I know you have all read my statements before that I believe that Disney’s Phineas and Ferb is the best American animated show out there right now. The uniqueness of the series is something that is really only found once a generation. Back in the 1980s, we had The Transformers. In the 1990s, there was The Simpsons and South Park. In the first decade of the new millennium, we witnessed Family Guy and Kim Possible. Now, in the early years of the second decade on the 21st century, we have Phineas and Ferb. But what is it exactly that makes Phineas and Ferb so exciting and fun to watch? I will attempt to answer that for you with these five points that I feel really sum up what makes this show so incredible. To be honest, there are actually way more reasons to like Phineas and Ferb animated series found on the Disney Channel, but for time and my sanity’s sake, I will limit it to just five for this article. Hopefully, after you read this article, and if you are not a fan already, you will check out the show for yourself and become as enamored with it as I have. (And yes, Joey, I am specifically talking to you here…)

5. The Outlandish Inventions of Phineas and Ferb

If you are or were like me when I was a child, you would often wonder to yourself why certain things weren’t possible. Why can’t we make a robot of ourselves to do the homework? Why can’t we build a rocket ship to go to the moon? Why couldn’t we make our own circus in the backyard? Why couldn’t we have a backyard beach? And so on… I was full of questions about why certain things just couldn’t be. Well, so are Phineas and Ferb. The only difference is that while I was content to just wonder, this pair of brothers (stepbrothers, actually) don’t just wonder… they do. If they question why there is no such thing as a portal to Mars, they take the initiative and build one. If they wonder why they can’t play miniature golf because the course is closed, they don’t settle and instead build their own incredible miniature golf course in the backyard. If they wonder what it would be like to spin on giant tops… well, you get the idea. The point is that Phineas and Ferb don’t let anything get in their way of having a fun time. It is summer vacation and they will make the most of it; and they won’t let simple things like physics, gravity and monetary cost get in the way.

4. The Animation is Beautifully Simple

While I may be one of the biggest admirers of anime here at Nfamous, there is something to be said for a simple animation style that gets the job done and can look equally as beautiful. That is more than just a truth with the animation style of Phineas and Ferb. While it may be one of the simplest looking animated shows out there right now, do not discount how beautiful the series is once you take a step back and admire it. From the unique look and style of each character of the show (i.e. the way Phineas and Ferb look compared to Candace, Buford and many of the other characters) to the way each wacky invention by both the boys and Dr. Doofenshmirtz, while simple in design, showcase an amazing amount of detail. It minimalism is your thing, Phineas and Ferb’s art style definitely should be up your alley. Not any two things in the show look alike and it lends itself to making the whole feel of the series even more fantastical. It sure isn’t Thundercats, Young Justice or Ore no Imoto, but when it does a good a job as it does with such a more whimsical approach, the best content of the show is in the substance, not the style.

3. The Show is Filled with an Amazing Cast of Characters

One of the biggest draws for me to this series was the amazing cast of characters in the series. Obviously the two biggest characters of the series, Phineas Flynn and his British step-brother Ferb Fletcher, are the most interesting characters on the show. Their constant quest to keep themselves busy and making the most of their summer vacation is what drives the show and the majority of the other characters. Especially their older sister, Candace! She has an agenda all her own, though she can never prioritize her life properly. She can never decide if she fully wants to be with the love of her life, Jeremy Johnson, talk on the phone all day and shop with her best friend Stacy Hirano, or bust her brothers and make sure they get punishment from her parents – of whom have their own interesting points. While the father, Lawrence Fletcher, seems to know what the boys are up to and just chalks it up to curiosity, the mother, Linda Flynn-Fletcher, aka 1980's pop star Lindana, simply has no clue to what is going on and never seems to see what is happening around her no matter how hard Candace tries. Then you have the set of friends consisting of young genius Baljeet, his bully Buford van Stomm and Phineas’ admirer Isabella Garcia-Shapiro and her troupe of Fireside Girls. Couple them with Candace’s friend Stacy, Major Francis Monogram, Carl the intern and Jeremy Johnson and you have a recipe for hilarity every time. And then you have Perry the Platypus, aka Agent P and his nemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. To try to explain that subplot with those two characters would take forever so just accept that the platypus is a secret agent who must keep the villain from taking over THE TRI-STATE AREA!!! And then that leads to Doofenshmirtz's daughter, Vanessa... you get the idea.

2. The Writing is Simply Amazing

Of course, none of those characters or situations regarding the kid’s inventions would be anything without the amazing set of writers behind the series. This wonderful team goes through many steps to ensure that each episode, while unique and original, follows the basic layout for each eleven minute segment throughout each episode. Somehow, while following this layout, they still manage to keep the show fresh and interesting as no two plots are alike. Nor are they ever really out of the reach of reality… to some degree. While the boys do make some pretty outlandish things and inventions, they are never really magical in nature. Everything has its basis in the real world; they just stretch the rules of physics just a bit to make the show interesting. Also, bringing to life every character in the show and making sure that each running gag and pop culture reference is meaningful and unforced. In many ways, they are a grounded, kid friendly version of Family Guy to some degree. But where Family Guy goes overboard to make sure that they satire pop culture in each episode, Phineas and Ferb are more interested in paying homage to pop culture rather than satirize it. This makes Phineas and Ferb and more mature look at pop culture in some ways and why many adults are beginning to take an interest in the series. 

1. Beyond Anything Else, the Music is the Real Star of the Show

For everything that Phineas and Ferb does well in the series, the thing that they do best, even better than other shows that have heavy musical influences (like The Simpsons, South Park and Family Guy) is the incorporation of music in each episode. Every episode features a minimum of two songs (at least one original song per segment), and each song helps move the story of each segment along beautifully. With a minimum of at least 152 songs already produced for the series (for the 76 episodes already aired), you would think that the originality and fun of each song would have worn thin by now… but it hasn’t. The way the songs are devised, and sometimes play off already popular songs in pop culture by sampling bits of the melody, make each song as addictive as could possibly be. This is especially true with the specials and made for TV movie they have aired which feature the songs even more prominently than the single episodes. Phineas and Ferb: The Rollercoaster Musical, Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation, the Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You Special and Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the Second Dimension all feature more than five original songs each and have some of the more memorable tunes in the series. But whether it be the specials or just the regular episodes, the music in the series is the biggest draw for me personally.  Some of my favorite songs that have been featured in the series are “Gitchee Gitchee Goo,” “Disco Miniature Golfing Queen,” “In the City of Love,” and “Robot Riot.” These songs perfectly showcase the whimsical, intelligent and unique attributes of the series.

These five points that I have made for the series are just the more prominent reasons for liking Disney’s Phineas and Ferb. When you look at the series as a whole, there are many more reasons to watch the series, but the reasons I listed above are the five most important reasons to watch the show. Those five points make up what I feel is the soul of Phineas and Ferb and what really make the show stand out above any and all other American cartoons out there right now. Give it a shot (Joey!) and you might just find yourself singing  some of these songs and laughing at some of the memories you will have of the show during your day as well.