Posted on Monday, 8th December 2008 by astronomius
Disney Channel cartoon character Phineas Flynn once told his stepbrother Ferb Fletcher they needed “a blow torch and some peanut butter” to build their dream rollercoaster, but animators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh will tell you it took 16 years to put their own dream on the small screen.
Dan and Jeff first met working on “The Simpsons” for FOX as they sat across from each other, laughing at the same jokes, but later worked together as a writing team on “Rocko’s Modern Life” for Nickelodeon.
Povenmire explains how he came up with the idea for the show. “I was in one of those restaurants that has cans full of crayons and butcher paper on the tables. I was doodling and drew this kid with a triangular head. I just loved him. I tore it off, folded it up and put it in my pocket. And when I got home I drew Ferb and Perry pretty much the same way. I [later] brought them to work and said, ‘This is the show,’ and Swampy said, ‘Ooooh yes!’ and we came up with ideas of how they were all interrelated.”
“We wanted a show with multiple story lines, a little bit like ‘The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show’,” adds Marsh. “We wanted to have different adventures happening at the same time.”
Disney Channel first turned the idea down because they were producing shows with girls in lead roles, and other networks thought the series was “too complex” for kids, but Disney Channel finally picked the show up in 2007 because they wanted more shows with boys in lead roles. “As soon as they took the pilot and showed it to kids, it tested through the roof,” explains Povenmire.
When Povenmire finally sold the idea to Disney Channel his presentation was made up of storyboards, but he did present a short film for Disney executives overseas with Dan doing all the voices himself. Marsh recalls, though, that the Disney executives did not want Dan doing the voice of Isabella.
Dan does do the voice for Dr. Doofenshmirtz on “Phineas and Ferb”, however, and Jeff does the voice for Major Monogram as well.
Disney Channel stars Ashley Tisdale (Candace), Carolyn Rhea (Mrs. Flynn), Alyson Stoner (Isabella) and Mitchel Musso (Jeremy) also star on the show, and notable actors Barry Bostwick (Grandpa Flynn) and Malcolm McDowell (Grandpa Fletcher) have recurring guest roles. Staff writer Bobby Gaylor does the voice of Buford the neighborhood bully.
“Phineas and Ferb” (”Rollercoaster”) first premiered on Disney Channel on August 17, 2007, right after the premiere of “High School Musical 2″, as it became the highest-rated and most-watched animated comedy in Cable network history.
The complexity of the show’s exciting-yet-ironic 4-part formula revolves around 1) the boys innocently building and enjoying the use of some grandiose, cool contrivance, 2) their sister Candace trying and failing to expose the boys’ schemes to their parents, 3) their pet Perry living a secret life as a secret agent foiling the evil schemes of Dr. Doofenshmirtz and 4) the accidental destruction or disappearance of whatever Phineas and Ferb built before their parents catch on.
Povenmire and Marsh, who endeavor to be as funny as possible, both say they love going to work where they basically “just try to make each other laugh.”
The networks were concerned early on that they “don’t know if kids are really getting the jokes.” “We figure if we can make ourselves laugh, we can make both the adults and kids laugh,” Povenmire continues.
“This is what I want my kids to watch. We’ve always been firm believers that you shouldn’t talk down to kids and that’s part of the trouble we had selling this show.”
Marsh says, “If there is something that doesn’t make sense to the audience, it stimulates them to figure out what a word means or what a reference is about.”
Actor Vincent Martella, who plays Phineas on the show (seated next to Ashley Tisdale, at left), reflects, “You don’t want a show that just the kids are going to be watching 24-7 and annoy the heck out of the parents. You want the parents to say, ‘I like watching this too.’ If you can get my dad to laugh, congratulations, because you’ve done something amazing. But this show makes him laugh. It makes my mom laugh. It’s got jokes in there that I don’t understand but they do.”
Another reason the show is considered family-friendly is that most of the characters were designed to be genuinely innocent and free of malicious intent.
“I think it’s great that the characters are cool, edgy and clever without the humor being mean-spirited,” gushes Marsh. “It was important to us that they never did anything with any animosity. They never try to get their sister in trouble or outsmart their mother and get away with it.”
“One of the easiest ways of writing comedy is to go to the ‘mean place’, especially with kids,” explains Povenmire. “We decided to make them complete innocents, and it was very hard at first for the writing staff to get the gist of that.”
“We had to convince them that you can be edgy without being mean. And you can. It’s just harder,” adds Marsh. “Once they got used to it, we got all sorts of great humor out of Phineas and Ferb without the meanness.”
Actress Ashley Tisdale (Candace) thinks Candace is “a totally average teenager”, but Ashley’s fine attention to detail during a video interview she did made it seem that Candace’s underlying motivation really has more to do with the pressures of becoming a young woman than being mean to her brothers.
Creator Dan Povenmire explains that “Candace does get frustrated. She thinks it’s not fair — that if she were doing the things they’re doing, she’d get in trouble. It’s not, “I’m going to get those guys and ruin their lives.”
Everyone who spoke about their work on the series seem like they really enjoy what they’re doing and are fans of the show themselves.
Disney Channel President of Entertainment Gary Marsh (the other Marsh) says “We’re thrilled with Phineas and Ferb, critically and creatively, and what’s especially gratifying is that kids and parents alike are rejoicing in its brilliant slapstick comedy and smart, relatable storytelling. The series fully celebrates the art form of animation, and Dan and Swampy have created pure, honest to goodness playfulness in every episode.”
The first season of “Phineas and Ferb” has already aired 44 episodes, and the crew is diligently working to produce another 16 for the second season. Disney announced this past July they ordered 13 additional episodes to be made, another good sign the show is successful.
“Phineas and Ferb” was twice Emmy-nominated for “Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music” and “Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics (’ I Ain’t Got Rhythm’) this past September.
Both Povenmire and Marsh used to jam in their own respective bands, and they and their staff write a new song for every episode on Friday. When they are done writing, they sing the song into composer Danny Jacob’s answering machine and the songs are ready to air by Monday.
“We could write a song about any subject in the world in one hour,” Povenmire says.
- - - - -
“Phineas and Ferb” has good reviews, high ratings and a busy, creative staff making more good stuff for Disney and the fans; not bad for two guys who “just try to make each other laugh”, riding their own rollercoaster of success.
Posted in Disney Music, Disney Shows, Disney Stars | Comments (0)
There’s a new kid in town… again. Disney Channel actress Demi Lovato plays Sonny Monroe, a talented, Midwestern teen who wins a nationwide talent search and is sent to Hollywood to perform with established TV teens in “Sonny with a Chance”, DC’s newest, sitcom set to premiere in late February.
Taylor Swift is a super-talented, award-winning Country Pop musician who writes most of her own material, and her unique musical blends have crossed over capturing a wide range of different audiences.
Adrienne Bailon, Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan have an “amazing” friendship offscreen, and all three are living the Cheetah dream together.
