A generation of fans was fortunate to grow up with the Disney Channel original Phineas and Ferb, a quirky series about two step-brothers who spend their endless summer vacation imagining and building impossible contraptions from rollercoasters to spaceships, time machines, and whatever else they could imagine. The beloved series had a good, long run of 4 seasons with 137 episodes over 8 years in its initial airing, and it seemed like the show had run its course. But Disney found itself unable to leave the summer behind. A few failed pilots featuring the boys’ pet platypus/secret agent, Perry, and his arch-frenemy Dr. Doofenshmirtz were attempted and scrapped, and the cast even had cameo appearances in other shows by the same creators. Shortly after the launch of the Disney+ streaming service, a Phineas and Ferb movie was greenlit as one of the first original productions for the streamer. The summer vacation might have ended, but it was clear that the boys and their ragtag group of friends had staying power.
With a reported 650 million+ hours of streaming of those four seasons, it’s no surprise that Disney would decide to revive the series. At its best, which is most of the time, Phineas and Ferb is consistently delightful, intelligent, and endearing for viewers of any age. My wife has used it as her comfort watch at bedtime for years, and we recently introduced it into the rotation for our toddler, who loves the musical numbers and playful antics of the kids and slapstick action of Perry the Platypus. So this is a household that knows the series and each of its episodes in and out, and we were highly anticipating the revival.
You never know what you’re going to get when a beloved show returns, but the new season of Phineas and Ferb picks right back up as if it were never gone. A new school year has come and gone, but the kids are the same as ever, even Vincent Martella, the now-30-something who voices young Phineas, sounds just the same as he did when the series wrapped up. Most of the original cast returns, save for the laconic Ferb, who only speaks two or three lines per episode, and each slides effortlessly back into their roles a decade later. Even Dr. Doofenshmirtz (voiced by series co-creator Dan Povenmire) is back to his old evil ways. There’s no explanation given except that Doofenshmirtz wanted to go back to trying to take over the Tri-State Area again. The show quickly addresses the extended absence and return to the status quo with its typical, rapid-fire deadpan metahumor.
Doofenshmirtz’s heel-turn is presented as a happy reunion, neither Perry the Platypus nor the hapless villain are fulfilled without the other. The creators use the status quo revival to playfully recognize their own failures in attempting to reconfigure their dynamic. Of course, without that production knowledge, it’s just another example the show’s typical joke-a-minute sense of humor that has always been willing to poke fun at itself.
The opening of the revival’s first episode, “Summer Block Buster,” is a grin-inducing return, starting off big with one of the show’s trademark rollicking musical numbers before diving back into familiar and comforting shenanigans. Phineas and Ferb are out to make the most memorable block party ever. Just another summer. Or so it would seem!
The premiere episode uses that comfortable setup to immediately toy with the expectations of longtime fans in multiple ways. While the first half of the episode plays the hits to assure us all that the creators can still strike the right notes, the second half approaches something genuinely emotional and dramatic. It’s not completely out of line with the show’s history (particularly its longer season finales or multi-part specials), but it is a surprising way to open. It’s a show of confidence from the writers, animators, and voice performers. The formula has been so well-trod that they’re now free to move those pieces around in new ways.
But fear not, it’s not all defying expectations and knowing winks about the nature of reboots. While the first episode broadens the storytelling canvas of what the show is willing to play with, the second episode returns to the classic formula of zany inventions, wacky childhood adventures, and sibling rivalry. Where else will you see a bunch of kids create a Sandwich Submarine to explore the Mariana Trench? Or watch a teenage girl literally driven to madness in the middle of her driver’s license exam?
Anyone with reservations that this revival is a cheap cash-in that could not recapture the magic of the original should rest assured. Phineas and Ferb is back to reclaim its throne as the most fun family friendly entertainment on TV. There really is nothing else like it for parents and kids to enjoy together. Everything people love about the series is here: the catchy songs that will get stuck in your head for days, jokes with multiple layers for different audiences, the celebration of boundless imagination, the positive feel-good vibes, and, of course, a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action.
The Phineas and Ferb revival premieres on Thursday, June 5th, 2025, on Disney Channel and Disney Channel YouTube and on June 6th, 2025, on Disney+.
