Gretchen


 * This article is about the Fireside Girl from Phineas and Ferb. For the Recess character, see Gretchen Grundler.

Gretchen is a supporting deuteragonist of Phineas and Ferb, and one of the Fireside Girls in Danville Troop 46231.

Biography
She was one of the Ferbettes in Phineas and the Ferb-Tones (“Flop Starz”, “Phineas and Ferb Musical Cliptastic Countdown”). She also helped Phineas Flynn win the Swamp Oil 500. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro thanked her for a job well done and complimented her on adding the bow to the Team Phineas Race car during the pit-stop (“The Fast and the Phineas”). She also sings in S’Winter (“S'Winter”). In a deep voice, she counts down the blastoff of Phineas and Ferb’s rocket when they visit their star (“Out to Launch”). She appears to have a large IQ, having to repeat her statements due to the others not understanding what she had said, and saying words that no one else in the room knows (“Bubble Boys”, “Isabella and the Temple of Sap”).

Design
Gretchen has short auburn hair, blue eyes with glasses, and wears her uniform with a large collar, bell-shaped sleeves, and a red belt around her skirt, and low-top shoes, and is slender. In winter, however, she ties her hair into a mid-length ponytail with red elastic, and wears an orange and red long-sleeved shirt with brown pants, and orange slip-on shoes.

Known patches

 * Help Thy Neighbor Patch (About 52 as of “Isabella and the Temple of Sap”)
 * Aquatic Safety Patch (“Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror”)
 * Sewing Patch (“Run Away Runway”)
 * Tent Pitching Patch, Marshmallow Patch (“Get That Bigfoot Outa My Face!”)
 * Aeronautic Patch (“De Plane! De Plane!”)
 * Broadcasting Patch (“Let's Take a Quiz”)
 * Shrimp Net Repair Patch (“That Sinking Feeling”)
 * Saying A Word No One Else In The Room Knows Patch (“Sesquipedalian”), Sap Collecting Patch (“Isabella and the Temple of Sap”)
 * Mountain Moving Patch (“Phineas and Ferb-Busters!”)
 * Rodeo Clown Patch (“Robot Rodeo”)
 * Desert Tracking Patch, Rain-forest/Jungle Navigation Patch, Rock-climbing Patch, Non-power Flight Patch, Concussion First-aid Patch (“The Great Indoors”)
 * Flier Delivery Patch (Twice “The Remains of the Platypus”)
 * Beekeeping Patch (“Bee Story”)
 * Exploration Patch (“Bee Story”)

Isabella Garcia-Shapiro
Gretchen and Isabella appear to be very good friends. In the instances where Isabella does not actually listen to what Phineas is saying to her due to drifting off into fantasies, Gretchen repeats it for her convenience. (“Isabella and the Temple of Sap”)

The Other Fireside Girls
Gretchen along with the other Fireside Girls gladly help out with Phineas’s and Ferb’s Big Ideas. The other Fireside Girls sometimes have difficulty understanding Gretchen first time stating something so Gretchen repeats it in a different way to get her statement across. (“Bubble Boys”)

Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher
Gretchen frequently participates in their Big Ideas. Phineas and Ferb will sometimes help them get a specific patch(es). Other than this, nothing is currently known about Gretchen’s relationships with the two.

Phineas and Ferb and Phineas and Ferb Ride Again
She is a seldom-seen character in both games.

Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
Gretchen is the only Firestorm/Fireside Girl that has a speaking line in the film. Her line is “I’m on it.”, when the 2nd Dimension Candace talks to the 2nd Dimension Gretchen.

Background information

 * Gretchen is voiced by Ariel Winter. She is the first of the Fireside Girls after Isabella to have a speaking role in the series.
 * She and Katie are the only Fireside Girls who appeared in the Phineas and Ferb Nintendo DS game.
 * In “Isabella and the Temple of Sap,” she appeared to take the most prominent role, having the most spoken lines of dialogue.
 * She may be a reference of Velma from Scooby-Doo, whom she resembles in several ways, and may be the girl using the catchphrase “Jinkies” off-screen in that episode.
 * She may also be a reference to Marcie from the Peanuts comic strips and TV specials. Gretchen often calls Isabella ‘Chief’ much like the way Marcie calls Peppermint Patty “Sir.”
 * She shares a few traits with an earlier character from Disney with the same name, Gretchen Grundler from Recess. Both girls have red hair and glasses, and both are very kind and smart.
 * She is the only Fireside girl, along with Katie and Milly, to appear in “Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever!”
 * She was the only Fireside Girl who didn’t appear in “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!”, but appeared for a cameo in “A Phineas and Ferb Family Christmas.”
 * She is the only Fireside Girl (besides Isabella) to have a part of the “Too Young” line (“Isabella and the Temple of Sap”) and the only female (besides Candace) to have the “Out, peace!” line (“Monster from the Id”).
 * In “The Ballad of Badbeard”, she appears to get seasick.
 * Gretchen appears to be the shortest of the main Fireside Girls (All episodes that all the Fireside Girls are in) and the lightest as Adyson Sweetwater were able to carry her weight while she was reading “The Fireside Girls Book of Dendrology” (a large, heavy book) with no problems in “Isabella and the Temple of Sap.”
 * In “Tri-Stone Area,” she is seen without her glasses as a cavegirl while singing “Zubada.”
 * Dan Povenmire revealed that she is “a dead-on caricature” of character designer Greg Guler’s daughter.
 * In “Bee Story” she seemed to have gotten annoyed with Katie’s buzzing when asking her what was she doing?

Identity crisis
At first glance, it may be difficult to tell which of the Fireside Girls is Gretchen. Early on in the episode, she is the girl who asks the question about Phineas’s racecar being electronically fuel injected; however, she is not given a name at this point. Her name comes later when Isabella compliments her on the bow she ties on the car, but it is unknown which Fireside Girl she is since Isabella was speaking to the group. The last piece to the puzzle is that Ariel Winter is credited as Gretchen in the end credits for the episode “Out to Launch.” However, Katie has also spoken in the episode. Therefore, she has a speaking part in the episode, and must be the Fireside Girl who asks the question. The episode’s print novelization in Speed Demons further confirms this by way of the narration explicitly stating that it is Gretchen who asks the question.

Songs Gretchen has sung

 * Go, Go, Phineas
 * S'Winter
 * Gitchee Gitchee Goo
 * The Flyin' Fishmonger
 * The Ballad of Badbeard
 * Watchin' and Waitin'
 * Phintastic Ferbulous Car Wash
 * Come Home Perry
 * Spa Day
 * The Fireside Girls
 * Wedding Adventure
 * The Yellow Sidewalk
 * What'cha Doin?
 * Carpe Diem
 * Waggle Dance (Small part)