There’s 104 days of summer vacation and we’re about to see what else Phineas and Ferb can do during that break! The Pop Insider spoke to Phineas and Ferb creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh at New York Comic Con (NYCC), where we learned all about the new season, merchandise, the famous Dr. Doofenshmirtz voice, and more.
So, is the Disney show coming back as a reboot? If the show ended in 2015, where will it pick up? We put on our detective fedoras and challenged our inner Agent P. to find out. According to Povenmire, it is a continuation of the show.
“It’ll probably be the following summer. It’s basically the same show as before, we’ve got a lot of the same staff,” Povenmire said. “We realized we hadn’t run out of ideas yet,” Marsh added.
Basically, nothing will be built from scratch. Instead, your favorite animated step-brothers will continue building in the backyard and your favorite scientist will continue inventing in his attempt to take over the world.
“Somebody called and said, ‘Want to make more?’ and we’re like yeah. We’ve always said ‘Yeah sure, we’ll do that,’” Marsh said. Povenmire added that the show’s second life on streaming is what likely prompted this restart. “I think it came about because the show’s been in the top five on Disney+ since they started,” he said. “I think with the pandemic, a lot of people went back to that for a comfort show and I think that really pushed the numbers up and they were like, ‘We should do more of this show.’”
The creators still have new ideas, songs, and jokes that they can use in the Phineas and Ferb universe, and fans are ready for all of it! Phineas and Ferb-lovers had the chance to watch the animated characters in a new story with the 2020 release of Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe on Disney+, but this new, upcoming season will mark the return of the Flynn-Fletcher family in episodic form for the first time in more than 7 years.
When it comes to Phineas and Ferb merchandise, fans are very familiar with Perry the Platypus plushes, water bottles featuring the titular characters, and an assortment of apparel with the rest of Phineas and Ferb’s friends. Hopefully, the upcoming seasons will result in new products featuring Phineas and Ferb characters, both old and new.
Recalling his favorite experience with products for the show’s original run, Marsh described visiting the Disney offices in Japan. “They have a whole different structure for how they’re allowed to make toys,” he said. “There were Meap toys and Klimpaloon toys and I was like, this is wonderful.”
“I would love to see those toys in the U.S.,” Povenmire added.
At NYCC, the creators also reflected on how fans used to interact with Phineas and Ferb outside of merchandise and viewings. They both recalled a Phineas and Ferb Dance Party that took place in Disney’s California Adventure, which Povenmire describes as “just maybe the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.” At the dance party, cast members and costumed Phineas and Ferb characters were dancing to songs from the show.
“They were singing all these songs that we wrote in a little office in the Frank G. Wells building two years earlier,” Povenmire said. “And me and my wife just held each other and cried the entire time. And I was like, I’m glad everybody’s looking at them because if they look at us, they’re going to think we’re having some weird psychotic break.”
According to Povenmire and Marsh, many park guests were dressed up like characters from the show, including Phineas, Perry the Platypus, and Fireside Girls. Fans were also singing and dancing along, some with the routine memorized.
“Watching all the kids that were waiting, jumping in, and doing the dances … wow,” Marsh said. “As a kid who grew up in Southern California at Disneyland, I mean, my grandfather used to play there, to think that something we’d created was a part of that, that kind of integration was as cool as I dreamed it could have ever been.”
Only time will tell if that dance party will return with the new season. What fans can expect for certain, however, are more adventures and sad backstories with Dr. Doofenshmirtz in the new season. His voice is iconic, and it’s provided by none other than Povenmire himself. At New York Comic Con, Povenmire seamlessly transitioned into the Dr. Doof voice several times.
“Doofenshmirtz is just the way I pitched it the first time I pitched it to anybody and they just sort of fell in love with it … my sister says that I would always talk like this for some reason, so to her it just sounds like me,” Povenmire said.
Marsh, who voices Major Monogram, added “I could only do Monogram’s voice for 45 minutes tops. He could do Doofenshmirtz all day.” When it comes to Monogram’s voice, Marsh wanted to “do a very bad impression of (news anchor) Walter Cronkite. I wanted someone you could trust.” Hopefully, fans will see Monogram return, too.
At this time, there isn’t an official release time set for the new season of Phineas and Ferb. But nostalgic Disney kids-turned-adults should dig out their Perry the Platypus merch and get ready for a return to summer vacation!
