Phineas & Ferb

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yes, I know a lot of you guys don't like this show, so I'm posting this here to possibly get some good criticism and praise for it as well. Since it's easily the most popular cartoon on the Disney Channel right now, I'd like to hear some opinions on it and why you think it deserves or doesn't deserve the praise it gets.

[Kiddington]

It sucks. It just... sucks.

/thread

...in all seriousness, there is very little about this show I enjoy. And believe me, I've tried. I've tried and tried and tried to give it a chance, and it just doesn't work for me. Like, at all. Seeing a series like this have such gratuitous amounts of praise heaped onto it at every drop of a hat continues to shock and utterly disappointment me.

Upon recommendation from one of my Twitter buddies, I tried watching it again fairly recently. Gave a couple of the newer episodes a chance, and also caught the much-hyped new movie the other day as well (Across the 2nd Dimension)... and my feelings remain unchanged. The production values are there, and I can see certain things in it and why people would like it... but it simply does not work for me. Couple of reasons:

1. The writing is terrible. Honestly, I cannot believe a show like this has the kind of "adult fanbase" that it does, because the writing seems incredibly childish every time I watch it. All of the jokes just fall flat for me. Occasionally I'll get a chuckle, but nothing to make me consider this show the work of art that so many make it out to be.

2. I hate the characters. All of 'em. Phineas, Ferb, Doofenshmirtz... the most interesting figure in all of this is Perry, and he doesn't even talk!

I especially hate Candace. In short, fuck Candace. She's an irritating, spoiled little brat that has way too much screen time. The continued overuse of the "bratty sister" trope also grates on my nerves, especially when they do it all wrong like they do here. And the worst thing is, these types of characters don't have to suck; IE Sarah from Ed Edd 'n Eddy. They're both similar characters in a lot of ways, but unlike Candace, Sarah has strong writing and good characterization to back her up... whereas Candace is just a flat, boring, stereotypical jackass sister. Sarah was a jerk, yes, but her hilarious and over-the-top angry reactions were great, and she made me laugh quite a bit. Candace has never made me laugh.

3. The voice-acting is mediocre, at best. I appreciate that Disney is using actual child actors to voice children characters in an animated series, but Vince Martella and Thomas Sangster are both flat as cardboard. Better casting would have done it some good. I'm not really a fan of CN's Gumball, but I will say that the kids they've got doing voice-overs in that show (Logan Grove and Kwesi Boakye) do a tremendous job in their roles, and those characters are a lot more interesting than Phineas and Ferb will ever be. Just because these characters are being voiced by kids doesn't mean they have to be this uncharismatic.

4. It's boring. Probably the worst offender on this list, the show is just flat out fucking boring. Whenever I sit down and watch this, I am absolutely bored out of my skin. It is probably one of the most pedestrian cartoons I have ever seen in my life. Nothing the twins do ever entertains me, any plot with Candace is automatic shit because she's such a horrible character, and even the Perry/Doofenshmirtz plots feel more like an FDA-approved cure for insomnia rather than good entertainment. In short? It. Is. BOOOOOOOOOORING.

That about covers it. As you can see, I'm really not a fan... and the fact that I continue to give this show far more of a chance than I ever would with any other cartoon (namely due to continued recommendations from other people) frustrates me to no end. People love it. Adults love it. I expect somewhere down the line, I'm going to love it too... and I don't. I never do. I've given it chance after chance, and it just doesn't do it for me. And on another note, it also saddens me that Dan Povenmire, a long-time Rocko vet (and also wrote some fine episodes of Spongebob and Family Guy during their respective peaks) is the man behind this. He is capable of soooooooooo much more than what this series has to offer; waste of talent, really.

[Avaitor]

I think Candace's arc is irritating and heartless. If she really cared about her brothers, she'd get the fuck off their case and get some help.

I pretty much agree with Kiddington. For a show with such a big adult following, I'd expect it to be a little more clever and appealing, but the constant fourth wall jokes and pop culture references are poorly timed and predictable, and the lack of snark just makes it drab and toothless.

I still think the show is a third rate Ed, Edd, n' Eddy/Dexter's Laboratory clone, and your time is better spent watching both shows again. Even the post-revival Dexter eps.

Oh, and the character designs are hideous. I still haven't got used to them, and I've seen at least 10-15 episodes of the show. It's just not for me.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Thanks for the replies, I just know there's a base of people that love and hate it, but I've rarely heard from the latter.

That said, I completely agree with both of you. Though I actually enjoy the Perry stuff, the actual show is just boring, flat, and just plain not written well at all. All the characters are completely one dimensional, making them really boring to watch or listen to, and the character designs aren't really very good. I mean, they're not Fanboy & Chum Chum levels of awful, but they aren't very good as a whole.

And yeah, Candace's plots frequently make no sense. As her motivations are completely arbitrary and most of the time conflicting heavily with what she's trying to do.

I'm honestly not sure why it's THIS popular, though I can see the appeal, I just don't see as much appeal in it as the mainstream audience.

[Avaitor]

Perry I generally like, but even Dr. Doofenschmirtz drags that part of the series down for me. He's become just as tiresome as Drakken did on KP.

Maybe if he had more villains to face, the show would be more bearable for me.

[Angus]

I tried to like it but agree there isn't anything special about the characters other than their geometric shaped heads. The annoying sister/sitter type, hmm, even Vicki/Fairly Odd Parents had a personality.

How do people feel about the silent second character? Has it been overplayed or does it still amuse?

[Kiddington]

How do people feel about the silent second character? Has it been overplayed or does it still amuse?

What, you mean Ferb?

Eh... it's a stale gag that was getting old back in 2008, let alone now. I know people say he's more of an "inventor", thus he doesn't need to talk, but still; it doesn't really work for me (but then again, nothing in this show really "works" for me anyway, so I guess it doesn't even matter).

...and yeah, good call on the character designs; can't believe I forgot to mention that. The shape of Phineas' head/nose will always and forever annoy me.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Ferb is the stock silent character that says witty or extremely important things randomly.

I don't think I've ever laughed once at anything he's ever done, though. But then again, I find that cliche dull.

[Angus]

I sat through some episodes of Fish Hooks. That series is better than what I've seen of Phineas and Ferb, and at least it deals with middle school situations.

[Eddy]

I saw one episode of this show a long while back. I think when it premiered. I wasn't really impressed.

Since the show is streaming on Netflix, and given all the praise it gets, I figured it deserves a second chance. I just watched two episodes. One from season one and the other from season two. I'm still not feeling it. Still, I might try to watch at least a few more. I mean, some people take quite a few episodes to warm up to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, will this be the case with me? But going by what you guys are saying I'm unsure.

Going by what I've seen so far, I don't like any of the characters. Phineas is boring, Ferb is not funny, Candace is annoying, and the doctor guy's antics are already getting old. Perry is kind of cool, though. Not digging these character designs either. The writing is bland. Yeah, so far, not feeling it.

[Avaitor]

I sat through some episodes of Fish Hooks. That series is better than what I've seen of Phineas and Ferb, and at least it deals with middle school situations.

That doesn't make it sound any better. Fish Hooks is honestly one of those shows that I don't need to see to be pissed off with. There's some serious talent on the show, and they all seem so wasted on it.

My main problem with these shows is that they just don't feel like Disney. At all. They could fit on any other channel, based on artwork, settings, and writing.

Say what you will about the Disney Afternoon stuff, but they at least stood up to some of the standards that Walt set. Even KP and AmDrag to an extent did themselves, although I do think that their animation wasn't speccultaor either. Phineas & Ferb just feels like generic CN/Nick trash.

[Kiddington]

Already mentioned this before, but given the crew behind Phineas & Ferb, it can and should be so much better than it is. Dan Povenmire is a Rocko vet; he also worked on early Simpsons (in its prime), early Spongebob (in its prime), and some of the better late-run spurts of Family Guy, among other things not even mentioned here. The guy has a proven track record of knowing what he's doing; why he's wasting himself on garbage like this is something I just cannot quite begin to grasp. Same goes for Jeff Marsh, another longtime Rocko guy.

Fish Hooks... please. Don't even get me started on that. That show pisses me off far more than kids television really should. What an absolutely pathetic, utter waste of fine animation talent, selling out for that all-mighty paycheck. Such a shame.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, whoever is in charge of Disney's TV animation needs to be replaced badly. Their animated shows no longer have any identity to them, when even some of CN and Nick's worst stuff still feels like them.

They also need to bring back the adventure comedies. It's something they were the best at, and they don't make them anymore. Instead their shows wouldn't feel out of place between Fanboy and iCarly, which is just wrong.

[Angus]

Scary part is that Ashley does the best voice acting among the bunch yet has the least interesting character.

I tried to laugh like a sitcom audience member.

Well they do throw in some songs in the show, not like it helps much, except that my little pup is trying to memorize the opening song.

[Dr. Insomniac]

After watching it for a while, I've grown to say that while I don't really like it (Candace is too much of a cunt, things get repetitive, etc.), I do understand why people might be fans. For starters, it's the only show on Disney Channel that advocates creativity and imagination without resorting to dance moves. It tells the intended audience that they should go out and invent their own shit, while showing the negative consequences via Doofenshmirtz. Also, haven't noticed it talking down to the audience that much, so that's a plus.