Phineas and Ferb is an American animated comedy-musical sitcom that centers around two stepbrothers, Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher, their sister, Candace, their pet platypus, Perry, and their adventures during summer vacation. The series aired on both the Disney Channel and Disney XD. The series premiered worldwide on February 1, 2008. It is also the first Disney Channel Original Show to premiere simultaneously in all territories. The show's official US premiere was marketed as Phineas and Ferb-uary, due to new episodes being shown on many of the days during the month of February. Many of the show's voice actors also appear on other Disney Channel TV shows, such as Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
On August 25, 2011, the show was picked up for its fourth and originally final season on the Disney Channel, later known to be 37 episodes, a possible spin-off on Isabella and the Fireside Girls and a feature film for the series. The series also had a live show that was shown in over 80 different cities across the United States. On June 9, 2014, Phineas and Ferb broke the all-time record of half-hour episodes, set by Dumbo's Circus with 120. It was the Disney Channel's longest-running original animated series, beating Kim Possible's 5 years and 3 months.
On July 25, 2014, Dan and Swampy announced that there are 20 unaired episodes of Season 4 remaining. Afterwards, they will take their first hiatus in 8 years.[1]
The series originally ended after the hiatus in favor for the new spin-off series Milo Murphy's Law, which first aired in 2016 on Disney XD, which oddly enough, takes place in the same universe as Phineas and Ferb. The series' first run ended on June 12, 2015 with its originally series finale special episode, as well as a standalone hour-long episode airing on November 9, 2015, on Disney XD and on January 15, 2016, on Disney Channel. It is the longest show to ever run beside Kim Possible which was originally second place until Big City Greens took over that second place with over 6 years to the present day.
On January 13, 2023, the show was revived for a fifth and sixth season with 20 episodes each under Dan Povenmire's new overall deal with Disney Branded Television, along with an addition to a second season renewal for Hamster & Gretel.[2] On March 16, 2023, it was further announced that Marsh would also return to the revival as executive producer and voice director,[3] the first of which is expected to premiere on Disney Channel, Disney XD and the streaming service Disney+ in 2024.
Development
Series creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh met as layout artists working on The Simpsons in the mid-1990s. They bonded over a shared sense of humor and eventually paired up as a writing team on Rocko's Modern Life for Nickelodeon, which better acquainted them with the animation production business.
During this time, Povenmire developed what would eventually become Phineas and Ferb. While eating at a restaurant in South Pasadena with his wife, Povenmire drew the first sketch of Phineas, a triangle-headed kid, on butcher paper using crayons, both provided by the restaurant. That night, Povenmire shared his character design with Marsh. Other characters would soon be developed based off of their dominant shapes: a rectangle for Ferb and a semi-circle for Candace. The goal was to create simple characters that kids could easily draw on their own. They also created characters that were easily recognizable in silhouette, which is an old animation standard that Matt Groening taught Povenmire while he was working on The Simpsons.
After the characters were set, they decided to work geometric shapes into the background to tie the whole thing together. Marsh describes this as an homage to legendary Looney Tunes animator/director, Tex Avery. "He had that very graphic style (in his later cartoons). A lot of what I see [in the series] now is borrowed from Tex." The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show provided additional inspiration for the show's narrative format, where several different subplots would be resolved together at the end of the episode.
For the show's color palette, Povenmire and Marsh wanted bright candy-colored characters with natural colors for the backgrounds. Marsh emphasized that "for all of the stuff that they do to work, their world needs to be grounded in reality." Disney wanted a more stylized palette. Povenmire recalled, "I actually had discussions with Disney about this because they wanted to come up with a cool color scheme. I just wanted it to feel like summer." The studio acquiesced and the creators' vision prevailed.
After Marsh moved to London to work on animation, Povenmire, working on Family Guy in the U.S., shopped the show around to various kids' networks, such as Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Fox Kids. The studios were worried about the complexity of the plots within the time allowed, and negotiations fizzled out between Povenmire and the studios. Finally, Povenmire got a meeting with Disney. According to Povenmire, "Disney was the first to say, 'Let's see if you can do it in 11 minutes.' We did it in the pilot, and they said, 'Let's see if you can do it for 26 episodes.'"
Disney Channel's Senior VP of Original Series, Adam Bonnet was a fan of Family Guy and wasn't scared off by Povenmire's work on the series. In fact, it was because of Povenmire's connection to the series that Bonnet wanted to see whatever he was working on. Povenmire recalls about Bonnet, "He called me for a meeting when I was working on a different pilot for them just to tell me how much he liked Family Guy. When I came back to pitch my own show, I think he was more open to it."
Povenmire brought comedic timing from his experience on Family Guy over to Phineas and Ferb. "People think Family Guy is a success because of how raunchy the gags are. I don't think it would have been a success at all if the timing wasn't absolutely crystal pitch perfect ― if there wasn't just the right amount of pause before or after the line. Comedy is all about timing, and I think that's what people are responding to."
Production
Writing Style
The show uses four major writers to devise story ideas according to "strict guidelines", such as that the boys' schemes never appear to be "magical." Stories are reviewed at weekly sessions on a Monday, then simultaneously scripted and storyboarded. A very rough design is built before the storyboard, featuring little more than suggested scenes and dialogue, is drafted; the writers then gather for a "play-by-play" walkthrough of the storyboard in front of the whole crew, whose reactions to the jokes are assessed before rewrites are made. The writers as well include running gags in every episode, which are generally lines spoken by characters. Almost every episode is set into two eleven-minute segments.
Unlike live-action TV series, Povenmire and Marsh didn't show Disney a script. Instead, they pitched a storyboard, a scene-by-scene visual breakdown of how the episode would look. When it came time to present it to the executives overseas, Povenmire edited the storyboards together into a film, adding music, sound effects and providing the voices for all the characters. This animatic can be found on "The Fast and the Phineas (DVD)". The first story pitch eventually became the episode "Rollercoaster".
Animation
A sample picture to compare to the one on the right.
Notice the animation improvement from the 1st episode (Rollercoaster, left) to the this one, in the musical Rollercoaster episode.
Rough Draft Studios in South Korea, Wang Film Productions in Taiwan, and Synergy Animation and Hong Ying Animation in Shanghai animated the series in 2-D animation using the software packages Toon Boom. Povenmire undertakes the bulk of production direction, along with Marsh, Jay Lender, Sue Perrotto, Zac Moncrief, and Robert Hughes. The series adopts artistic features from animator Tex Avery, such as geometric shapes integrated into characters, objects, and backgrounds. Dan Povenmire said of this inclusion, "There's a little bit of Tex Avery in there-he had that very graphic style (in his later cartoons)." Triangles (shaped like Phineas' head) are featured as an Easter egg in the background of every episode, sometimes in trees or buildings. Other shapes, such as rectangles (Ferb's head shape) and semicircles (Candace's head shape) can show up often.
A second sample picture to compare.
Improved animation.
Bright colors are also a prominent element of the animation. Marsh elaborates, "The idea at the end of the day was candy. One of the things that I think works so well is that the characters are so bright and candy-colored and our backgrounds are a much more realistic depiction of the world: the soft green of the grass, the natural woods for the fence. In order for all of the stuff that they do to work, their world needs to be grounded in reality." The designers sought to keep their characters visually simple, so that kids "would easily be able to draw [them] themselves." Characters were also crafted to be recognizable from a distance, a technique the creators say is based on Matt Groening's goal of making characters recognizable by silhouette.
Cast
Plots
The stages of development for a scene during the opening theme, from the original draft (top) to the final design (bottom). The top appears briefly in the Season 1 theme.
The plots grew from Povenmire's childhood in Mobile, Alabama. His mother was always encouraging them to do creative things rather than watch television. One of his activities was making home movies. Povenmire says, "My mom let me drape black material all the way across one end of our living room to use as a space field. I would hang little models of spaceships for these little movies I made with a Super 8 camera."
Phineas and Ferb Scenario
Phineas Flynn (Vincent Martella) and Ferb Fletcher (Thomas Sangster) are stepbrothers who live with their older sister Candace Flynn (Ashley Tisdale) and their parents Linda Flynn-Fletcher (Caroline Rhea) and Lawrence Fletcher (Richard O'Brien) in the town of Danville. The brothers find themselves dissatisfied just spending their summer vacation outside of school, so, they pull off unbelievable and often outlandish stunts (i.e. finding a mummy, getting a band back together, racing cars, constructing a giant roller coaster, just to name some), in order to make summer more exciting. Their sister, Candace, is aware of their unusual activities and tries to play a spoil-sport (busting) by telling their mom so that the adventures of Phineas and Ferb could be put to an end. Candace's actions emerge mostly out of jealousy because she would not be able to get away with the same acts, since she gets "busted" for things she wasn't even intending to do, like throwing a party. ("Candace Gets Busted"). In the end, the boys' inventions disappear right when Candace is about to bust them.
Agent P Sub-Plot
Phineas and Ferb's pet, Perry the Platypus (Dee Bradley Baker), is actually a secret agent named, "Agent P Normally, Perry's first appearance in a story is after someone (usually Phineas) notices his absence and asks "Hey, where's Perry?" After the question is asked, the scene usually changes right to Perry entering secret chutes or entrances that bring him to some underground headquarters where he receives instructions, via a monitor, from his boss Major Monogram, head of the O.W.C.A. (Jeff "Swampy" Marsh) (However, in some cases, Perry is simply shown in the base receiving a briefing (e.g. "Undercover Carl"). Major Monogram thеn assigns Perry some mission that generally involves Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire), and his nefarious plans to wreak havoc on the Tri-State Area (though this is not always the case).
A majority of the Perry subplot involves him battling Dr. Doofenshmirtz in knowingly hackneyed fashion (such as Doofenshmirtz's long monologues about his plans to Perry), this sub-plot also includes, sometimes, the sarcasm of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz (Olivia Olson); Doofenshmirtz's beautiful daughter, and Norm (John Viener); Doofenshmirtz's self-aware robot. Inevitably, these battles are brought very near where Phineas and Ferb are doing whatever plan they had for the day, and generally aid in the removal of all evidence related to what they were doing before Candace can show her mother what Phineas and Ferb have/ been up to. Sometimes this works backward, and Phineas and Ferb's invention destroys Doofenshmirtz's invention. ("Hail Doofania", "Thaddeus and Thor" and Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the Second Dimension) The creators of Phineas and Ferb chose Perry to be a platypus, because they thought dogs and cats are overused in TV shows.
Candace Sub-Plot
Occasionally, there are sub-plots relating to Candace during the stories. They generally involve either Candace chatting, hanging out with her friend Stacy (Kelly Hu), or attempting to get the attention of her crush, Jeremy (Mitchel Musso). These subplots commonly weave in with Candace's many attempts to bust Phineas and Ferb for their inventions, which ends in failure.
Reception
The show has received generally very positive reviews. The New York Times commented favorably, describing the show as "Family Guy with an espionage subplot and a big dose of magical realism". It considered the pop-culture references ubiquitous "but [placed] with such skill that it seems smart, not cheap." Whitney Matheson wrote in her USA Today blog "Pop Candy" that the series was an achievement in children's programming. Matheson applauded the writing and called it "an animated version of Parker Lewis Can't Lose." Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media praised the show's humor and plot, giving it three out of five stars. The Seattle Times wrote that the story of the show was "valiant" and that the main characters of Phineas and Ferb were "young heroes". In 2013, WatchMojo placed the series at the #10 spot in their "Top 10 Disney Animated TV Series" list countdown.[4] As of 2023, it currently holds the #2 spot on Ranker's "The Best Disney Channel Cartoons Ever Made" list (Right behind Gravity Falls). WatchMojo later placed the show at the #2 spot in their updated "Top 20 Best Disney Animated TV Series" list countdown, with Gravity Falls also being placed as #1.[5]
Variety noted the show's appeal to all ages with its "sense of wit and irreverence." Similar reviews have emphasized the series' popularity with adults; Elastic Pops Rebecca Wright wrote, in a review for the volume one DVD, "As an adult, I really enjoyed watching this Phineas and Ferb DVD, and I think it is one that the whole family can enjoy." Wright also called the series' "irreverent style" reminiscent of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. Wired's Matt Blum has stated in reviews on the series that he "can stand to watch just about anything with (his) kids, but he actually looks forward to watching Phineas and Ferb with them." Notable adult celebrities who have openly considered themselves fans of the series include Bob Eubanks, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Stiller, Chaka Khan, Jeff Sullivan, and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Among the negative reviews is one that charges the series with a lack of originality. Maxie Zeus of Toon Zone argued that the show is "derivative, but obviously so, and shorn of even the best features of what has been stolen." Zeus took issue with the writing, feeling that certain jokes and conventions were "ripped-off" from other shows. Kevin McDonough of Sun Coast Today criticized the show for its plot complexity, constant action, and "characters [that] can do just about anything." McDonough stated that "it's never clear whether P&F are intended to entertain children or are merely a reflection of grown-up animators engaged in a juvenile lark." Marylin Moss of The Hollywood Reporter described Phineas and Ferb as "Pretty mindless but kids of all ages might find a humorous moment in it." Moss called the plot lines redundant but did praise the music styles and guest stars. The series won a "Cynopsis Kids Animation" in June 2012 for the movie.
Ratings
The first episode, "Rollercoaster", garnered a total of 10.8 million viewers when aired as a preview on August 17, 2007, holding onto more than half the record-setting audience of its lead-in, High School Musical 2. When Phineas and Ferb officially debuted in February the next year, it proved cable's number one watched animated series premiere by "tweens." Throughout the first quarter that followed, it peaked as the top-rated animated TV series for ages 6–10 and 9–14, also becoming number three animated series for all of cable television for viewers age 6–10. By the time the commissioning of the second season was announced in May 2008, the series had become a top-rated program in the 6–11 and 9–14 age groups.
Disney Channel's airing of "Phineas and Ferb Get Busted" was watched by 3.7 million viewers. The episodes "Perry Lays an Egg" and "Gaming the System" on Disney Channel achieved the most views by ages 6–11 and 9–14 of any channel in that night's time slot. This achievement propelled the series to the number one animated telecast that week for the target demographics. On June 7, 2009, Disney announced that the show had become the number one primetime animated television show for the demographics 6-10 and 9-14.
The premiere of "Phineas and Ferb's Christmas Vacation" garnered 2.62 million viewers during its debut on Disney XD, the most watched telecast in the channel's history (including Toon Disney) and the number three program of the night in all demographics. It received 5.2 million viewers for its debut on Disney Channel. It was the highest-rated episode of the series to date and 5th highest for the week.
The premiere of "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!" garnered 3.862 million viewers, was watched by 22% of kids 2–11, 13% of teens, 5% of households, and 3% of adults 18–49, also being the #1 program on that night and it was 25th for the week in viewership. On Disney XD, the episode ranked in the channel's top 3 telecasts of the year in viewers with 1.32 million, and Boys 6–11 with 365,000, with a 2.9 rating. The hour-long telecast on August 2, 2010, is currently the Emmy-winning animated series' No. 2 telecast of all time on Disney XD in Total Viewers, in kids 6–14 with 677,000 and a 1.9 rating, Boys 6–14 with 435,000 and a 2.3 rating, and kids 6–11 with 542,000 and a 2.2 rating, Boys 6–11 and Boys 9–14 235,000 with a 1.9 rating, behind only December 2009's "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation!"
On September 9, 2011, the episode "My Fair Goalie" had 4.65 million viewers watch it, the most for a regular episode. Eleven other episodes had also hit the 4-million mark, 5 times in 2011 alone.
Marketing and Merchandise
Disney has licensed a number of products from the show, including plush toys of characters Perry, Ferb, Phineas, and Candace. Disney released several T-shirts for the show and launched a "Make your own T-shirt" program on its Disney website. Authors have novelized several episodes. Two season one DVDs, entitled "The Fast and the Phineas" and "The Daze of Summer", have been released; the discs include episodes never broadcast in America. A third DVD was released on October 5, 2010, called "A Very Perry Christmas". A fourth one, called "The Perry Files", was released on June 5, 2012. Some reviewers were displeased that the discs covered selected episodes rather than providing box sets of the whole series, but noted that Disney does not generally release full-season DVD sets.
On February 3, 2009, Disney licensed a Nintendo DS game, titled like the show, Phineas and Ferb. The game's story follows the title characters as they try to build a roller coaster to stop boredom over the summer (in reference to the show's pilot episode). The player controls Phineas, Ferb, and occasionally Agent P (Perry the Platypus). Phineas scavenges for spare parts for the rollercoaster while Ferb fixes various objects around town, gaining access to new areas as a result. Ferb can also construct new parts of the rollercoaster and its vehicle-themed carts. Each activity features a short mini-game. The game was well received and garners a 76.67% on GameRankings. A sequel entitled "Phineas and Ferb Ride Again", was released on September 14, 2010. Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh also announced that there is a Phineas and Ferb Wii game in development. It was later confirmed that this game would be a video game adaptation of the TV movie, also available for Nintendo DS and PlayStation 3, which was released August 2, 2011.
Homages
The United Kingdom Disney Channel has aired a series entitled Oscar and Michael's Phineas and Ferb Fan Club Show in homage to the animated TV series. The show features two boys who attempt to be like Phineas and Ferb by taking part in adventures to alleviate boredom. The series aims at educating kids and promoting activity and creativity. It entered its second season on April 10, 2009.
Phineas and Ferb also has been briefly referenced in a few literary works in recent years. Love Through the Eyes of an Idiot: A True Story of Finding the Secret of Love and Romance uses an analysis that states that a woman the author met was the "Phineas to his Ferb." Lost and Found: How Churches Are Connecting to Young Adults uses the titular characters of the show as an example of television characters who have an impact on the lives of children and the family they live with.
Songs
Almost every episode has had at least one musical performance (except for "Lights, Candace, Action!", "I Was a Middle Aged Robot", and "The Lizard Whisperer"). "Rollercoaster: The Musical!" and Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension currently tie for the record of most songs at 9 songs each. Povenmire recalls, "When we were writing Rocko, we always had one of two things, sometimes both: usually a song or a musical number, plus a big action/chase scene. Phineas and Ferb gave us a chance to write a song for every single episode, starting with the third episode, "Flop Starz". We played it and Perry's secret agent theme for the Disney executives. We were a little trepidatious because Disney has a big history of music ― what if they hate it? The reaction was, "These are great ― can you write a song for every episode?". Nearly every episode has a song so that they won't use it over and over for a different season.
The music on Phineas and Ferb goes from the whimsical to heavy metal. Composer Danny Jacob, along with Povenmire, Marsh, and story editor Martin Olson strive to include all genres of music, because they feel this variety enriches the animation experience and exposes kids to music they wouldn't otherwise have been aware of. Early in the show's production, Disney questioned this policy, but as Povenmire explains, "It's similar to when we realized that Bugs Bunny was using classical music. When I heard 'The Barber of Seville' for the first time after watching Bugs Bunny, I had a way of relating to it that made me think of it differently than if I had just heard it on the radio. You have a familiarity to it. Now, when kids hear a Frank Sinatra like a jazz tune, or a Busby Berkeley kind of tune, they'll have a frame of reference for it." They use good music so it can mix in and flow with the movie. This has been on for a while now, that they have used Phineas and Ferb movie to feature it to show that if you use jazz tunes and other music it will sound good with other things, not only with the same movie.
Running Gags
The show relies heavily on running gags. These gags are seen in most episodes, though sometimes they are humorously modified:
- Phineas and Ferb attempt to build something every day in order to avoid a boring summer. However, in "The Best Lazy Day Ever" and "Vanessassary Roughness", they don't do anything.
- An old woman tells a short old man "You can't just expect *insert item here* to just fall out of the sky," and then they do. (e.g. "You can't expect a bunch of rabbits to just fall out of the sky.")
- Candace tries to foil the boys' plans by yelling "Mom, Phineas and Ferb are...", but by the time their mom comes, Phineas and Ferb's projects are either gone or turned into something else. The only times Candace has succeeded in "busting" her brothers occur in Perry's dream ("Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!"), 20 years into the future ("Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo") and in "She's the Mayor" but time gets reversed by Doofenshmirtz's invention.
- Dr. Doofenshmirtz builds evil machines with names ending in -inator (e.g. "The Misbehavinator"), though, in one or two episodes, Doofenshmirtz gives his weapon a name not ending in -inator, explaining to Agent P that he has worn out the -inator name too much. He also puts -inator with words that have already have -inator suffixes or closely sounding suffixes (e.g. Acceleratorinator or Space Laser-inator). He usually gives a short pause before the -inator in these cases. In one case, Doofenshmirtz makes an -inator that makes an ice age, proclaiming, "My Gloominator 3000!...-inator," maybe meaning that he doesn't always want to call them -inators but he does it because all his inventions in the past have been -inators.
- Phineas and Ferb are asked (usually by Isabella) or ask someone else "What'cha doin'?". There have been a number of variations on it. (Ex. "What'cha eatin'?" ("Hail Doofania!", "Chez Platypus") and "What'cha watchin'?" ("Out of Toon"))
- Phineas (in some episodes, other characters) asks "Hey, where's Perry?" when he notices Perry's disappearance.
- Dr. Doofenshmirtz has plans to use his invention on the "Entire Tri-State Area".
- Ferb often remains silent until the end of the episode, when he usually touts a humorous line. Though, as of mid-Season 2, this has not been seen as often, as Ferb usually has two or more lines, or in the case of "The Lizard Whisperer", his line was 46 seconds long.
- Dr. Doofenshmirtz says "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!" after his plans are ruined. Variations: "Thank you, Perry the Platypus!" (Vanessa, "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together"), "Curse you, Phil the neighbor!" (Doofenshmirtz, "Put That Putter Away"), "Curse you, wait, is that..." (Doofenshmirtz, "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together", "The Baljeatles", "Meatloaf Surprise"), "Bless you, Perry the Platypus!" (Phineas, "Hail Doofania!"), "Curse you, Perry the Teenager" (Doofenshmirtz, "Does This Duckbill Make Me Look Fat?"), "Curse you, Perry the Bobblehead!" (Doofenshmirtz, "Just Passing Through"), and "Curse you, Perry the Beakapus!" (Doofenshmirtz, "The Beak").
- Perry has a unique, secret entrance to his hideout in every episode (tree door, trick walls, magic hat, etc...).
- People ask Phineas if he is a little young to be doing what he is doing (e.g. "Aren't you a little young to be using an arc welder?"). His most common response is "Yes, yes I am", but in a few episodes ("Flop Starz", "Toy to the World") he disagreed. There have been numerous takes on this line by various characters. Also, Phineas and Ferb are not the only ones being asked this question. In the episode "Vanessassary Roughness" a twist is given to this gag when Ferb's mother asks him "aren't you a little bit to old to be playing in the ball pit?" and in "Isabella and the Temple of Sap", Isabella says "He does appreciate me," with Gretchen saying, "Yes, yes he does."
- Dr. Doofenshmirtz doesn't recognize Agent P if he is not wearing his secret agent hat.
- Phineas says "Oh, there you are, Perry" when Perry has finished his mission and become a normal pet again. An episode is named after this line.
- Phineas accidentally causes Ferb bodily harm because of the former's obliviousness to Isabella ("One Good Scare Ought to Do It!", "The Chronicles of Meap").
- A character says "Out, peace!" Candace has said this line the most ("Unfair Science Fair Redux (Another Story)". "The Beak", "Phineas and Ferb Hawaiian Vacation", "She's the Mayor", "Invasion of the Ferb Snatchers", "Nerds of a Feather").
- Occasionally people think that what is being said is a metaphor but is real. ("She's the Mayor", "Brain Drain").
- On episodes where Phineas and Ferb build tall objects, a bird is shown flying towards it and falls, one instance where a bird is not shown is in "Gi-Ants" where a fly flies into the miniature version of the "Antius Maximus".
- Whenever Agent P enters Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporation, he gets trapped.
- A Viking is placed in a situation where a Viking would not normally be and says something wise. Than another person says the Viking is right.
- During a dangerous situation someone will scream 'My Watermelon' and then run away holding one.
Series Launch Description
Beginning Friday, February 1, 2008 (8:00 p.m., ET/PT), Disney Channel presents "Phineas and Ferb-ruary", a month-long programming event that introduces kids and families to the new 2-D animated comedy, "Phineas and Ferb", created by noted animation producers Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh ("The Simpsons", "Rocko's Modern Life", "Family Guy", "SpongeBob SquarePants").
Episodes are to be presented every day of the month (8:00 p.m.), concluding with a marathon of the series, Friday, February 29 (3:30-8:15 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel.
In the TV series, produced in traditional 2-D animation by Walt Disney Television Animation, Phineas Flynn and his stepbrother, Ferb Fletcher, set out to conquer boredom and make every day of their 104-day summer vacation count, even if it means building a backyard beach. Their older sister, Candace, makes it her mission to get the boys in trouble. Meanwhile, the family's pet, Perry the Platypus, may seem like any other house pet, but he has a secret life as suave Agent P, deftly battling the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz to save the Tri-State Area.
Design Notes
- Occasionally, some characters are drawn with their eyebrows floating above their eyes, or partially detached from their head. Examples:
- When Phineas is painting on Candace in the title sequence.
- Phineas, Candace, Dad, Jeremy, the squirrels, Street Performer #2, and Dr. Doofenshmirtz in "Comet Kermillian".
- Whenever an ear is shown on a character that isn't covered, the number 3 is used to draw the shape of the inside of the ear.
- Triangles are used everywhere and are embedded into things like roads, rooftops, the shapes of shadows, and, most noticeably, the shape of Phineas' head. It is the most used geometric shape in the series.
- Characters only have 4 fingers on both hands and 4 toes on both feet.
- The guitars that characters play have four strings and knobs, making them obviously bass guitars (the only exception is Danny).
Episodes
- Main article: Phineas and Ferb episode list
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | British Academy Children's Awards | Best International | Phineas and Ferb | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title Theme Music | "Today is Gonna Be a Great Day" | ||
| Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | "I Ain't Got Rhythm" (Episode: "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together") | |||
| 2009 | Annie Awards | Best Animated Television Program | Phineas and Ferb | |
| British Academy Children's Awards | Best International | Phineas and Ferb | ||
| 2009 Kids' Choice Awards|Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Class Short-Format Animated Program | "The Monster of Phineas-n-Ferbenstein" | ||
| Pulcinella Awards | Best TV Series for Kids | Phineas and Ferb | Won | |
| Special Mention: Best Flash Animation | Phineas and Ferb | |||
| 2010 | Annie Awards | Best Writing in a Television Production | "Nerds of a Feather" | Nominated |
| Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing in Animation | Phineas and Ferb | Won | |
| Outstanding Original Song – Children's and Animation | "Come Home Perry" (Episode: "Oh, There You Are, Perry") | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition | Danny Jacob | |||
| Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Live Action and Animation | Robert Poole II, Robbi Smith, and Roy Braverman | |||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | ||
| 2011 | Children's Representatives Ceremony (Israel) | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | |
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards Argentina | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | Won | |
| Kids' Choice Awards Mexico | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Jill Daniels (Episode: "Wizard of Odd") | ||
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Brian Woods (Episode: "Wizard of Odd") | |||
| 2012 | Cynopsis Kids !magination Awards | Best Tween Series | Phineas and Ferb | |
| Best Tween Special/TV Movie | "Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension" | |||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Jill Daniels (Episode: "Doof Dynasty") | Won | |
| Outstanding Voice-Over Performance | Dan Povenmire (Episode: "Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension") | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program | "The Doonkleberry Imperative" | |||
| 2013 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Animated Series | Phineas and Ferb | |
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Cartoon | Phineas and Ferb | ||
| 2014 | British Academy Children's Awards | BAFTA Kid's Vote - Television | Phineas and Ferb | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short-Format Animated Program | "Thanks But No Thanks" | ||
| 2015 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Class Animated Program | "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer" | |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Animated Program | "Last Day of Summer" |
Films
Television Movie
- Main article: Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
According to a March 3, 2010, Disney press release, a made-for-television film, based on Phineas and Ferb entitled Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, has been aired, with a Disney Channel release date of August 5, 2011. The film concerned Phineas and Ferb accidentally helping Dr. Doofenshmirtz with an invention of his, which took them to a parallel dimension. There, Perry revealed his double life as a secret agent to them, and to save their friends from an alternative Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who was far more devious and threatening than his prime counterpart, they team up with their alternate dimension selves to stop him.
Theatrical Film
- Main article: Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe
On January 11, 2011, Disney Channel Worldwide chief Gary Marsh announced that an animated/live-action feature film based on Phineas and Ferb was in development by Tron: Legacy producer Sean Bailey. Series creators Dan & Swampy are in the early stages of writing the film, for a release in 2013. In an interview, media gossiper Jim Hill revealed that Disney's idea for the movie would include the beginning and the ending of the movie being animated, but the middle portion having the characters portrayed by actors. However, the movie wouldn't be as big-budgeted as a Pixar film, would be released late in summer, and would include at least one popular actor, like Jim Carrey, as Doofenshmirtz, to get parents interested in it. As of September 6, 2011, Dan and Swampy have finished writing the script.
On October 14, 2011, the film, tentatively titled simply Phineas and Ferb, was given the release date of July 26, 2013. The date had previously belonged to Thor: The Dark World but had been pushed back to November 2013 in favor of Phineas and Ferb. The movie was then scheduled to be released sometime in 2014. On August 16, 2013, it was reported that the film had been pushed back yet again to an unknown date, on the same day Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel was to air.
Spin-offs
A screenshot of Phineas and Ferb's Funny Show, the South Korean version of Take Two with Phineas and Ferb.
Former
- Main article: Take Two with Phineas and Ferb
Disney has produced a live-action talk show where the two characters (as cartoons) interview celebrities, which is similar to Space Ghost Coast to Coast which began airing in December 3, 2010 as a two and a half minute talk-show format, featuring real-life celebrities such as Tony Hawk, Randy Jackson, Seth Rogen, Taylor Swift, Andy Samberg, Emma Roberts, Jack Black, Regis Philbin, Howie Mandel, and David Beckham. It ended November 25, 2011, after 20 episodes had been running, and its last airing was sometime in July 2012 on Disney Channel. In South Korea, the series was titled Phineas and Ferb's Funny Show and the main characters interviewed celebrities familiar to the South Korean community, such as famous K-Pop stars and sports figures. It lasted about 10 minutes in length and aired prior to Phineas and Ferb in South Korea.
From 2013 to 2014, a YouTube webseries of shorts called Doofenshmirtz's Daily Dirt aired, featuring Heinz Doofenshmirtz in vlog-style videos talking about personal opinions as well as current events in pop culture.
Potential
According to a New York Times article released on June 22, 2010, Disney was considering a possible spin-off that would focus mainly on Isabella and her Fireside Girls troop with the plan to have the series premiere as early as 2012, going from when the article was published. However, the series never went beyond the report. The episode "Isabella and the Temple of Sap" was most likely intended as a test of sorts to see if one could be done, while the similar episode "Bee Story" was most likely intended to also be another attempt.
Near the end of the original series' run, two backdoor pilots were developed. The first, titled "Doof 101", centered on Dr. Doofenshmirtz becoming a science teacher at his daughter Vanessa's school. The second, an hour long special that aired after "Last Day of Summer", but is included as part of the the series' run, titled O.W.C.A. Files premiered that focused on Perry, Doof, and several other animal agents working together on a case. Dan Povenmire confirmed that both were attempts at creating a spin-off, but neither got past their pilots.
Video games
- Phineas and Ferb (video game)
- Phineas and Ferb Ride Again
- Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension (video game)
- Disney Infinity
- Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff
- Phineas and Ferb: Day of Doofenshmirtz
- Disney Heroes: Battle Mode
In popular culture
The phrases "What'cha doin'?" and "Yes, yes we are" are used in several cartoons, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Johnny Test, Ben 10: Ultimate Alien, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and web series including The Annoying Orange, the sitcom Jessie, and the 2010 movie Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare. Phineas and Ferb were also seen in an episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" with Vincent Martella doing the voice of Phineas. "Yes, yes we are" was also said in a Buick commercial. "What'cha Doin'?" was also said in December 18, 2011, comic of "For Better or Worse". The "Aren't you a little young..." line was heard in a Lab Rats episode "Can I Borrow the Helicopter?"
Trivia
- Phineas and Ferb was the final animated Disney Channel Original series to premiere in the 2000's.
- Phineas and Ferb was the first Disney Channel Original series all together to be produced exclusively in high definition.
- The first live-action series to be produced in HD was Sonny with a Chance a year later.
- In 2023, Dan Povenmire announced that a revival of Phineas and Ferb has been greenlit by Disney Television Animation, and two new seasons are in the works. Season 5 is set to release in 2025. Both seasons will consist of 20 episodes. Production for the revival began in 2023 with writing for the revival beginning in May and voice recording beginning in September.
Pliot
Gallery
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/25/phineas-and-ferb-pilot-disney-s-premier-voyage-into-star-wars.html
- ↑ Variety: Phineas and Ferb Revival From Dan Povenmire Ordered Under New Overall Deal With Disney Branded Television
- ↑ Manfredi, Lucas (March 16, 2023). "‘Phineas and Ferb’ Co-Creator Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh Joins Animated Series’ Revival". Retrieved on March 16, 2023.
- ↑ Brayton, R. (Trans.). (2013, May 29). Top 10 Disney Animated TV Series. WatchMojo.
- ↑ Dalimonte, B. (2024, February 7). Top 20 best Disney animated TV series. WatchMojo. https://www.watchmojo.com/video/id/56460
External links
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