It’s no secret that I’m a huge Phineas and Ferb fan. The show has great jokes and likeable characters, and manages to do a lot with its seemingly formulaic premise. In the time that it’s been on the air, the show has also pumped out a lot of wonderful musical numbers- and fans such as myself enjoy arguing over which ones are the best. So here’s a list of my top ten favorite Phineas and Ferb songs. If you’ve seen the show, let me know whether you agree with my list. If you haven’t seen the show, check out some of the links I’ve provided for the songs. Who knows? You might like it.
10) Ain’t Got Rhythm
In the episode “Dude, we’re getting’ the band back together” Phineas and Ferb decide to reunite the 80s rock band Love Handel. This episode has a quite a few catchy songs, my favorite of which revolved around the band’s drummer, who has taken up a dull job as a librarian. This song pulls a trick similar to the “Trashin’ the Camp” scene from Disney’s Tarzan, as the characters use a bunch non-musical objects in order to play a song. Though if you pay attention, there is obviously a base, an acoustic guitar, and several other instruments playing in the background.
I’ve never been to Tokyo, but I know people who have. They assure me that it is a bizarre, magical place. As Phineas, Ferb, and friends attempt to travel across the entire world in a single day, they make a pit stop in Tokyo, and experience a bit of culture-shock. This scene is just too incredible to describe. Just… watch.
For those of you not familiar with the show, Phineas and Ferb have a pet platypus named Perry, who is a part-time secret agent. Just roll with it. Anyway, Perry’s nemesis, the evil Heinz Doofenshmirtz is easily my favorite character in the show. In the 2011 TV film, “Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension”, Doofenshmirtz travels to a parallel universe and meets his doppelganger. They share a fun little duet together. The premise of a narcissistic character meeting a clone or alternate version of himself just seems really fun to me. There’s another reason I love this song, too. Deep down, I know that if I met an exact duplicate of myself, the first thing we would is sing a song together- and neither of us would be very good at singing.
7) A-G-L-E-T
You know that bit of plastic at the end of a shoelace? It’s called an aglet. We are all familiar with aglets, as they make it slightly easier to tie our shoes. But most people don’t know what they’re called. Thanks to this catchy song, though, I will remember until the day I die that the end of a shoelace is called an aglet. Apparently, my life will be better for it.
6) Intimate Get Together (Candace Party)
It’s kind of a rule that every cartoon needs an episode where the main characters throw a wild house party while their parents are away. Phineas and Ferb plays with the formula a bit. Candace promises her parents that she will just have an “intimate get together” with a few friends. But more people keep showing up, and despite Candace’s best efforts to spoil everyone’s fun, the “intimate get together” escalates into an incredible party. As a result, Candace inadvertently becomes popular, which is something we can all relate to.
Imagine for a moment, that you are free-styling in a park with your friends. I know, it’s a stretch, but just imagine. Suddenly a girl comes forward and does an incredible dance, all the while screaming “squirrels in my pants”! She seems crazy, but that just makes you like her more. You and your friends all cheer her on and try to dance the way she does. Then she stops, screams some more, and passes out. A pair of actual squirrels scurries out of her pants. Would this blow your mind? Yes. Yes it would.
4) Rubber Bands
You probably deduced this from the “Aglet” song I mentioned earlier, but the creators of Phineas and Ferb like to write songs based on very silly subject matter. This song takes place in a factory in India that creates rubber bands- and nothing else. But these employees are very passionate about what they do. There’s a chorus, dancers, stunts, and everything. It’s an incredible song, and it’s only purpose is to say “Yeah, we make rubber bands here”.
In one episode, Phineas and Ferb decide that they want to write a hit song, but don’t want to deal with the baggage that comes with being rich and famous. So they decide to become One-Hit Wonders. Fair warning before you click this link: this song is the most infuriatingly catchy song to come out of this show, which is saying a lot.
This show has a lot of songs written to tell kids that summer vacation is awesome, and that they should spend it playing outside with friends. As much as I love “Summer Belongs to You” and “Carpe Diem”, my favorite of these songs is the simply titled “Summer”. Just like Heinz Doofenshmirtz, the boys come across their own doppelgangers in the “Across the 2nd Dimension” movie. Their look-alikes aren’t allowed to go outside, and need to have the concept of “summer” explained to them. What I love about this song is that the message doesn’t feel phoned-in like in a lot of children’s shows. I get the sense that the show’s creators are really trying to inspire us to treasure every moment of our free time, to be active, and to make the most of our lives. It’s enough to make to make a person feel guilty about sitting around watching cartoons on a beautiful summer day. Now get off your butt and go make something of yourself, ya bum!
…After you finish reading this blog, of course.
Most of the songs I’ve chosen for this list are either hilarious, catchy, or both. “Come Home Perry” isn’t the funniest song on this list, and it isn’t particularly catchy either. In fact, a great deal of the song is just Candace struggling to think of things that rhyme with “Perry”. So why do I put this one at the top of the list? Because “Come Home Perry” shows us that along with all the cleverness and random humor in the show, Phineas and Ferb also has a ton of heart.
Perry the platypus frequently disappears to go on secret missions- so a recurring joke is that he reappears at the end of every episode, and one of the characters says some variation of“Oh, there you are Perry”. But one day he goes missing for a little too long, and the boys get worried. So they sing a song asking him to come home. Earlier in this episode, Perry and Doofenshmirtz defeat a villain named “The Regurgitator” and Candace talks to a rabbit-boy who plays a musical blender. It’s a pretty silly episode. But after about nine minutes of Phineas and Ferb’s usual brand of tongue-in-cheek humor, the episode ended with this surprisingly sweet and heartfelt song about how much the boys love their pet platypus. I think it surprised a lot of viewers in a good way. “Come Home Perry” has deservedly become a fan-favorite, and it’s my pick for the #1 Phineas and Ferb song.
But before you go…
Cutting the list down to ten songs was pretty hard for me… so here are some “honorable mentions” that didn’t make the list. They are in no particular order.
Summer Belongs To You– This is the big finale at the end of the “Summer Belongs to You” special. This song is sort of cheesy, like something pulled out of High School Musical, but it’s so upbeat and positive that I can’t help but get excited whenever I hear it.
Busted– Yet another overwhelmingly catchy song sung by Candace and Vanessa
Waggle Dance– This is a song explaining how bees communicate through their movements. I had to exclude it from the list due to it being educational.
Izzy's got the Frizzies– Isabella’s hair is sticking up.
Tree-Related Wish– In this Wizard of Oz parody, Jeremy is a tree, and he has a secret wish. I wonder what it is…
I really don’t hate Christmas– Doofenshmirtz wants to do something evil on Christmas, but he doesn’t hate the holiday enough. It’s not that he likes Christmas; he just doesn’t feel very strongly about it.
Watching and Waiting– The characters are tasked with sitting quietly watching one of their many contraptions, but they can’t bring themselves to go even a minute without singing a song.
If you enjoyed this blog, be sure to comment and let me know what you think. Take care, y’all!