Dive into the world of Phineas and Ferb through an adult's lens! We're uncovering the hidden jokes, subtle references, and mature undertones that flew right over kids' heads. Get ready for a nostalgic journey that'll make you see this beloved cartoon in a whole new light!
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00Will you cool it with the noise, bury the plot up for some kind of splitting headache?
00:05Welcome to Miss Mojo. Today, we're counting down our picks for the best subtleties in Phineas and Ferb that you have to be on the older side to catch.
00:13But it's not what you think. We're not enemies. We're just bad friends.
00:1910. Buford's Home Life
00:21At the show's start, Buford is the local aggressor feared by all the town's kids, most notably Baljeet.
00:29Later on, however, in the episode where he loses his goldfish, we get a more nuanced look at his character.
00:35I've lost Buf!
00:39You mean your goldfish?
00:41Yes!
00:41The storyline sheds a lot of light on Buford's situation, his loneliness, and how he came to be a bully.
00:48There are other hints of his troubled home environment throughout the rest of the show, too, like that one throwaway line about why his voice is so gruff.
00:56It's me, Buford! And my voice isn't horrible, it's raspy! You gotta spend hours screaming in the closet to get it like this!
01:03In the thumb wrestling episode, the announcer outright says he's from a broken home.
01:08To kids, these may sound like simple jokes, but to adults, it's evidence of something much more serious.
01:14Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, he's from a broken home, his hobby's breaking bones, Buford the Bully!
01:24Number 9. Naughty Nectar
01:26Doofenshmirtz makes new evil devices at a phenomenally high rate.
01:31In the Season 2 Christmas special, he cooks up what is perhaps his most innuendo-filled invention, the Naughty-inator.
01:38Now, Perry the Platypus, behold the Naughty-inator!
01:44When activated, the Naughty Nectar in these giant glass cylinders will create a massive charged cloud of pure naughtiness!
01:52What does it do?
01:53Its purpose is to spray Naughty Nectar over the tri-state area, covering it and its population in a cloud of naughtiness.
02:01That way, Santa will receive reports that all the children were Naughty, and Christmas will be cancelled.
02:08Hmm, what have we here? Ooh, Tusk Tusk!
02:11Hello, Blaine!
02:12Oh, what have you there?
02:14Ah, bunch of last-minute Naughties!
02:16As a child, this went over all of our heads, and we took the plot pretty literally.
02:21As grown-ups, it's baffling how this level of innuendo made the cut, especially considering the design of the Naughty-Nectar.
02:30Tis the season to be Naughty!
02:32Number 8. No Permits
02:34Yes, you seem a little green to be controlling this machinery.
02:38Yeah, I get that a lot!
02:41One of the show's best aspects is all the wild and wacky inventions, all made in the titular characters' backyard.
02:47One running joke is the contractors who provide the resources constantly pointing out how young the builders are.
02:54Aren't you a little young to build a roller coaster?
02:56Yes, yes I am!
02:57Well, I must say that I'm really quite impressed.
03:00But all your permits are in order.
03:02Don't forget the bricks and mortar, and if you need a power loader, be my guest!
03:06Something a grown-up might catch is that we never see the contractors ask for proper permits.
03:11We know the kids are aged somewhere between 7 and 12, and the age for criminal responsibility in America is 11 on a federal level.
03:20So maybe they think they're exempt from the law.
03:23Alternatively, since they live in a tri-state area, proper permits could be a nightmare to acquire.
03:29Maybe the contractors just can't be bothered checking.
03:31Or most perplexing of all, maybe Phineas and Ferb did manage to get proper permits for everything they do, which, even by cartoon standards, seems implausible.
03:41How dare you do all this without permission!
03:44But all our building permits are in order.
03:46I mean, my permission.
03:48Number 7, Uranus.
03:51In the episode The Innator Method, the gang builds a model solar system, then races in all the planets.
03:58As we know, it's pretty easy to joke about a certain planet's name.
04:02This ice giant is the butt of all solar system jokes.
04:06Alright racers, status check!
04:08Southern check!
04:09Uranus check!
04:11In order to avoid any phone calls from parents or opportunities from double entendres, the writers came up with a clever solution.
04:19Buford deliberately mispronounces the word, something Belgique calls out.
04:23The response that follows might just be one of the show's most well-written jokes.
04:27Buford, that is not how it is pronounced.
04:30It is on this channel.
04:31Maybe in the future, astronomers will finally solve the issue and name the planet something sensible like Futurama predicted.
04:38What's it called now?
04:39Eurectum.
04:40Eure, let me locate it for you.
04:42Number 6, Doofenshmirtz and Vanessa.
04:45A number of doof schemes end with him trauma dumping on Perry.
04:49One of the character's central themes is how he copes with his awful childhood.
04:54Aw, how cute.
04:55But where's mom?
04:57She didn't, uh, show up for the birth.
04:59We can see this through his interactions with his daughter Vanessa.
05:03His evil villain persona is all but shattered, and he goes into 100% dad mode.
05:09Trademark.
05:09My first ever swim meet, you stepped on the other team's feet.
05:13He puts remarkable effort into his relationship with her, always going to lengths to try to make her happy.
05:19For kids watching, the juxtaposition is funny.
05:23To adults, we recognize that his dedication and protectiveness obviously stems from his own abysmal childhood, and his efforts to break the trauma cycle.
05:31Maybe you're not so bad at that, not so bad at that, after all.
05:42Number 5, The Bear Saying.
05:45Does a bear defecate in the forests?
05:47Well, it depends on the type.
05:49A grizzly bear sure does, but not a polar bear.
05:51Nitpicks aside, all adults are familiar with the somewhat crude saying, and it gets referenced in the Wizard of Oz-themed episode.
05:59During Jeremy's song, Tree-Related Wish, there's a cheeky shot of a bear peacefully doing his business in his natural habitat.
06:06It's my tree-related wish.
06:11I'll tell you what it is when we get to bus stop or live.
06:16The joke comes full circle in the episode's end credits, when we revisit the bear, who confirms the old saying with a variation of one of the show's most recurring catchphrases.
06:28Yes, yes I do.
06:30Number 4, Thwarty Call.
06:33Dr. Doofenshmirtz and Perry the Platypus have a unique bond.
06:36Perry the Platypus, I, I, uh, there's no one else here.
06:41Despite being demises on the surface, the friendship they have is undeniable.
06:46So when Perry finds Doof being thwarted by another secret agent, it very much gives Cheater caught-in-the-act vibes.
06:53Perry the Platypus, I swear I've never seen this, uh, secret agent-looking panda before.
06:58While that situation is resolved by the episode's end, Season 4 revisited Doof's relationship with Peter the Panda, and Doof defines it rather unambiguously.
07:08There's no way the joke registers with children, but adults are left to do their best spit-take.
07:13Peter the Panda is not your nemesis.
07:16Ah, you're right, he's not even my nemesis. He's more of a thwarty call.
07:19Number 3, Big Fingers.
07:22In the episode Out to Lunch, we get one of Doofenshmirtz's classic flashbacks.
07:27This one is accompanied by a particularly mature implication.
07:31As a teen, Doofenshmirtz was great at doing hand shadow puppets.
07:35See, during my teen years, I was very adept at hand shadows.
07:39He was trying to impress a girl with his talents, and it seemed to be going well until a guy with, quote, bigger fingers came along.
07:46Despite Huge Hands Hans being terrible at shadow puppets, the girl ultimately chose him over Doof.
07:53But unfortunately, it was good enough for my Fraulein.
07:57I lost her to a boy with bigger fingers.
08:00It's a development that takes on a new meaning when you re-watch as an adult.
08:05Number 2, Rocky Horror References.
08:09The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an extremely acclaimed musical comedy horror written by Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien released in cinemas in 1975.
08:18O'Brien also played the character Riff Raff in the movie, and would later go on to voice Lawrence Fletcher, Phineas and Ferb's dad.
08:30This gave the writers the perfect excuse to jam a bunch of references to the musical into their children's show, despite their target audience being way too young to pick up on them.
08:40One of the best illusions has to be when Lawrence is obviously watching the film, but is entirely confused by the concept.
08:48Well, this isn't much of a horror movie. Where are the rock and roll musical numbers?
08:52Another is that bit in Night of the Living Pharmacists, when the characters are all saying each other's name.
08:58It's almost beat for beat, right down to Ferb's silent look.
09:02Candace?
09:02Phineas!
09:03Candace!
09:04Isabella!
09:04Ferb!
09:06Candace!
09:06Phineas!
09:07Candace!
09:07Isabella!
09:08Ferb!
09:08Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
09:16You have the option to be notified for occasional videos, or all of them.
09:20If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
09:25Number 1.
09:26Therapist Perry
09:27Phineas and Ferb the movie Across the Second Dimension showed us that Doof does have it in him to win.
09:34With a different set of circumstances, he could have ruled the tri-state area.
09:39In the show's reality, though, he's consistently thwarted by Perry.
09:43Whart me, Perry the platypus.
09:44As a child, you'd think he's incompetent, but after growing up, it looks more like a cry for help.
09:51Doof has lived a lonely life, and the person he's closest to is Perry.
09:55He isn't genuine about his evil ambitions, and they start to seem more like a cry for help.
10:04His fights with Perry feel more like therapy sessions than anything.
10:08They are ultimately successful, with Doof turning to the light by the end of the fourth season.
10:13Try to be a good guy.
10:14A good guy?
10:15Me?
10:15I can be...
10:16Well, I guess I could.
10:17I...
10:17I...
10:18I can be a do-gooder.
10:20Doing good.
10:21Were there any hilariously mature jokes you noticed in Phineas and Ferb?
10:24Let us know in the comments below.
10:26We're breaking up.
10:27Let me call you on a landline.
10:30So, just to recap.
10:32Sky.
10:33Weather.
10:33Rain.
10:34Doofenshmirtz.
10:35Do you agree with our picks?
10:36Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
10:39And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
10:45We'll see you next time.