Phineas y Ferb

I started watching this recently with the kids, and I think I get more out of it than they do. The visual ref to North by Northwest in "Bigfoot", Doofenschmirtz' awkward introduction of his new nemesis to Perry the Platipus, all the musical numbers (watchable on You Tube)...I no longer try to explain to my kids why it's funnier to me than it is to them. That said, they do enjoy it. Although I think they are humoring me.

Not to mention the vocal casting. Yes, it's THAT Richard O'Brien as Dad, with guest shots by Barry "Brad" Bostwick.

Tisdale who?

Phineas and Ferb has to be the smartest and most adult show ever created for an under-12 audience. Seriously, what other show features songs that rhyme 'didactic' with 'anti-climactic', uses the Freudian model for the human mind as a key story device, tosses in movie references, artistic motifs and literary allusions obscure enough to challenge a film scholar, sneaks in a psychedelic drug trip or two thanks to some toxic moss, and then cuts away to its secondary plot arc in a secret world where everybody's pet is a government crime fighter? Did I mention that every song cleverly parodies a different genre, style, period or artist, or that each secondary crime fighting plot intrudes momentarily on the main story line at just the right spot in each episode to wreak the most havoc? Though the show's target audience likely catches little of this, they no doubt appreciate the creative richness that informs it all. And most importantly, the show's popularity proves that they find it all FUN.

Instead of dumbing down recycled versions of older entertainment forms, such as the sitcom, to make it 'age-appropriate' for pre-teens, the creative team behind P&F have created a true original, loaded with enough wit and charm to satisfy Noel Coward, and enough science fiction outrageousness to satisfy a Doctor Who fan. Every show carries the same upbeat message to seize every opportunity for adventure, because it might not come again, while never condescending to its viewers or getting preachy.

There is a lot of truly awful kids' programming out there. It's great to see something which genuinely transcends the perceived boundaries of what a kids' show should be and goes out and demonstrates what it CAN be.

When I first heard about this series, I thought that it was going to be pretty bad. However, it ended being very good! I liked it a lot, it is possible the best animated series made by Disney since "Gargoyles". Created by Dan Povermire and Jeffrey Marsh (Who also give their voices to some of the characters) this show is funny, clever and original. At first, it seems very predictable (Almost all the episodes follow a very similar structure) However, the writers manage to keep this show fresh with a witty dialogue and a very interesting character development, not to mention the catchy songs, one of the best parts of it.

My favorite episode is "Dude, We're getting the Band Back Together" with Steve Zahn and Carlos Alazraqui as special guest stars. And my favorite character is Perry the Platypus.

This show is original, has good songs, is funny and is memorable. Ferb is literally a god.

Exst many reasons to say that Phineas and Ferb is a great TV show, but only need two:

1- It isn't repetitive because there's no build up:

This show is not story driven, it's comedy driven. Because of that, it doesn't get repetitive because the focus is always the characters and the story takes a backseat. We don't go into an episode to see if Candace will succeed, we go to see how she will fail. We know that Perry's going to defeat Doofenshmirtz, so we want to see what's his new scheme is and how Perry's going to defeat him. It doesn't create expectations, so it doesn't bore us. A good example is the Roadrunner. We know that the Coyote will fail, but we still enjoy it immensely. We never expect the Coyote to win because we don't expect him to. Same with Phineas and Ferb, we know that Candace's going to fail, so we don't expect her to win. This, in turn, makes the show anything but repetitive, since the focus is always the intricate comedy.

2- Good until the end:

Different from what a lot of people think, the quality the show only decreased slightly. When you think about it, no other cartoon has managed to stay so tight and consistent after seven years in the air. The comedy was still great, and even when they were going trough a lack of ideas, they refused to give up, which gave us great episodes even towards the very end. The decrease in quality was natural and inevitable, and it passed trough the harder phases a lot better than others shows in their seasonal rots. Heck, the two last episodes are considered one of the best of the entire show. This show avoided seasonal rot entirely.

So there it is. That's why we love Phineas and Ferb so much. It's a very consistent show that definitively left it's mark in the world of animation. I wouldn't be surprised if this show gets remembered as a classic in the near future. This a AWESOME SHOW!!! LONG LIVE TO PHINEAS AND FERB!!