"One night in a Pasadena restaurant in the mid-’90s, the animator Dan Povenmire doodled a simple cartoon on the butcher paper covering his table: a triangle-headed boy with a pair of round bubble eyes and a mouth agape in nervous alarm. “I tore that piece off and told my wife, ‘This is the show I'm going to sell.’ ” - slate.com
Phineas and Ferb first aired on Disney Channel 10 years ago in 2007. It became almost and immediate success and kids across the world become familiar with the stepbrothers who spent their summer vacation in the most creative ways possible. The theme song says it all: "There's 104 days of summer vacation, And school comes along just to end it, So the annual problem for our generation, Is finding a good way to spend it..."
Dan Povenmire teamed up with Jeff Marsh to imagine the sketch into a bigger and more complex world. Early attempts to pitch the show failed but Dan and Jeff didn't give up and kept a portfolio of Phineas and Ferb ideas for 13 years. Finally, they convinced Disney to let them create a pilot and the show was picked up for 26 episodes.
Dan began drawing when he was just two years old while Jeff didn't get into animation until he was 28 and hired to draw backgrounds for the Simpsons.
The two have said they've had their fair share of creative disagreements: for example, their biggest deciding how many times Perry the Platypus should punch Doofenshmirtz.
The show is extremely fomulaic " Phineas and Ferb must build something awesome, Candace must try and fail to bust them, Doofenshmirtz must build and then be foiled by an ill-conceived ’inator, Perry must find a cool new way to vanish into Monogram’s lair, etc."
However, within this formula, Dan and Jeff find a way to have a lot of freedom and produce a truly creative show.
I think what is so interesting about the show is how it always follows the same formula, but the episodes are rarely predictable. Animation is a very collaborative field too, so I think having so many different people working on projects helps make the final products so creative.
ReplyDeletePhineas and Ferb was such a good show. I'm surprised that it took them so long to get it picked up by a network, but I think that shows how perseverance pays off. That's something I've noticed with a lot of the creatives: they have an idea, but it takes them a long time and a lot of hard work to make their idea something real. I'm glad that they were able to make it happen, though! Although, I'd argue that Phineas and Ferb are the real creatives here....
ReplyDeleteI loved Phineus and Ferb. I recently re watched the first season. I never really thought about the effort it would take to start a show. This show Was very creative where there was some hints of adult humor. Overall this was a interesting piece to read.
ReplyDeleteI love Phineas and Ferb!! This really puts into perspective how hard it can be to get your creative work out into the world. You have to be really intrinsically motivated to keep going despite failures. I also never really thought about how every episode follows the same formula, probably because each episode is so unique.
ReplyDeleteI love this show, it’s great to see an article about it! I always loved that the show always formed a certain formula, but within that formula there was an incredible amount of creativity and variation. I think it’s awesome and truly an accomplishment that the creators were able to structure each episode the same way and still keep the show interesting and continue to draw in viewers.
ReplyDeleteI also love this show! I always noticed how each episode followed a specific formula, but it is interesting to hear that was such an important part of the process for these two creatives. It is also interesting to learn how they collaborated, as well as the little details they argued about which the viewer might take for granted. I loved hearing how their persistence truly paid off, and despite the formula the show follows, each is unique!
ReplyDeleteWow, it's so interesting to me when shows are rejected and then they end up being a huge hit when they do get picked up. I'm so glad the creators never gave up on their idea and despite some hardships they were able to create a truly amazing show.
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