Sunday 30 January 2011

Phineas and Ferb

Cartoons are the best thing that happened to mankind. After music, of course.
"Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence"
Phineas and Ferb is the Tom and Jerry of my adulthood and I have every reason to believe it might soon be the Tom and Jerry of the new generation. I haven't seen a funnier and wittier animated series in recent times. Even the new Tom and Jerry series aren't as much fun. Quite frankly, I don't even like the new Tom and Jerry series. They've turned too violent for my taste. And that is true for most cartoons on TV today. Well, at least, the shows on the cartoon channels in India viz., Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Animax and Hungama. Pogo and Disney/Disney XD are probably the only channels that have good, healthy, fun and mentally stimulating shows for kids. I personally am of the opinion that there is a limit to schadenfreude even when it is a cartoon.

And that is why Phineas and Ferb is such a great show. There are lot of good things about the show, apart from the neat flash animation (If I'm not wrong I remember reading about the show winning an award for the best flash animation) and great comic timing. You see, Phineas and Ferb are step-brothers and they make a great team. The show takes place during their summer vacation and the duo wants to spend their vacation productively. Nothing is impossible, but nothing happens by magic either. And everything they do is for the benefit (or fun) of not just themselves but everybody in the neighbourhood. They don't cause harm to anyone, neither does Candace, nor Doofenschmirtz (thanks to Agent P aka Perry The Platypus). The dialogues are clever and witty. No lowbrow humour. It has also got catchy musical numbers, my favourite being Gitchee Gitchee Goo and Backyard Beach. So you see, it's the perfect show.
Perry The Platypus fights Doofenschmirtz, who wants to destroy the entire Tri-State area
Heinz Doofenschmirtz is my favourite character. His antics are so endearing, not to mention his accent (voiced by one of the creators, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh Dan Povenmire). Wait. I think I like Candace more. Especially that wicked laugh of hers when she thinks her brothers (Phineas and Ferb) are "busted" for sure. Or the cute little noise that Perry The Platypus makes. And the way Isabella says, "Hey Phineas, Whatcha doooin?". Ah well I can't decide who it is. The entire show is just so wonderful. 

So, go on then. If you aren't a fan of the series yet, watch the show and join the club.

2 comments:

Dantible said...

Glad you're liking the show. Yes, you did read somewhere that we won an award for Flash animation, it was a Puncinella award given out in Italy, but strangely we do not use Flash on the show (that was a real head-scratcher for us). The only other thing I'd like to correct is that Swampy does not voice Doofenshmirtz, he does Major Monogram (the guy who gives Perry his missions).

Anyway, thanks for the good press, and thanks for really getting the show (aside from the whole Swampy/ Doof thing). It was a conscious choice for us to do a show that was not mean-spirited, but still try to make it funny, and it's nice for us to see people appreciating that decision.

Dan Povenmire
co-creator of Phineas and Ferb
(and the voice of Doofenshmirtz)

Manasa said...

@Dan What an overwhelming feeling to see a comment from the creator himself! Thanks for the correction. I probably would've lived with the wrong information otherwise. I honestly wish all the very best for the show.

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