825 replies to this topic

[Bitterswete]

I just had to start a thread for this show.

For those missing out, Phineas and Ferb is a cartoon on Disney Channel about these two brothers determined to make every day of their summer vacation "The best day ever!" Whether this means building a roller coaster that covers half the city, traveling back in time, or having a "one hit wonder" song reach the top of the charts. Yeah, they don't do things halfway. And their parents never notice any of this stuff. Not because Phineas and Ferb are trying to hide it, that's just the way things seem to work out.

Their sister Candace (voiced surprisingly well, IMO, by Ashley Tisdale) is always trying to bust them. But something always happens to foil her plans.

They have a pet platypus named Perry who, as far as they know, is just a dumb, drooling domestic pet that sleeps all day somewhere or other around the house. What they don't know is that Perry is actually Agent P, a kick ass secret agent (complete with Sam Spade-style hat) who regularly saves the tri-state area from the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

This show is just hilarious. I admit it, when I first saw the promos, I wrote it off. But, now, I can't stop watching, and rewatching, it.

Edited by Bitterswete, Jun 7, 2008 @ 4:42 PM.

[Aunty Mib]

Thanks for the recommendation. It's pretty fun. Although the mean to Candace plotlines are getting old fast.

[Sauvage]

Bitterswete, I've been contemplating starting a thread on Phineas and Ferb too! I thought it would be necessary to double-check that there wasn't already one (I checked once, but there are lots of pages in this forum....). Anyway, thanks!

Of the shows my kids watch, this one's my favorite, and both the big (10) and little (5) one seem to enjoy it. The writing is very witty and the sameness of the structure seems to me more like a folk tale than like "formula." The repeated lines--"Aren't you a little young to be...." "Why, yes! Yes, I am", or "Platypuses don't do a whole lot"--give it the flavor of an old-fashioned tall tale (a little more preposterous every time).

I read a positive review of this show (where??--I can dig up a link if that would be desirable) that, while favoriong the P&F story found the B-story with Perry "filler"-- but I disagree, because Dr. Doofenschmirtz is hilarious.

[lrdmordain]

I agree that this is just a great cartoon all around. There are two things however that really put it over the top for me.

1. The little original musical number they create for each episode that somehow ties into the plot is just fantastic beyond the telling of it. So many catchy little songs that I hope they make a cd for them like the simpsons seem to do with all their songs.

2. The Doctor D vs Agent P plots. These are just funny no two ways about it. Doctor D. is the perfect parody of all those villians and I love every little glimpse we get at his personal life and his genuine respect and...admiration he has for Perry. The episode where he was so hung over from a party that he didn't even put in an effort to stop Agent P from stopping him was perhaps one of the funiest bits they have ever done.

I cannt reccomend this show enough, if you ever want to just laugh or enjoy a nice little song, catch an episode of this show.

Sauvage I'd love that review link if you could find it.

[Sauvage]

The music really does add to the show. (My first notice of the existence of P&F was my daughter walking around the house singing "There's a HUNDRED AND FOUR DAYS of summer vacation, and school comes along justa end it.....") There are clips of the songs on YouTube, including "Backyard Beach...." (a huge favorite here) but a CD would certainly be snapped up by our family.

As for the review, I think this is the one:

http://www.nytimes.c...amp;oref=slogin

There's also this:

http://www.variety.c...8...yid=32&cs=1

[Bitterswete]

Although the mean to Candace plotlines are getting old fast.

I kind of agree with this. But, as long as she's trying to bust the boys, she has to be foiled. And, if she isn't try to bust the boys, there'd really be little left for her to do except crush on Jeremy.

I read a positive review of this show (where??--I can dig up a link if that would be desirable) that, while favoriong the P&F story found the B-story with Perry "filler"-- but I disagree, because Dr. Doofenschmirtz is hilarious.

Filler?! No way! Perry's adventures saving the tristate area from Dr. Doofenschmirtz is one of the highlights (if not the highlight) of any episode.

Oh, another part I like is that, while Candace is trying to bust the boys, Dr. D's daughter Vanessa is trying to bust him to her mom (Dr. D's ex) who doesn't believe he's evil.

[Aunty Mib]

The basic theme of the show seems to be along the lines of not seeing people as they actually are. Perry is a secret agent, but even though Dr. Doofenschmirtz knows this he sometimes doesn't recognize if he's wearing a silly disguise. The mother never sees any of the amazing things that Phineas, Ferb or Candace do. The kids never see the commercials of the mother as an ex pop star.

The times that Candace joins in on the boys' fun make her a more likeable and happier person. I'd rather see her turn her energies to this. It's a lot more interesting to see her as the Queen of the Beach or singing on stage than to see her whine to Mom.

[Meltbanana]

My favorite part of the show (besides Perry the platypus) is in the credit sequence when Candace goes "Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a credit sequence!" It never fails to crack me up. Poor Candace can't catch a break, but Jeremy still seems to like her anyways (very similar to Riley on The Replacements and her crush who likes her even though she's a huge dork).

[Lizzie88]

Okay, freakish coincidence? I was just heading over here to start a thread for this show and there it was already!

I have to say, this show is pretty awesome. It's the wittiest cartoon Disney has come up with since Kim Possible IMO. In fact, wasn't Phineas and Ferb brought in as a replacement for KP?

I love all the running gags. Candace never being able to bust them, Phineas being "a bit young" for everything they do, Ferb having one line of dialogue, Phineas saying "oh there you are Perry!", Dr. D's "evil plots" that are incredibly complicated and rarely have a point, "curse you Perry the Platypus!!", the single note of "Perry!" music everytime Perry goes into secret agent mode. They never get old for me.

There are so many hilarious moments. Like Dr. D not recognizing Perry until he puts on his hat ("What? A platypus?" *Perry puts on hat* "Perry the Platypus!") and Perry going to the trouble of mailing himself to the "secret lair" only to realize that there was an elevator. Dr. D's "plots" are always a laugh. Covering the East Coast in alluminium foil and pulling it back with a giant magnet, "capturing" all the lawn gnomes, dumping sand on the house of a guy who bullied him, releasing "hungry magpies".

I know Ashley Tisdale isn't very popular around here, but I think she does a great job voicing Candace. I think my favorite Candace moment was in the rollercoaster episode when she's on the phone to her friend and says "what d'you mean you can see it from your house?". I also loved the episode where Candace was just resigned to the fact that Phineas and Ferb wouldn't get caught at the end. She says something along the lines of "Yep. Every time."

This show is just hilarious. I mean, come on! A platypus doubling as a secret agent? Awesome.

Edited by Lizzie88, Jun 11, 2008 @ 4:20 AM.

[Vixen77]

Yes I'm an adult and I watch this show even though my 10yo does not. She likes the music numbers only. Which are great.

This show is amazingly well put together and I was getting tired of Candace getting foiled again till I saw the episode where she learns to drive. Its the first time Dad is aware that the Phineas and Ferb are capable of amazing things but even Mom is all haha active imagination.

My favorite song montage is when they get Love Handle back together. The hairdresser's part was the best for me.

While I can take or leave the Perry and Dr. D plots (some are way better than others like Vanessa's party) but I really like the jingle "Doofenschmirtz Evil Incorporated" or when they change it to "Doofenschmirtz abandoned whatever the hell" Cracks me up every time.

[Sauvage]

"capturing" all the lawn gnomes

During Dr. D's explanation of that particular evil plot I turned to my son and said, "Aww, Dr. Doofenschmirtz has a sad backstory involving lawn gnomes!"

I really like the jingle "Doofenschmirtz Evil Incorporated"

I like the way it's just in the background, kind of a throwaway. And that episode where the ending credits started out with Perry action accompanied by "He's a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of danger....."

I don't want to overthink this, but I think the boys aren't so much mean to Candace as oblivious to her feelings (upstaging her with Mom-birthday-surprises, for instance) and to her warnings. Most of the time she gets some kind of fun out of their plans, though that's usually accidental too. Even the coverup isn't something they plan--it's always the Perry-Dr. D. action that takes out the evidence of the boys' projects. (I did not notice that on my own. Wikipedia pointed it out to me.)

[Bitterswete]

I don't want to overthink this, but I think the boys aren't so much mean to Candace as oblivious to her feelings (upstaging her with Mom-birthday-surprises, for instance) and to her warnings.

Yeah, there's no bitterness or anything from the boys towards Candace. Even though she's always telling them she's going to bust them, and running off to "tell Mom" what they're doing, they never seem to hold a grudge or anything. In fact, they often end up doing nice things for her. Like how many brothers would work that hard to give their sister such an elaborate and cool birthday present?

As for Candace trying to bust the boys, I think it's as much about trying to prove to her mom, once and for all, that she's not completely insane, as getting them in trouble.

Edited by Bitterswete, Jun 11, 2008 @ 10:24 PM.

[Lizzie88]

I love that the boys don't seem to have a problem with Candace at all. It's not that they're somehow going out of their way to torment her, but it just works out that all the "evidence" gets washed away in the nick of time . It's not in their control, it just happens. I think the Mount Rushmore episode is the only time where the boys actively tried to hide what they were doing. Sucks for poor Candace, but I agree with Bitterswete that it seems to have more to do with proving to her mom that she's not a total lunatic than it has to do with the boys.

I laughed during the beach party episode at how their mom drove home early because she was worried when Candace didn't call with another crazy story.

[lrdmordain]

Perhaps one of my favorite things in regards to the whole Perry vs Dr. D sub plots, aside from how they usually end up taking out the boys big constructs, is the banter the two have going.

Dr. D - "Perry The Platapus! Your timing is impeccable, and by impeccable I mean complety peccable."

He does a lot of variations on that one one line, but it never gets old.

My favorite line of the series has to be during the tag-on credits scene for the shrinking sub episode, when Dr. D finds out he's inside a dog.

Dr D - "Now I can pee all over the tri-state area....Oh god, what am I doing with my life?"

Also, from various episodes its obvious the group Perry is working for is just out to get Dr D. as they keep coming up with less and less reasonable reasons to send Perry after Dr D. It did lead to one of my favorite exchanges though.

Dr D - "Perry The Platapus! How unexpected, and by unexpected I mean...completly unexpected. What are you doing here? I'm not being evil, this is my week off."

Anyone else have a favorite line or song?

[Bitterswete]

I love the way Dr. D says, "Perry the Platypus," whenever Perry shows up. Like that's his name. And he always calls him by the whole thing.

And I like the many variations on, "You saved us Perry the...Curse you, Perry the Platypus!"

I actually enjoy all of the recurring lines on the show. Including, "Ferb. I know what we're gonna do today," and "Where ya been, Perry."

And I know these are lines you can only get if you actually watch the show. But, when you do watch the show, they are just amusing as heck for some darned reason.

[InvaderNorbert]

I as well shall come out and admit to being a fan. I wasn't a fan of the show at first (mostly keeping away due to Ashley Tisdale), but it's been growing on me.

I also wasn't a fan of Dr. Doofenschmirtz's name, but it too has begun to grow on me. He didn't strike me as a "real" villain with lame plots and ideas but as soon as I realized to not take the show so seriously and just remind myself that he's supposed to be a funny, satrical villain, I began to enjoy the dynamics between him and Perry. You could say I got spoiled by the Venture Bros. with the dynamics of Monarch and the Guild of Calamatous Intent.

There are so many hilarious moments. Like Dr. D not recognizing Perry until he puts on his hat ("What? A platypus?" *Perry puts on hat* "Perry the Platypus!") and Perry going to the trouble of mailing himself to the "secret lair" only to realize that there was an elevator. Dr. D's "plots" are always a laugh. Covering the East Coast in alluminium foil and pulling it back with a giant magnet, "capturing" all the lawn gnomes, dumping sand on the house of a guy who bullied him, releasing "hungry magpies".

One of my favorite details was in the episode where Dr. D gathers Perry and the other secret agent animals on a talk show which turned out to be an eleborate plot to turn the agents into giant chess pieces. All of the other secret agents and their respective villains dressed exactly the same as Perry and Dr. D.

I noticed that the show was created by Dan Povenmire (who voices Dr. D) and Jeff "Swampy Marsh" (the voice of Major Monogram), and I had wondered where I saw those names in the past. They used to be major players on Rocko's Modern Life as well as early Family Guy. You could clearly see the influence: All of the wit, writing, acting, character dynamics and creativity that made Rocko so awesome can easily be seen in this show. I've even noticed a small influence of Family Guy as well: Cutaways that are funny, short, AND relevant to the plot!

[Lizzie88]

Dr D - "Perry The Platapus! How unexpected, and by unexpected I mean...completly unexpected. What are you doing here? I'm not being evil, this is my week off."

Is that the episode where the kids build a pirate ship and go to some sort of "forbidden" island where Dr. D has a secret lair? I remember Dr. D telling Perry in that episode something along the lines of "I swear, I bought this place legally! Not everything I do is evil, you know!". I loved that.

[lrdmordain]

Lizzie88 - The episode your talking about is the Badbeard the Pirate episode. I do love the whole "I bought this leagally" quote though. I don't recall exactly which episode my quote came from, but if you havent seen the Bigfoot episode there is also a great Dr D. plot where Perry busts in on him while he's completly innocently trying to meet his online girlfriend and Perry has to pretend to be his pet. There is also the one where he buys a giant magnet and it turns out he's only trying to use it to erase a bunch of needy sounding calls he made to his girlfriend.

I'd love to see more about his daughter and his ex wife. His whole backstory is funny and interesting.

[Sauvage]

Oh, I haven't seen either of those--have to check the DVR! I do like the stories with Vanessa and the ex-wife--I don't remember her name, just her assuring Vanessa that her dad isn't *evil,* they just couldn't get along! Heh!

It's funny that having Ashley Tisdale in this show can be a disadvantage, because Disney apparently thinks it's just great. My son and I were watching a bit of High School Musical:
Me: Did you know Ashley Tisdale is the voice of Candace?
Him: (darkly) You don't know how well I know that. If you watch a certain channel and its promos....

(He also doesn't get why they make such a big deal of HSM...)

[lrdmordain]

Sauvage - Since you'll be using DVR, the Bad Beard The Pirate episode is paired with It's A Mud Mud World but isn't listed in the actual episode description for whatever reason.

[KerleyQ]

It's entirely possible that my husband and I like this show more than our 5 year old son does (although it is one of his favorites). I love Dr. Doofenshmirtz. The battle between the giant evil dragon and Queen Elizabeth I robots in the new episode was hysterical. We had to rewind that part and watch it again we were laughing so hard. In general, though, I love that his plots (when he has one, even) keep getting more and more complex and overthought, and then there are his machines. And his plots are always based on some personal issue past hurt that he's trying to get over (like his not being able to grow a beard and there's a statue of Rutherford B. Hayes right outside his window, so he wants to turn it into bread so the birds will eat it).

I think my favorite Phineas and Ferb project has to be the rollercoaster. I just loved everything about that one. "You know, if that thing crashes, Candace is in charge."

One thing I'm not clear on, and I think it may just be that they have made the back story or timeline a bit fluid, is the relationship between everyone in the family. I could swear in earlier episodes, that it was stated that one of the brothers was a stepbrother. I was assuming that Ferb was the stepbrother and Phineas and Candace's mother married Ferb's father. However, in "We're Getting the Band Back Together," it made it seem like their parents met when they were young and before they had the kids. The first scenario makes sense, as Ferb and the father both talk with a British accent (and in the new episode, the family travels to England to visit his parents including a grandfather whose head is shaped just like Ferb's), while Candace, Phineas, and the mother don't. The three of them do, however, all have red hair. I'm sure I'm overthinking this, but it stood out to me when "We're Getting the Band Back Together" first aired.

[Sauvage]

in "We're Getting the Band Back Together," it made it seem like their parents met when they were young

Oh, good catch. That does seem like an inconsistency. (They're definitely a blended family, and Ferb has a different last name than the other two.) But that episode was just adorable, so I forgive Marsh and Povenmire or whoever wrote it.

his plots are always based on some personal issue past hurt that he's trying to get over

Yes, and he's so willing to tell Perry all about it!

Bad Beard The Pirate episode is paired with It's A Mud Mud World

Thanks, lrdmordain! We do have "Mud Mud," so I guess we have the other as well. I got to see the giant magnet one ("I, Brobot") and best of all, it was in the guise of bribing my daughter to get all ready for bed ("Hurry, and we can watch one short episode--I get to choose it, though!").

[lrdmordain]

Well I Brobot wasn't new, so it was odd that they paired it with A Hard Days Knight which was but either way it was a funny episode, and once again we get a funny Dr. D and Perry exchange.

::Perry removes his evil scientist disguise::

Dr D. "Doctor (evil scientist whose name I forgot) your a playtapus?

::Perry puts on his hat::

Dr D. "Perry the Playtapus!!! I'd say I knew it was you the whole time but honestly I didn't."

I love that exchange. That and the fact that Perry was willing to switch giant robots and that Dr D. pointed out the bad design of the dragon's fire breathe.

[KerleyQ]

::Perry removes his evil scientist disguise::

Dr D. "Doctor (evil scientist whose name I forgot) your a playtapus?

::Perry puts on his hat::

Dr D. "Perry the Playtapus!!! I'd say I knew it was you the whole time but honestly I didn't."

I loved the look on Perry's face when he had to put his hat on so Dr. D. would know it was him. It was a look of kind of disgusted patience, and then he put the hat on.

Loved Dr. D. asking him to switch robots "please?" And then "I didn't know she had laser eyes. Can we switch back?"

[Vixen77]

I watched I, Brobot yesterday and noticed that while Dr. D is driving to his girlfriends house to erase all the messages he's singing along to the radio, "Bow, chicka, bow wow, that's what my baby says" I can't believe I missed it the first few times. The interflow between episodes and the references to other events gets me every time.

I'd love to see more about his daughter and his ex wife. His whole backstory is funny and interesting.

The fact that both moms met in the cooking class and can trade stories about their wayward teen daughters makes me think they are going to explore this even more. Vanessa's 16 and Candace is what 14 maybe? So while its not a given then will become friends We all saw Vanessa's effect on Ferb and that could lead to good moments also.

[Bitterswete]

I don't recall exactly which episode my quote came from, but if you havent seen the Bigfoot episode there is also a great Dr D. plot where Perry busts in on him while he's completely innocently trying to meet his online girlfriend and Perry has to pretend to be his pet.

This reminds me of one of my favorite lines. When Dr. D's date seems more interested in coddling his "pet" platypus than getting romantic with him, Dr. D wanders off onto the balcony and asks, "Why do I always get the crazies?" Which, considering his wacky plots, and his reasons for them, just struck me as hilarious.

And I love the part in "We're Getting the Band Back Together," when Perry busts in only to find Dr. D setting up Vanessa's birthday party. Then when Dr. D begs for his help, I love that Perry looked disgusted the entire time, but helped anyway.

Edited by Bitterswete, Jun 16, 2008 @ 10:52 AM.

[lrdmordain]

Does anyone else get the impression that, their respective roles aside, Dr. D and Perry actually have a modest amount of respect for each if not a quasi friendship of an odd sort?

[Vixen77]

Dr. D definitely has respect for Perry, its evident in how he treats him when he's not being evil and how he pours out his random problems. Perry I think is starting to get more used to Dr D since the episode where the spy guy (who's name or agency I can't recall) said they didn't know what Dr. D was up to but he was quiet so they sent Perry on a mission.

[Bitterswete]

Does anyone else get the impression that, their respective roles aside, Dr. D and Perry actually have a modest amount of respect for each if not a quasi friendship of an odd sort?

I actually think Dr. D would be disappointed if Perry didn't show up to foil one of his schemes. And Dr. D seems to like talking to Perry, whether it's about his latest evil scheme, or some personal problem he's had.

[KerleyQ]

Does anyone else get the impression that, their respective roles aside, Dr. D and Perry actually have a modest amount of respect for each if not a quasi friendship of an odd sort?

Definitely. Have you seen the one where he briefly had another secret agent on his case, Peter the Panda? I think it was the time travel episode, if I'm not mistaken? And they each had the flashbacks to their time together (including "My Nemesis," one of my favorite P&F songs). I loved that Dr. D./Perry storyline, especially the part where Perry's staring at him accusingly while Dr. D. nervously spills out his "I wasn't looking for a new nemesis, it just sort of happened" explanation.