Phineas and Ferb: A History and Building up Hype for Its Return

Everyone, I know what we’re gonna do this summer: we’re gonna enjoy the glorious return of Phineas and Ferb.

If you grew up watching Disney Channel or its sister channel, Disney XD, from the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, you undoubtedly heard about Phineas and Ferb. Easily one of the best shows Disney has ever created, Phineas and Ferb has achieved a level of popularity that few cartoons have ever achieved. From the premise of two brothers enjoying their summer to the fullest to the iconic characters to the amazing music, Phineas and Ferb is a modern animation juggernaut. At this point, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to call it Disney’s answer to SpongeBob SquarePants in terms of popularity. Which is triply ironic, because not only did the creators work alongside the creator of SpongeBob on the same show, but one of them went on to work on SpongeBob before pitching the show to Nick.

The Origin

Like every show, the story of Phineas and Ferb begins long before it got the green light, with its creators. Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh first met working as artists on The Simpsons, and they quickly discovered that they got along great. The two would eventually leave The Simpsons to go work on the popular Nicktoon, Rocko’s Modern Life, where they continued their working bromance. Rocko would come to serve as a gathering for some of the best and brightest in the animation industry, with many going to create some of the best cartoons of the last thirty years.

However, it was here that Povenmire and Marsh would come up with the idea for their own show. Inspired by their childhood memories of living their childhood summers to the absolute fullest, the two of them started coming up with a show based on that very premise. That premise would eventually evolve into Phineas and Ferb, though the process wasn’t easy.

The pair’s initial attempts to pitch the show kept getting turned down. Nick turned it down, Disney turned it down, Cartoon Network and Fox Kids turned it down. The two would eventually go their separate ways, with Marsh going to work in London while Povenmire went on to work on Family Guy and SpongeBob. Povenmire kept pitching the show to people, though, and eventually, his persistence paid off when Disney came back and greenlit the show. The two would then reunite and get to work on a pilot, and by 2007, the pilot aired on Disney Channel. The show would officially premiere in February the next year, a month that Disney would re-brand as “Phineas and Ferb-uary” and airing a new episode every night.

Typical Phineas and Ferb Formula

The entire premise of the show is pretty formulaic and doesn’t really change much throughout its run. Two stepbrothers, Phineas and Ferb, want to enjoy their summer vacation to the fullest. Every day, they come up with some great idea and follow through on it. Meanwhile, their neurotic older sister, Candace, tries to bust them to their mom. Unbeknownst to the boys, their pet platypus, Perry, is a secret agent tasked with thawing the plans of the “evil” Dr Doofenshmirtz. The two plots eventually intersect, with either the boy’s creations indirectly helping to foil Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Doofenshmirtz’s inventions erasing all evidence of the boy’s activities, or some combination. Either way, Candace fails to bust her brothers.

The show doesn’t always follow this basic formula, with instances where the boys do get busted always getting rewritten, but for the most part, it’s largely consistent. That might sound repetitive, but the show is proof that sometimes, it’s the execution that can make all the difference. Because when the show says Phineas and Ferb are going to do it all, it means it. They live the kind of summer vacation every kid wishes they could have every day.

The pilot alone has them build the coolest rollercoaster ever, and that’s just the start. They meet aliens, invent their own extreme sports, build an entire beach in their backyard, travel to space on multiple occasions, travel through time and across dimensions…and that’s just a few of their adventures. They’re pretty much a vehicle upon which the show’s staff can create the summer they always wanted, and people of all ages love the show for it.

Hey, Where’s Perry?

At the same time, the show’s main subplots can be just as good, if not better, than whatever the boys are doing. Take Candace, for example. Despite her constant frustration at how her brothers get away with their potentially dangerous ideas, it’s clear that she cares deeply about them, and only does what she does out of concern for them. In the rare event that she does get the chance to bust them that isn’t overwritten, she will often forgo it if it means putting their safety first. On more than one occasion, she will even go along with their plans if it benefits her, especially if it means impressing her crush and eventual boyfriend, Jeremy.

Meanwhile, while the fights between Perry the Platypus and Doofenshmirtz might start off as basic good vs evil. However, it’s made apparent that there’s more to it than that. Mainly because Dr. Doofenshmirtz isn’t all that evil. He has a respectful relationship with his ex-wife, is a loving, if awkward father, to his teenage daughter, Vanessa, and genuinely considers Perry the Platypus to be his friend. Moreover, his attempts to be evil are often very minor and for very minor things. If anything, it’s a coping mechanism to help him deal with his absolutely awful childhood.

His parents never loved him, not even showing up for his birth and blatantly favoring his younger brother, Roger. His dad made him serve as a lawn gnome without moving and adopted a dog that he named “Only Son.” At one point, he was even abandoned and raised by ocelots. The fact that he went through enough to make anyone evil and still turned out so nice is a testament to how not evil he is. It’s even lampshaded in the first movie that Doofenshmirtz’s life should’ve made him way more evil.

The First Awesome Movie!

Speaking of movies, Phineas and Ferb remains one of the rare Disney Cartoons to get itself an animated movie. And while it never premiered in theaters like some others, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension is good enough for people to say it deserved this.

Premiering on August 5th, 2011 on Disney Channel, the Phineas and Ferb movie was a major high point for the series. In a major departure from the show’s formula, the two boys end up meeting and aiding Dr. Doofenshmirtz on its latest invention, allowing them to travel to an alternate universe ruled by a much more evil and competent counterpart. Things quickly unravel from there as Perry is forced to blow his cover to protect the boys, while the evil(er) Doofenshmirtz attempts to use their invention to conquer their home.

As previously stated, this movie was a major high-point for the series, and for several reasons. For the first time ever, the show had genuine stakes to it, as the cast was put in genuine danger that they rarely ever faced. More importantly, the adventure brings out new sides to the cast. Phineas is genuinely hurt that Perry’s kept his identity a secret all this time, with this being one of the rare instances he’s angry. Likewise, Perry feels genuinely sad at keeping things a secret, and for a time, the audience is left unsure if they will ever work things out. All of this leads to a pretty awesome climax where the cast uses all of the boys previous ideas to fight off the evil(er) Doofenshmirtz, all to an epic song. It did what Avengers: Endgame did eight years ahead of time.

I will be blunt: I loved this movie when it came out. It was probably the best movie based on a cartoon that I had seen since the end of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I place it up there alongside the original SpongeBob movie in terms of good it was. To this day, I still listen to the soundtrack every now and then. It’s just that good.

Amazing Music

Speaking of soundtracks, a major reason behind the show’s lasting appeal has to be what has become a staple of Povenmire and Marsh’s: the music. Almost every episode of the show has an original song and dance number, spanning across all genres of music. Some are wacky and rooted entirely in the context of whatever’s happening. Others are so good that they’re perfect for any situation where people want to have a good time. All of them, though, are absolute bangers. The fact that fans still listen to them today speaks volumes of how well-written and sung they are.

“Perry the Platypus” is pretty much Agent P’s own superhero song talking about how cool he is. And it’s not wrong! That little mammal is one of the coolest characters in Disney’s arsenal.

“Backyard Beach,” is short, sweet, and does a great job of explaining the entire premise of the show in less than a minute.

And the best song in the entire series, “Gitchee Gitchee Goo,” is so popular, it got an extended version not originally seen in the show.

Initial Retirement and Continued Success

All good things must come to an end, though. And on June 12th, 2015, Phineas and Ferb aired what was supposed to be its series finale, the appropriately titled “Last Day of Summer.” As the kids enjoy the last day of summer vacation, Candace uses Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s newest invention (she’s friend with Vanessa) to redo the day over and over so she can bust her brothers. But it almost destroys reality. Thankfully, both groups are able to pull together and stop things before it’s too late, with Doofenshmirtz deciding to turn over a new leaf, to boot. We get one last musical number, and it looks like we say goodbye to the cast as summer comes to an end…

Just kidding!

Having seen just how popular Povenmire and Marsh’s creation is, Disney wasn’t going to let Phineas and Ferb go. Within months of the finale, we got a spin-off focusing on the now-reformed Dr. D and Perry teaming up to stop a new villain. Before the finale had even aired, the show got an epilogue taking place ten years in the future as the boys are about to go to college. And the events of the series were occasionally referenced in Povenmire and Marsh’s next show, Milo Murphy’s Law, which took place in the same area. All of this culminated in the two shows enjoying a crossover, where it’s revealed that Doofenshmirtz is destined to invent time travel eventually. Sadly, his lab gets destroyed in the process, forcing him to move in with Milo’s family and becoming a regular on the show.

Even after that show came to an end, though Phineas and Ferb remained as popular as ever, with the cast making regular appearances at Disney theme parks. They also started making appearances in the Disney Chibi shorts, but it wasn’t until 2020 that fans got new Phineas and Ferb for the first time in years in the form of another movie. Titled Candace Against the Universe and airing on Disney+, the film sees Candace abducted by aliens to use as a power source for a power-mad dictator. Needless to say, it performed great on the streaming service, and proved that the show was as popular as ever. And by 2023, Povenmire and Marsh announced that it was greenlit for a revival series, simultaneously airing on Disney Channel before releasing on Disney+ the next day.

And now, that time has come! The question is, what will happen?

What Will Happen?

Disney has already released the first nine minutes of the returning episode, and it manages to reveal a few key details. Firstly, it confirms that this new season takes place at the start of the boys next summer, meaning that they’ve got another 104 days to do amazing stuff. Candace will once again be attempting to bust her brothers, which is no surprise. But the biggest surprise, though, is the reveal that Doofenshmirtz has returned to villainy.

This last part has left fans wondering is happening. Why is Doof going back to being bad after realizing how bad he is at being bad? The preview doesn’t make too much clear, but if this takes place after Milo Murphy’s Law, it’s likely he’s gotten bored and restless from having nothing to do. So for old time’s sake, he decides to go back to being evil, if only to get Perry’s attention. However, this could have disastrous results, as during their renewed bout, Doofenshmirtz’s newest invention misfires and hits Phineas, Ferb and Candace’s mom, seemingly vaporizing her!!

Obviously, Mrs. Flynn-Fletcher isn’t dead, as this is a Disney show, but you can tell that this experience is going to get to the kids. Sadly, we will have to wait until we see the full episode to learn how they fix this, as that is where we are left at.

And there you have it, folks. Everything that you need to remember to get ready for the grand return of Phineas and Ferb. While some might see the revival as a cheap attempt to profit off nostalgia, others see it as a testament to the show’s staying power. People love Phineas and Ferb, and are willing to have more of it. I may have lost interest in the show near the end, but I still look back on watching it with much fondness.

With summer already here, the timing for the show’s return is perfect, as kids will be out for the season and need something to watch. I can expect the show to become one of the big things to watch on Disney+ for the summer, and plenty of people are going to be talking about it on social media. But these are just my thoughts. Are you guys excited for the return of the daring duo? Let us know!