Eighteen years ago, Phineas and Ferb graced our screens for the first time and built the “coolest coaster ever.” Isabella asked, “Whatcha doin’?” for the first time, and Phineas asked, “Hey, where’s Perry?” for the first time. And Candace tried to bust her brothers for the first time.
They spent eight years singing songs, building inventions, and making the best of summer. The boys and their friends traveled the world, went back in time and into the future, went to numerous new planets, and traveled to alternate dimensions. These kids did everything you could ever think of and more (sometimes, even they couldn’t think of new things to do, like when they built a rollercoaster again, just to sing more songs (see S2:E39 “Rollercoaster: The Musical!”)).
Phineas and Ferb premiered with a special preview in 2007, with the full series launching in 2008 — one early episode even aired after the premiere of High School Musical 2 (2007). Phineas and Ferb featured iconic teen actors; Vincent Martella voiced Phineas and Thomas Brodie-Sangster voiced Ferb; Ashley Tisdale played Phineas’ older sister, Candace, at the same time as she played Maddie on Suite LIfe of Zack and Cody and Sharpay in the High School Musical series; Alyson Stoner played Isabella Garcia-Shapiro, the Fireside scout and cute girl-next-door with an unrequited crush on Phineas; Mitchel Musso played Jeremy, Candace’s crush and eventual boyfriend.
In addition to the four seasons of regular episodes, the team behind the crazy inventions created a feature-length movie (Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension (2011)) and multiple hour-long specials, including a Marvel special and a Star Wars special.
In 2015, the series announced the end of its run. While there are many rumors out there as to why the show ended after four seasons, Dan Povenmire, co-creator (and voice of Dr. Doofenshmirtz), shared that they wanted to end on a high note.
“We didn’t want our show to be one of those that wore out its welcome. We really wanted to go out strong. Shut down production while people were still fond of the show and its characters,” Povenmire told HuffPost in 2015.
Throughout the pandemic, Povenmire—and eventually Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, the other co-creator (and voice of Major Monogram)—shared widely on social media about their lives, creative processes, and the creation of Phineas and Ferb. They also shared about Milo Murphy’s Law, the show they created after Phineas and Ferb. During that time, Disney, Marsh, and Povenmire put out their second movie, Candace Against the Universe (2020). But fans constantly beg the duo for more of the zany, adventurous engineer brothers.
Finally, in January 2023, Disney announced the show’s renewal with forty new episodes coming soon. Almost everything remains the same, with two exceptions: Marsh and Povenmire added a fourth orange stripe to Phineas’s classic shirt, and David Errigo Jr. will play Ferb, just as he did in Candace Against the Universe. Beyond that, the cast will stay the same.
Before Phineas and Ferb make their return, you might be in the mood to rewatch some episodes, along with everyone else rewatching it, which is quite a lot of people, as the series is in the top ten of most-watched animated shows, despite not having new episodes in ten years. Just N Life has gathered some iconic episodes for you to revisit before the first episodes air on June 5.
“Rollercoaster/Candace Loses Her Head” (S1: E1)
In the iconic first episode, Phineas and Ferb build a roller coaster for their friends and all of the neighborhood kids. It’s what introduced us to their world for the first time, and it’s worth rewatching. The team returns to the rollercoaster multiple times, including the aforementioned “Rollercoaster: The Musical!” episode and “Quantum Boogaloo” (S2:E12).
This episode is available for streaming on Disney+ or here on YouTube.
“Are You My Mummy/Flop Starz” (S1:E4)
The first half of the episode features Phineas and Ferb finding a mummy (as featured in the theme song). Though that first half is great, we’re focusing on “Flop Starz” right now. This is the episode where Phineas and the Ferb-Tones make a one-hit wonder, following their mom’s instructions. Turns out, back in her day, she was a one-hit wonder, Lindana! Anyway, this episode gives us the hit song, “Gitchee Gitchee Goo.”
This episode is available for streaming on Disney+ or here on YouTube.
“Dude We’re Getting the Band Back Together” (S1:E14)
This episode has been made iconic via TikTok sounds, but it’s definitely worth a rewatch every once in a while. The kids decide to get their parents’ favorite band, Love Händel, back together. Their hijinks include tracking down the band, building a concert venue in their backyard, and bringing us absolutely iconic songs.
This episode is available for streaming on Disney+ or here on YouTube.
“The Chronicles of Meap” (S2:E7) and “Meapless in Seattle” (S3:E27)
The citizens of Danville have some running bits, including this one: Meap, the alien, becomes friends with Phineas and Ferb, and they help the alien back to his planet. He then returns for a sequel episode. “The Chronicles of Meap” also introduces another running bit: Balloony, the balloon that Doofenshmirtz’s kid, who floated away one day, became.
These episodes are available for streaming on Disney+.
“Bubble Boys/Isabella and the Temple of Sap” (S2:E16)
While many episodes follow a formula for the story, sometimes, the creators decide to change things up a little bit. This episode does that: The first half of the episode follows the boys’ adventure as it normally does. They build a machine that makes giant bubbles, and they get to float around the city like that. The second half of the episode explores the story from Isabella’s perspective and what she did all day.
This episode is available for streaming on Disney+ and it’s available for streaming on YouTube here.
“Delivery of Destiny/Let’s Bounce” (S3:E23)
Every time Phineas and Ferb get a delivery of tools or materials, or supplies, the delivery man says, “Aren’t you a little young to be (insert crazy delivery item here)?” Phineas responds, “Yes, yes, we are,” and goes about his day. Well, this episode explores what the deliveryman’s day is like.
This episode is available for streaming on Disney+.
“Act Your Age” (S4:E34)
The gang grows up: What happens when summer ends and they’re all going off to college? That’s what this episode explores.
This episode is available for streaming on Disney+.
And finally, the Preview for Season 5 of Phineas and Ferb
Things are crazy and this quick preview leaves us on a cliffhanger. But you don’t have to wait long! Phineas and Ferb season 5 airs June 5 on Disney Channel, in a two-episode premiere, and will appear on Disney+ the next day.
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