
 * "Brain Drain" reveals that he is an internationally ranking video gaming champion.
 * In "My Fair Goalie", it was revealed that he is an excellent soccer player but a little while before summer he was given the Emu's Curse and could never be on a winning soccer team again. He didn't play soccer again until he and Phineas built the Football X-7 stadium. Right before the game could end, his curse was broken thanks to Baljeet. It is also revealed that Ferb has a blog.
 * He used his toes as temporary hands in "Escape from Phineas Tower".
 * He is nicknamed "Ferbuch" in "The Beak" by his step-brother.
 * His favourite color is yellow as mentioned in the book Phineas and Ferb's Guide to Life.
 * He can dunk himself into a basketball hoop. ("Take Two with Phineas and Ferb: Jason Segel")
 * On the back of his action figure, it states that he is in fact 9 years old. However, this may not be true.
 * Ferb makes a cameo in one of Bleedman's popular webcomic: PowerPuff Girls Doujinshi.