Image © Disney Channel
If you’re a fan of Phineas and Ferb, you know that there are, among others, two things common to nearly every episode: Phineas comes up with the ideas, and Ferb is a man — well, boy, anyway — of few words. So when I found out that not only was Ferb making the plans for the next new episode of the show, but also that he was available for an interview, I leapt at the chance.
The next new episode of Phineas and Ferb is a special birthday celebration for Phineas, and premieres on the Disney Channel April 1 at 8:00pm ET/PT. It’s Phineas’s birthday, so of course his stepbrother and best friend Ferb wants to throw him a party. As a present, Ferb decides to put together a set of clips showcasing the boys’ best inventions.
So yes, it’s a clip show — or, rather, “Phineas’ Birthday Clip-o-Rama” (the episode’s title). But there are way more clips than just the inventions — there are clips of Agent P’s least impressive (but often funniest) entrances to his secret lair (which may or may not have an official name, but I think ought to be known as “The Plat-cave.”), clips of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s greatest “inators,” and the best “Aren’t you a little young?” moments, among others. Since it’s only a half-hour long, and there’s a fair bit of new material tying the clip segments together, each clip goes by so fast those segments might be better termed “montages.” This isn’t a bad thing, really, since it helps keep the episode from becoming too clip-heavy. And there’s a running gag regarding the clip segments that’s a funny meta-joke about the episode itself, and about clip shows in general, which I will not spoil by describing here.
I was privileged to be able to interview Ferb himself* about the episode. Since it is Ferb after all, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the interview is short and sweet:
Q: What made you think of this particular gift for Phineas?
Ferb: This was actually Plan B. Plan A would’ve torn the Earth in half, so I thought better of it.
Q: What about all the other great inventions that didn’t make the cut?
Ferb: I was going to build an army of flying robots that spelled out “Happy B-Day” with lasers, but it seemed a bit pretentious.
Q: What is your favorite moment or invention?
Ferb: Our wooden Perry the Platypus toy. It was a scathing send-up of our post-modern capitalist society.
Q: What made you pick the moments you did to include as part of the clip show?
Ferb: Actually I used a Random Clip Show Generator. Don’t tell anyone.
“Phineas’ Birthday Clip-o-Rama” will premiere on the Disney Channel at 8:00pm ET/PT on Friday, April 1. If you miss it then, it will be repeated at 10:00am ET/PT the following day (as well as other times). See below for a clip from the (new material in the) episode.
* – The interview was provided by the folks at Disney Channel. Actually interviewing a cartoon character poses some… logistical difficulties.
