4 weeks ago
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NEW YORK (AP):
The beloved cartoon duo Phineas and Ferb are returning for new episodes this summer after a decade away and pretty much nothing has changed. Except maybe one thing.
“The more observant of you will notice Phineas’ shirt has one extra stripe,” says co-creator Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh. Dan Povenmire, Marsh’s creative partner, adds: “He hasn’t actually gotten any taller, but we’re giving him the illusion of getting taller.”
Aside from an extra stripe on Phineas’s shirt, Phineas and Ferb returns with all the beloved Gen Z characters – Perry the Platypus, Dr Doofenshmirtz, Candace, and Buford.
“We were a little worried at first, like are we going to get in the writer’ room and just get a lot ‘No, did that.’ ‘Did that.’ ‘Did that,’” says Povenmire. “But it hasn’t been like that at all. It’s been great, fresh, new stories with these characters that we’re just thrilled with.”
‘It’s like old times’
The series picks up with Phineas and Ferb back on summer break, Doofenshmirtz declaring he’s “Evil Again,” and Candace still determined to bust her brothers.
“Isn’t it great? It’s like old times,” says Doofenshmirtz.
PREMIÈRE DATE
The first two episodes of the 40 ordered air June 5 on Disney Channel and Disney XD, while the first full batch of 10 episodes will première on Disney+ starting June 6.
The decision to restart the series was a no-brainer. According to Disney internal streaming data, the show has been streamed some 650 million hours on Disney+ globally to date. According to Nielsen, Phineas and Ferb is among the top 10 most-watched animated kids series on streaming platforms despite not offering new episodes in 10 years.
The show, which ran from 2007 to 2015, follows stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb as they fight boredom by transforming their backyard into ski resorts, beaches, and monster truck rallies.
Unbeknownst to them, their pet platypus Perry is a secret agent, code-named P, who suits up to stop Doofenshmirtz’s schemes.
The show is pitched to both kids and adults, mixing references to Nietzsche and Girl Scouts. Each episode also includes an original – often very catchy – song, written by Povenmire and Marsh. ( Squirrels In My Pants is a proven winner.)“It’s something that the whole family can enjoy together,” says Marsh. “We made a commitment never to cut anything just because somebody said it was too smart. We just believed kids are smarter than you think.”
The idiosyncratic show had a hard birth, created in 1993 but not airing until 2007.
Povenmire and Marsh, both veterans of shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy, hit it off and stuck with their vision.
“Whenever anybody would ask us to pitch them something, we would always dust this off and say, ‘Well, here’s the show we really want.’ And most of the time people were just like, ‘I think it’s too complicated,’” says Povenmire.
The creators insisted on using no double entendres, took out mean humour and refused to make the moms and dads idiots. Even the so-called villains – Candace and Doofenshmirtz – are good, deep down.
“If you’re trying to get a laugh, shocking somebody or putting somebody down are the two easiest, cheapest laughs to get,” says Povenmire. “We’d made this decision to make it nicer than the shows that we had seen on the air at the time.”
English (US) ·