I usually talk about past cartoons, but I would like to talk about a more recent cartoon that I think you know and love such as...
Phineas and Ferb This Disney Channel cartoon is almost like 2 subjects "alternating" in one show. Every episode begins with fast-talking Phineas and mostly quiet Ferb wondering what to do before school starts again in a few weeks, while Mom runs on errands or goes to a mall, leaving her teenage daughter Candace in charge of the two boys. While on the other side, when Phineas says, "Where's Perry?", Perry the Platypus (the boys' pet) turns into an undercover agent and goes into an object to teleport to an HQ where he is assigned by his boss to go to action and foil the diabolical plans of the wacky and evil Dr. Doofensmirtz. Phineas and Ferb do wacky things to entertain themselves; build a roller coaster, build a snow mountain, or play pirates with their friends, which turns out to be a huge adventure, Perry faces the perils as he is about to be overcome by one of Doofensmirtz's schemes, all this to torture poor Candace, for when she tries to get her mother to see the trouble the boys are making, and her mother finally arrives, there is no trouble, or Candace herself faces huge dangers, usually caused by the 2 boys and their friends that freak her out, get her dirty, and leave her hair in a mess. Whichever side is better, the playtime or the action, Phineas and Ferb is a cartoon no fan of summer can resist.
It took me several viewings of the show to figure out that the two boys were brothers. Granted, I always tuned in by accident and never at the beginning of the show, but I thought they were friends of something.
Awesome show! Lots of inside jokes & good background music. The writing is very clever. One of our sayings around the house is from Isabella - "Whatcha doin'?" <br>
"Phineas - you ruin everything!"
(This post was edited by randa97 on Nov 10, 2008, 5:51 PM)
"... when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit." "Because in this business reality can be *pretty* hard to come by." - the Tick
I've become a big fan of P&F. I've even contributied to their wiki under the name of Dr.coconut.
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"... when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit." "Because in this business reality can be *pretty* hard to come by." - the Tick
Yeah, i LOVE this show as well. REALLY funny and always entertaining. I usually complain that the newer cartoons aren't nearly as good as the ones from the 80's but Phineas and Ferb is really, really good!!
According to my souces, there are a bleneded family. Phineas & Candice are mom's bio. children while Ferb is dad's. Think Brady Bunch redux. I can understand the confusion, but it makes me wonder what happened to the other parents?
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"... when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit." "Because in this business reality can be *pretty* hard to come by." - the Tick
A while back I was flipping through channels and landed on Fox Business News and they had an interview with the makers of P&F, Dan & Swampy. It took them 15 years(!) to pitch this show. They also mentioned that they just signed a 4 year contract (!!)
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"... when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit." "Because in this business reality can be *pretty* hard to come by." - the Tick
Not a terrible show by any stretch, but honestly, I like the idea behind the show more than the show itself.
I love P&F's premise: 2 quirky fun-loving kids hatch crazy and outlandish stunts and past times during their perpetual summer vacation, and I also like how the Flynn-Fletchers are a blended family without that fact being the primary focus of the show--that way they effectively avoid any sort of after-school special type drama and angst. Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh have said that the fates or whereabouts of Linda and Lawrence's previous spouses (i.e., Phineas and Candace's biological father and Ferb's biological mother) will never be divulged or depicted on the show because "they're not important to the kids' lives", and I agree with their decision. For anyone who wants to see Phineas and Candace all angtsy about their dad or Ferb being all sad about his mom, there's always fan fiction.
But the characters themselves and the stories are just "eh" to me. They tend to repeat the same basic story structure over and over, plus, the titular kids rarely fail, struggle, screw up or even disagree, which makes them hard to route for. Also, I'm probably just being gender-biased, but I think one reason why I can't really get into Phineas and Ferb themselves is because they're both boys. I have nothing against boy protagonists, but there are just so many other kids' shows starring boys that it gets a little tedious; maybe if 1 of the step kids was a girl I might be able to glom onto the title duo more.
The show also tends to overdo several of its' shticks and tropes; Candace is seriously overused, and Perry, while occasionally entertaining, gets a little old since he's on every week doing the same thing, plus Dr. Doofershmirtz (sp?) really brings Perry's shtick down for me; I'd enjoy the whole 'Agent P' thing a lot more if they pulled it out every once in a while instead of each and every episode, and I really wish Perry would face off against some different foes once in a while.
I also can't get interested in half of the cast: Candace, Jeremy, Isabella, the Fireside Girls, Vanessa, Jeremy's sister, Buford, Bajeet, etc., just don't do anything for me. I have to wonder if the show even needs those characters.
If Phineas & Ferb had a slightly altered structure, did away with many of its' extraneous characters and had a little more variety in the stories (not to mention less singing), I'd probably be able to get into it a little more, but as it stands, I get a mild chuckle out of it from time to time, but I can't really watch it for extended periods.
and Perry, while occasionally entertaining, gets a little old since he's on every week doing the same thing, plus Dr. Doofershmirtz (sp?) really brings Perry's shtick down for me; I'd enjoy the whole 'Agent P' thing a lot more if they pulled it out every once in a while instead of each and every episode, and I really wish Perry would face off against some different foes once in a while.
The thing about Perry always fighting Dr. Doofenshmirtz is that he's actually assigned to him. I could be wrong but I have a theory that all the animal agents are assigned to a particular villain in Danville. For example, Pinky the chihuahua--Isabella's pet has been revealed to fight Dr. Poofenplotz. In "Oh There You Are, Perry" Perry is actually reassigned to another family and another villain because Doof has been labeled a lower threat.
However, there is an outstanding episode called "No More Bunny Business" in which Perry must put his Doof duties on hold and battle a rogue agent--who happens to be a bunny named Denis. Denis is extremely cunning and his skills match those of Perry. However, he does have a weakness for carrots.
Truth be told, to me, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is the best part of the show. You never know what the heck he's going to do next. He's a bizarre, pathetic character and that's what makes him so great.
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"Homer,we just brought Flanders back from the dead. Did you use the notebook to make a flock of penguins peck him to death?" Marge-"Murder He Wrote"-a Simpsons Comic story.
it's my favorite show. The story, the music, the characters... they all attracts me. Sometimes, i sing the song 'gitchee gitchee goo'. Iam looking forward to see what they will do next
(This post was edited by janesi87 on Aug 28, 2012, 12:39 AM)
"... when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh, oooh, the sky is the limit." 
