Opinion | Phineas and Ferb really did it all

“Phineas and Ferb” was one of my favorite shows growing up. Recently, I got a chance to revisit it, and let me tell you, that show is brilliant. Photo collage by ANGELINA HICKS, editor-in-chief

There’s 104 days of summer vacation. ‘Til school comes along just to end it…

If you tell me you read those words without singing the song in your head, there's like a 90% chance I won’t believe you. 

Emilia Cuevas Diaz, opinions editor.

“Phineas and Ferb” was THE show of my childhood. I have so many memories of coming home from school and turning on the TV to watch that show. I watched it so much that it came to a point where I could tell which episode was on just from the first two lines that were spoken. My parents were so tired of the show that they would walk into a different room whenever I was watching it. 

As with other childhood things, I eventually grew out of my obsession with “Phineas and Ferb.” Even when new episodes came out I felt like I knew everything that was going to happen due to the repeating formula each episode followed, so I moved on to different shows and “Phineas and Ferb” became a fond memory of my childhood.

That is until my roommate told me she had never watched the show. The moment she told me that, I knew we needed to have a “Phineas and Ferb” movie night. So we made some popcorn, set up the TV in the living room and watched a marathon of Phineas and Ferb episodes.

And why is the show better now than what I remember?

“Phineas and Ferb” doesn’t only hold up — it gets better as you grow up. All I remembered from the show was the repeating nature of the episodes and the fun characters. What I didn’t remember, however, was the fourth wall breaks and incredibly relatable jokes that flew over my head when I was a kid.

“Phineas and Ferb” is a show that I genuinely believe everyone should rewatch at least once when they are older. 

Ever since its inception, the creators of the show Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh fought against executives every step of the way to create a show that was not dumbed down for the kids it was aimed at. A lot of networks didn’t pick up the show because they thought it was too complicated for children to understand, but Povenmire and Marsh gave kids more credit than that, while also acknowledging that they had to give the adults in the audience something they could also enjoy. 

The show embraces its formulaic nature and rather than trying to surprise the audience by switching things up, it focuses on making the details and jokes of each adventure memorable. Phineas and Ferb embrace creativity and take it to the extreme, making their wildest dreams come true on a daily basis. 

Similarly, you never know what to expect from Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz’s infamous innators. Will he be trying to mind control the whole tri state area or just turn a statue into bread because it blocks his view?

And because the formula is so easy to follow, the audience picks up the running gags relatively fast — Doofenshmirtz not being able to differentiate between Perry the Platypus with and without a hat will forever be one of my favorite things.

And as an added bonus, all the characters actually like each other. You have the parents who love and accept each other's quirks, Phineas and Ferb who have an unbreakable bond, the ever loyal Isabella with her girl scout troop, Baljeet and Buford with their unique friendship and so on. 

Even characters that are in direct opposition have a rather deep personal bond. 

As much as Candace wants to bust her brothers for all the crazy things they get up to, she has a lot of love for her younger siblings and wants to protect them when they are in harm's way. There’s also the self appointed villain Doofenshmirtz and his assigned nemesis Perry aka Agent P. Those two have fights on a regular basis, but they both have a healthy respect for each other and seem at times more like friends than nemesis, even going as far as helping each other on occasion. 

In any other show a character with the amount of sad backstories and trauma that Doofenshmirtz has would be a terrible human being, but Doofenzschmirtz is never truly perceived as evil. Most of his villain plots are to stop mild annoyances, like when he wanted to flood the Tri-State Area because he found a fly on his soup (it was actually a raisin). 

And for someone who was so neglected as a child that his parents didn’t even bother to show up for his birth, Doofenshmirtz proves to be a kind, caring father to his own daughter rather than continuing the cycle of trauma.

This show juggles a lot of good characters, crazy ideas and a lot of fourth wall breaks while still managing to find enough time for heartfelt emotional scenes. All in 11-minute episodes. 

I am unapologetically a huge fan of “Phineas and Ferb.” If you ever have 10 minutes of free time, put on an episode. You will not regret it.