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#but a main character is a platypus who is a secret agent
violetlunette · 11 months
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So, this may be controversial but in the PnF universe, I think the Universe hates Candace the most. (Not taking into account MML as I haven’t been able to find a site to safely watch the whole series, and I ain’t paying 50$ for Disney Plus.)
(Edit: Okay, I may gotten the pricing wrong for disney plus as I was looking at the yearly option, but I digress.)
For those who may be unaware, Candace is a character in Phineas and Ferb who plays an antagonistic role as she is constantly trying to “bust” her brothers by showing her mom their inventions. Unfortunately, the “universe” (or the mysterious force, as Candace dubs it) will always make the inventions disappear at the very last moment. And usually in the most ridiculous ways possible such as it getting up and dancing away or having her eat or clean up the project herself (both times against her will). This has often led to Candace (and others) questioning her sanity and to her feeling emotionally depressed and defeated every day. Candace is quite literally the universe’s punching bag.
Now I’m people are going to argue and say, “Have you seen Doofenshmirtz’s backstory?” and yes, that is an excellent point. 
To recap Heinz Doofenshmirtz is the main villain of the series who fights with a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action, who happens to be the brother’s pet. Growing up he had a comically abusive childhood where he was bullied, his parents favored his brother and he was forced to stand as a Lawn Gnome every night. On top of that, he has a history of his love life going terribly wrong and gets his ass beat by a platypus daily. (Down, Perryshmirtz shippers.) Compared to the rest of the Phineas and Ferb cast it would seem that he and Candace are tied for having the worse luck, hell some would say he has worse luck than Candace.
However, I disagree as Heinz’s misfortune isn’t caused by random events like Candace’s. Everything bad that happened to him was a direct result of other people being jerks or caused by Heinz himself. (Minus his love life but we’ll get to that later.)
All of the humiliation of Heinz’s childhood was a result of his parents. The reason he was bullied to the point where his only friend was a balloon with a face on it was because his mother forced him to wear the dresses she made when she thought Roger was going to be a girl and because at night he was forced to stand watch as a lawn gnome by his father to protect the garden.
His failures with his inators are because Perry comes by and wrecks everything. 
Now it’s true that Candace had a loving childhood with a loving family and great friends. Yet I stand by the statement that the universe hates Candace the most in the PnF universe because the way Phineas and Ferb’s inventions vanish isn’t a result of anything she or anyone does. It’s a random act of fate. True, most of Phineas and Ferb’s vanish because of Heinz’s inators, however, he never intends to do. More often than not, he randomly bumps the button and it just so happens to hit Phineas and Ferb’s invention or Candace herself without any rhyme or reason.
Plus, there are times when Heinz wins and gets everything he wants without punishment.
The entire Across the 2D Dimension movie and the Quantum Boogaloo special show that Heinz could take over the Tristate area and get everything he wants. In the MML’s timeline, he becomes Professor Time, in The OWCA files he gets to become an agent and gets to work with Perry (something that appears to have always been his secret desire), and in Doof 101 (and Act your Age) timeline he becomes a teacher that allows him to bond with his daughter and is so happy that he has to make an inator to give him a midlife crisis.
With Candace, the best future she seems to get is a dull suburban life that’s a copy of her mother’s life. On top of that, despite appearing serene, one can argue that she’s not as content as she looks. It’s obvious she still holds deep resentments in her life as she immediately breaks out of her tranquil demeanor when she sees the past version of her brothers. If Candace was truly happy and had moved on, she wouldn’t have cared or reacted so strongly.
And whenever she gets her goals, it turns often out worse for her. In the Quantum Boogaloo special, Candace finally manages to bust her brothers and it results in a dystopian future, the loss of everything she loved and even her own name.
Even in other universes, Candace gets the short stick compared to Doofenshmirtz. In the 2nd Dimension Candace may be a rebel leader but it’s not until her brothers join the fight that they make any progress. Not only that, but they quickly begin to do better than her even though they literally just joined, and she had been fighting for much longer. It doesn’t help that by the end it seems that they’re better leaders than he.r Their actions led to them getting one up on Charlene and rescuing some of the agents, while Candace’s allowed Doofenshmirtz to escape.
In the Star Wars Universe, this Candace gets yanked pretty hard. Whether she was kidnapped or ran away to join the Empire, it is obvious she was brainwashed into believing their rhetoric. (Buford flat out states that orientation is brainwashing.) It’s hinted she grew up pretty lonely and is constantly disrespected by her superiors. Even though she does have serious talent, Candace is only allowed to do things like sock duty. But she puts up with it because she believes she’s doing her part. And in the end, she discovers that she’s been fighting for the bad guys and that she’s the villain. Doofenshmirtz isn’t much better here, but he can use the force and is recognized by the rebels to be enough of a threat to send one of their best agents to fight him, so at least he has some respect.
And here’s another thing that makes Candace’s pain feel less earned; she doesn’t do anything wrong.
Even though Heinz’s inventions vary on levels of danger they are usually used to humiliate, harm, or cause destruction. (Hell, some even kill.) The make-up-your-mind-inator is a good example of this as he was planning to use it on anyone that couldn’t make up their minds and destroy them. 
The reason varies but more often than not he’s doing something wrong, so you can argue his bad luck is karma. In the canon verse, Candace isn’t technically doing anything wrong. 
Yes, tattle-tailing is annoying as nobody likes a snitch but not only Phineas and Ferb are not only breaking the rules but they’re also placing themselves in danger. In the first episode, we see how reckless Phineas is in the first episode as he shows everyone how to use a seat belt as the coaster is climbing at a vertical angle up the tracks (and he doesn’t even put one on once he sits down). Another other example of this is with the Tower of Phineas which almost kills them. (And now is slowly killing everyone in the universe if it’s still doing that oxygen thing.)
Even when she’s not even trying to bust anyone, Candace is constantly yanked around by the universe. This is shown most clearly when she tries to get a Ducky Momo collectible;
It was something cute Candace wanted. She made deals for it, worked hard and no one would have been hurt if she got it it would have made everyone, even her, happy. Then when she is seconds from getting it, boom! The universe takes it at the last moment just to yank her chain.
A more prominent and remembered example is in “Candace Gets Busted” where she is pressured into having a party. She doesn’t even get to enjoy it as Candace spends the whole time keeping the house clean and protected. And even then, everyone is more interested in Phineas and Ferb. To top it all off, the universe gives Candace hope that it’ll let her get away with it like her brothers do all the time. Then at the last moment, for no reason, it sends the party back and gets her in trouble.
And the universe pulls that shit on her all the time. It gives her hope that she’ll reach her desires only to go “nope” at the last minute and ruin everything.
In the Temple of Juatchadoon, the Candace there isn’t even trying to get anyone in trouble; she just wants to report on Ohio and Rhode Island to share their adventures. If anything this would help the boys and make them more famous but because Candace is the one who wants to share their story, the universe goes out of its way to make sure that doesn’t happen.
The only thing where everything goes well for Candace--without Phineas and Ferb--is her relationship with Jeremy and Stacy. This is one of two things where Candace has better luck than Doofenshmirtz. (Though again on his part most of them are a result of incompatibility, him being rude, or karma. I don’t think any relationship was ruined because of a random act of fate. [Except with his date in evil love with whom I hope he gets together again.])
But even then, Stacy moves all the way to Uruguay in the future and with Candace’s luck, I find it very worrying that Jeremy is nowhere to be seen.
In conclusion;
While Heinz has had a sadder and harder life, the bad things that happen to him are usually a result of his actions or others. And even then, there are times when he succeeds and get what he wants. Heinz may have to work for it but we have seen several futures where he gets everything he wants and is happy (even when no one else is). On top of that in other universes, he usually has a position of power (however low it may seem), but not Candace.
In the best-case future scenario, Candace lives a reflection of her mom’s life where she still harbors past pain and resentments that are so strong that she was willing to put everything at stake to change the past. The fact that she’s willing to do this hints that she’s not as happy as she appears.
There’s also the fact that when she does get what she wants it usually comes with a heavier punishment. The biggest example is that whenever she busts her brothers, it ends with an apocalyptic future.
In other universes, Candace may get to show off her stuff more but she clearly isn’t happy and either finds herself in the wrong or quickly outshined.
And finally, there’s just how the universe likes to taunt her all the time. It waits until the very last minute to take away Phineas and Ferb’s inventions, or something she likes. (And in the most ridiculous ways too. Again, an invention literally just danced off one time.)
And there’s not even a reason for all of it; At least with Milo, we know it's because of Murphy’s Law. We can’t even say that her bad luck is because of the Phineas and Ferb effect because of the bad luck that happens away from Phineas and Ferb.
The only reason we have is the reason Candace always states; the universe is against her.
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I think people like to forget even more so the people defending rwby that the show never was meant to be revolutionary or full with rep or even that deep. It was a passion project with fun and cool concepts. Its a what if red riding hood would be a badass but naive monster hunter. And sure stories like this can still have a lot of depth but we all saw the first seasons and knew its gonna be more on the cool and fun site. And thats okey! Stories dont need to be revolutionary or have a lot of depth to be enjoyable. But some fans act like its the gold of storytelling and foreshadowing when its not and never will be. Again thats okey! Just wish the rwby stans would pop a few chill pills before watching or going on tumblr to write paraghraphs about a youtube cartoon.
Hey anon! I agree completely, in the early volumes of RWBY we were sold a fighting anime set in a school with flashy fights and cool weapons and semblances where Corgi's get fired out of a canon and live to tell the tale. I do not say this to bash the show at all! There is nothing wrong with shows like this, back then when that was the show, I loved it. The fights where fun and exciting to watch, I was eager to see the new weapons and semblances of characters we hadn't seen yet. It was a blast and we need shows like that honestly. Lighter shows that are fun and an escape from the hellscape we find ourselves in right now. Like another favorite show of mine is Phineas and Ferb. It's fun its silly its quirky it has memorable and loveable characters and it never goes that deep at all in any of its themes or stories but I adore it because of that. It's light its fun and safe content to consume.
I get wanting a show to be deeper then it really is. Going back to my Phineas and Ferb example, the show sprinkles in these hints that the main antagonist's brother who is beloved by everyone at his core is a bad and almost cruel person. We get these nuggets and I keep hoping the show will delve into more and go into their childhoods and they never do and that's okay because the show was never supposed to be about those kinds of topics, its about the adventures of two kids trying to make the most of their summer vacation and having fantastic adventures with their friends with a side plot about their pet platypus who is a secret agent. It's a silly show and their is nothing wrong with that. RWBY could have been a fantastic slice of life show about battling the monster of the week and I would have adored it. But the show wanted to try and be more then the writers knew how to handle.
RWBY is not the gold standard for storytelling, hell its not even the bronze standard. It's got a lot of flaws and plot holes and retcons and unretcons? Undoing of retcons? I don't even know the proper terminology for this but it is retcons of retcons and back to the original and it is insane trying to keep up with it all. But that is okay. You do not need to justify enjoying a show, just as you do not need to justify not liking a show or why you chose to criticize its flaws. But trying to pretend RWBY is something its not is only setting people up for disappointment. If you promise a deep and emotional story with top tier story telling and they get RWBY people are going to be upset and frustrated.
I remember when a college friend told me about Ruby and she showed me all the trailers and I was so excited because it looked so fun. She told me I was getting a fun fighting show based off of fairytale characters and I was down for that. It sounded fun and exciting and I didn't care the animation was....flawed lolz. I didn't care about that, I was just here for the fun ride. And hell the show deciding to try and switch gears and try to tackle heavier topics is also fine! Shows can successfully make that kind of transition, but RWBY's writers simply where not prepared to be able to tackle these topics. They weren't ready to do the necessary research and have the necessary conversations to do so properly and respectfully. That really at the end of the day is the problem. A lack of willingness to do the work to try and become the show RWBY and its fans try to pretend it is now. I just wish the fans would accept that the writers just didn't have the tools needed to write the story they where trying to.
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galaxina-the-pyro · 2 years
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Perry the Platypus for the bingo thing
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...I think he's alright.
He's a secret agent platypus, like, what's not to love about him on one hand? But on the other...I dunno. He's in my top ten favorite characters list, but at the same time he's at the tenth spot? He's just not as fun to me as other characters, even though he really SHOULD be. That isn't to say he ISN'T fun, because he is. Doof's comedy wouldn't be the same WITHOUT Perry. But like...I think the least about him out of who I consider being the main cast of characters, and even when I DO think about him it's usually in tangent with ANOTHER character, and it centers on THAT character specifically rather than Perry. I like thinking about his relationships with other characters, but I don't really focus on Perry on his own, if that makes any sense. He has plenty of moments, though, and I am well aware that his popularity is well-earned, I just think he's an okay character personally.
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AX3333 - University - TV series Project (Summer) - Tip Toe on the Road - Character Designs
Whilst coming up with the idea for Tip Toe on the road, I knew from the beginning that the heart of the show would be the story of a young child and their pet turtle going to out to explore the world. When creating the character designs I felt that I had an understanding as to how the characters should look, but I also felt that I should try and experiment with some aspects for the characters, especially for the human characters. In this post I will be going over the character designs for Tip Toe himself and son of the Celest family Jason.
Tip Toe
Tip Toe is like a regular house turtle, slow and relaxed yet quite excitable, especially when it comes to head butting stuff. When creating Tip Toe, I wanted to make him look as much like a regular turtle as possible. The reason I decided to go with a turtle was due to the name, Tip Toe sounds very slow so I was thinking about slow animals. I then remembered a short group project we did at the beginning of the second year where we had to animate something that would morph into the next person’s scene, for me I had a turtle ridding a Jack Hammer.
The idea for Tip Toe to be a very tame character and have each episodes plot happen around him was partly inspired by characters who appear for brief moments with an episode of a show and either say or do one thing and leave. For example the character Perry the Platypus from Disney show “Phineas & Ferb” to the main duo’s point of view is a regular platypus who doesn't do much, or would do one thing and be praised for doing that one thing and that’s all Phineas & Ferb see (Ignoring the whole secret agent part). Another example of these types of character’s is Waddles the pig from the Disney show “Gravity Falls”. Waddles is a pig, he oinks, he tilts his head and is just there as the plots of the shows episodes go on around him and everyone (both in show and the audience) seem to love him, that is sort of tone I wanted to set for Tip Toe.
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Jason
Jason is the son of the Celest family and the owner of Tip Toe. Jason films Tip Toe head butting things in short clips and uploads them online where the videos gained immense popularity and got the family to tour Europe. Jason is an innocent kid, but is also quite protective over Tip Toe, he treats him like a best friend and doesn't want anything bad to happen to Tip Toe (especially if an episode presents any risks or dangers).
When designing Jason I knew I wanted him to be young, appearing to be around 8 to 11 years old. At first when designing the character I was struggling to find a balance of body proportion to make Jason appear young (E.g. Chest too wide, legs too long, etc). Whilst looking through past work where I rediscovered the character designs for the younger characters from the Nickelodeon show “Fairly Odd Parents”. In the show young children and the majority of Fariy characters have large heads, with small bodies, where as the adults have larger more proportioned bodies as there bodies seem to have almost caught up with their heads. Seeming as the age I was aiming to make Jason being half way between child and teenager, I decided to still make the head large, but make the body almost as large as the head to try to better represent an aspect of his age. I also experimented with larger facial features. Originally I was considering making Jason’s eyes big and his nose and mouth small, but in the end I decided to give Jason a large Oval shaped nose, as I felt it could be fun to play around with in some episodes of the show. Some examples may include him struggling to put on a helmet because his nose is in the way or he may have a very good sense in smell the list goes on, it also makes the character identifiable amongst other characters because of this aspect. 
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Overall, I feel like I'm starting to get a better grasp behind the world and characters for Tip Toe on the road. One of the biggest aspects of this show however will be it’s environments as every episode would take place in a different European country. In my next post I will try to create some environments ranging from cities, to ski slopes and possibly more, I’ll talk more about this in a future post.
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nonbinary-octopus · 3 years
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My mind immediately went PERRY THE PLATYPUS! when you asked who the main character in Phineas and Ferb is, so I'm declaring that it's Perry 😂
Cool! Secret agent sounds like a fun job.
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ask-the-wordsmith · 4 years
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On the Purpose of Formula
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Okay, you’ve all heard of “formula” TV shows. You’ve probably heard amateur writers who have never actually produced something tell you how bad they are, using “formulaic” as a negative term.
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Well SIT THE HECK DOWN. I’m here to explain how formula— even BAD formula— can make a show funny, endearing, suspenseful, or exciting.
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First of all: the way I’m using the term, a “formula TV show” is one that follows a distinct pattern every episode. Every show follows a formula to some degree, but my area of expertise— children’s programming— often uses very specific formulas that are easy to recite and make fun of. Usually these formulas go so far as to include repeat even dialogue, which is how catchphrases are born. (“Team Rocket’s blasting off again!”)
I could go into the psychology of why the human mind likes repetition, or how formulas make it easier to produce content on a budget because the writers don’t have to start from scratch with a new framework every two weeks, but what I really want to hammer in today is the beauty of breaking the formula.
“But wait, I thought you said formula was good—”
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Yeah. Because you break it. You can’t BREAK a formula if you don’t HAVE one to begin with. Let’s take a highly-formulaic, yet very popular and extremely well-written comedy show: Phineas and Ferb. (You can skip the entire next paragraph if you already know the show.)
If you’ve seen one episode of P&F, you’ve seen them all: Phineas and Ferb decide to build a crazy, huge, impossible invention out of boredom (“I know what we’re going to do today, Ferb!”) and the core cast joins in (“Whacha dooooin’?”) while their pet-slash-secret-agent Perry the Platypus (“Agent P!”) gets sent on a mission to defeat the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who’s building an evil “Inator” that will cause some vague and oddly specific harm so he can “rule the ENTIRE TRI-STATE AREA!” Meanwhile, Candace, P&F’s older sister, tries to bust them for their shenanigans (“MOOOOM! PHINEAS AND FERB ARE—”), the evidence of which always gets erased at the last possible minute as a result of Dr. D’s failed schemes. Evil is defeated (“CURSE YOU, PERRY THE PLATYPUUUUUS!”), Perry returns home incognito (“Oh, there you are, Perry!”), and the mom invites the kids in for snacks (“Who wants pie?”) none the wiser.
Wow. That’s one specific formula! And not even HALF the requirements! With every episode being half-length (11 minutes without commercials), you’d think there’s hardly room for anything original. So why is the show so funny, and so good?
Because about once per episode, the writers break one part of the formula.
You never know which part it will be. You never see it coming. And when that moment comes— when Ferb (who only gets one line per episode) breaks into an entire monologue about finding a lost lizard, when Perry the Platypus knocks instead of breaking down Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s door, or when said evil doctor’s curses are interrupted by a “hey, is that the Baljeatles?”— THOSE moments are the ones that take you by surprise. And because the writers already find a new and funny way to use the formula, you’re too distracted by all the new jokes to remember that they’re going to break it at some point.
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No, wait, don’t stop scrolling yet! I know this is a long post, but bear with me. Because breaking formula can be used to create suspense and shock as well.
Wanna know another formulaic kid’s show that, while it has objectively bad writing and makes literally no sense half the time, has somehow risen to international fame? Miraculous freakin’ Ladybug. I’ll spare you the full formula rundown, but one crucial piece is that at some point, the superhero Ladybug uses her patented, once-per-episode move: Lucky Charm! It summons some obscure object, which she uses in tandem with her surroundings to create a convoluted mousetrap that defeats the villain.
So when Silencer, an episode that isn’t even a season premiere or finale, TAKES AWAY HER VOICE AND RENDERS HER UNABLE TO SUMMON HER LUCKY CHARM— well, shoot! What’s she gonna do? What are the WRITERS gonna do? She’s not allowed to defeat the villain without using her special move. It’s not just improbable in-universe; you’re aware, as a viewer, that the writers can’t do it either. It’d be like revealing Perry the Platypus’s secret identity. It just can’t happen!
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My point is, you’re invested now, aren't you? Even if you don’t watch the show, you kinda want to know how they resolved it. You’re hoping I’ll tell you. That’s the power of television. That’s how you create the “what happens next?” cliffhanger that stopped being interesting decades ago when people realized the main character was never going to die. You cannot rely on a scary monster to be an effective cliffhanger. Because we KNOW that Ladybug will win. Even the kids know she’ll win. But HOW will she win?
After all, you broke the formula.
How will she win if you broke the formula?!
...and THAT, my fellow wordsmithers, is the purpose of formula. There are things in this world that were meant to be broken.
But to break a formula, you have to have one first.
So if you ever hear an amateur critic on youtube or writeblr use “formulaic” as an insult, take everything they say with a grain of salt. Formulaic shows can be bad, but it’s not the formula which makes them that way.
(Oh, and since I know you’re wondering? Ladybug tricks the villain who stole her voice into saying “Lucky Charm” for her so she can summon her power. Simple solution! —once you’ve thought of it. But it kept you reading ‘til the end, now didn’t it?)
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haedonr0cks · 4 years
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Thomas Finks Vs Writer’s Block
Plot: 
In the beginning summer of Danville in 2002, A newly high school graduate name Thomas Finks has a problem of what his future will look like. With plans that don’t work out or interest him, he fears the his life may spiral down. With the help of his best friend Jane Witney, he decides to write a book called “The Underground Battle” Which starts when the hero’s mission is to fight and arrest the villain like in almost every other book. 
Characters: 
Thomas Finks: He is an eighteen year old high school graduate and one of the main characters in the story. He dreams of becoming a famous writer in his future and hopes to live a life near the waterfalls. He is an only child in the Finks family with his parents and his german shepard name Shawn. 
Jane Witney: She is an eighteen year old high school graduate and another main character. She plans to be an astronaut in her career, but she has to wait for her college to open up when summer ends. She the older sister of her younger brother Phillip Witney who is only twelve years old. She also has this little crush on Thomas and is afraid to tell him the truth about it. 
Shawn the (German) Shepherd: People (including his family) would think that he is just an ordinary dog, but he is actually an elite secret agent named Agent S working for OWCA. He is 8 dog years old \and knows how to fight and defend. His job is to take down an evil russian scientist who plans to take over the government. 
Alastair Yakim: He is a forty year old evil russian scientist whose plan is to take over the government including the OWCA that special animal agents work at. He doesn’t have a family, but his genius of electronics and math has helped him create machines that could wipe out humanity. His nemesis is Shawn the Shepherd who destroys his plans and tries to arrest him but failed. 
Julie Morkam: She is a thirty-five year old human agent of the OWCA. Her job is to help train animals into secret agents including a baby platypus named Perry. She’s friends with the Minks (Her neighbors) including Agent S who helps her out with Perry. 
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Phineas and Ferb as a show can be described by one ao3 tag: Crack treated seriously.
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noddytheornithopod · 6 years
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Phineas & Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law?
Interesting, this should be fun.
Which has the better protagonist: Hmm, in terms of actual story structure I’m gonna say Milo Murphy’s Law. I might love Candace, Phineas, Ferb, Perry and Doofenshmirtz more and am more attached to them, but as I just indicated Phineas and Ferb is more of an ensemble cast so it’s harder to break down. Milo is already one of the strongest aspects of his show (and that’s not even taking into account how great Weird Al Yankovic is as him), and the fact that ultimately he is the protagonist does make this easier to answer. If I were to break it down into individual plots then I would definitely say Candace in PnF’s A-plot (or Phineas and Ferb if Candace is in her own C-plot, to which the same feeling applies) and Perry and Doof in the B-plot, but if we’re talking about whole shows then it’s easier to go with Milo because he’s the only real protagonist in the end.
Which has the better villain: Phineas and Ferb. Doofenshmirtz is one of my favourite characters in general, and the fact that his entire villainy is pretty much subverted in the end in that he’s not even really evil just makes that even more interesting. Even when you take into account that Doof isn’t even really evil in the end, I still choose PnF though. They might be one-off villains but characters like Second Dimension Doofenshmirtz, Mitch the alien, the Drill Sergeant from PnF Get Busted and if they count despite being a horde enemy the zombie pharmacists (ESPECIALLY) I still have found more memorable than what MML has offered. We do have recurring villains in the forms of the Pistachions, and King Pistachion himself is fun and they do have a very sinister plot, but I just don’t feel like they’ve really left a mark on me as much yet (even if the whole kidnapping humans and replacing them with themselves plot is pretty creepy). I guess I just find them a bit one-note for being major villains? That’s fine and all if you want to focus more on the protagonists, but it doesn’t necessarily get you villain points.
Which has the better plot: Depends on what you mean by “plot.” If we’re talking about an overarching plot and continuity then Milo Murphy’s Law wins by default because it is a more serialised show and as a result has a more solid continuity. If we’re talking about individual episode plots though, then I still have to pick Phineas and Ferb because “kid with stuff going wrong around him and sometimes there’s time travellers” is compelling enough, but “two brothers build and invent impossible things, their sister wants them busted while struggling with teen life and their pet platypus is a secret agent who fights a not-so-evil scientist, also all of these plots influence each other’s outcomes” is something else entirely.
Which has better cinematography: I’m not really sure to be honest, though if I had to pick I’d probably pick Phineas and Ferb. It being a storyboard driven show as opposed to MML being script driven probably helps a lot, and some of the visuals in later episodes (especially specials) are great.
Which one is more fun: Phineas and Ferb. Of course both shows can be really fun, but I’ve been with PnF for longer and it being more ridiculous in general as well as the characters being more interesting and offbeat to me really helps.
Which one makes me think the most: Phineas and Ferb by far. Maybe i’m biased since I’m Autistic and PnF is my main interest, but there’s just so much stuff out there to explore, and the characters truly fascinate me.
Which do I watch when I want to relax: I rarely go back and revisit shows more than once because I’m lazy, but in general I find Phineas and Ferb to be more that kind of show, even if in my case it’s more images/GIFs and fanart. :P
Which do I watch when I want it to consume me: Phineas and Ferb. Despite Milo being more serialised, I find it easier to watch single episodes of. With Phineas and Ferb, I end up getting so obsessed with even minor details that I need to watch everything to pick it all up.
Which is my favorite: If it wasn’t obvious, Phineas and Ferb. I don’t think it’s going to be replaced anytime soon, because it really was for me a case of the right show for me showing up at the right place at the right time. My affection for the show has had years to develop, and the characters in the show are not some of my favourites out of anything I’ve consumed, but actually for the first time gave me ones I felt I could truly care about and connect with. Milo is already pretty good of course and definitely has a stronger start than PnF and arguably potential to be even better, but combined with sentimental value and the fact that it seems to be aware that it’s going to always live in the shadow of its predecessor (I mean, they wrote the first season KNOWING they were going to end up in a PnF crossover), I do have to say PnF is definitely the better show.
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sophieanne2611 · 4 years
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Character Research Part 2
Phineas and Ferb
·Phineas and Ferb is an American TV series with a few films and musical numbers
·Phineas and Ferb are Stepbrothers who live with their older sister Candace Flynn
·Phineas and Candace are blood related to their mother Linda Flynn and Ferb is Candace and Phineas’ Stepbrother and he is blood related to Lawrence Fletcher which is his dad but they all class each other as family
·They are both 10 years old throughout the show but on the last episode they were 15. Their older sister is 15 throughout the series and on the last episode she is 20
·Not much is known about who Candace and Phineas’ biological dad is or who Ferbs biological mum is
·Ferb is from London and Phineas is from America
·Its summertime in the series and they like being very creative so instead of sat in front of a TV or playing video games they build lots of massive things to make Summer more exciting
·The things they do make their sister jealous as well as she would never get away with doing things like that as she is aware of the things they make.
·So their sister always tries to get them told off by the mum as the things they make are dangerous and once she gets the mum the invention is always gone.
·There are a few different plots that happen throughout the show episodes but the main focus are the brothers inventions
·The other plots are to do with their pet platypus they have who is a secret agent who battles Dr Doofenshmirtz who makes stuff that he uses to take over the city they live in but always gets stopped in the end.
·On the odd occasion you get a plot to do with Candace the boy’s sister
·The style that are used for these characters and the show are geometric shapes
References:
https://phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/Phineas_and_Ferb
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lighttheday · 5 years
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*Gender Roles on Disney Show*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjy70a9GMQ
In this entry, I will examine the critical question: What gender norm is constructed or undone in this artifact and how does it promote a dominant ideology over a marginalized group?
This rhetorical artifact I will be examining is an episode of the Disney Channel show Phineas and Ferb which is an animated musical comedy show about two brothers Phineas and Ferb who are determined to make the best out of their summer. Phineas and Ferb are stepbrothers who are extremely intelligent and can create anything they imagine. In each episode, the boys challenge themselves to do new things such as building a backyard beach or world’s greatest roller coaster. The two boys’ older sister named Candace, who always get annoyed by her brothers’ invention and continuously tries to tell on the boy but always fails to do so. The show also contains a second plot about the family’s Platypus, Perry, who is an undercover secret agent. Although this show is meant to make the audience smile, it also portrays gender stereotypes by implying that boys are supposed to be intelligent, creative, and innovative while implying that girls are supposed to focus on beauty and chase after their crushes. The show promotes the dominant ideology that boys with their intelligence and creativity have the potential to be more than girls.
The episode I examine is titled “Phineas and Ferb Interview with a Platypus.”  In this episode, Phineas and Ferb try to build a machine that can help them understand what Perry’s chatter mean. On the other hand, Perry escapes for his undercover job, so Phineas and Ferb tryout their translator to help other animals in the city. While this was happening, Candace was trying to spend time with her crush Jeremy by pretending to like video games. However, Jeremy family’s poodle dislikes Candace and interrupt Candace’s date by peeing on her shoe, forcing Candace to leave. Once Candace arrived home, she saw the boy’s translator and instantly tried to tell on her brothers, she ends up failing. On the second plot of the is an episode, Perry stops Dr. Doofenshmirtz (the evil arch-nemesis) from flooding the city and make them his new invented vehicle the runs on water.
While Phineas and Ferb is an amazing comedic show that informs the audiences the values of innovation, creativity, and friendship it also displays certain gender roles. In the article “Undoing Gender,” Judith Butler explains that gender is not constructed biologically; rather, it is socially constructed. She states that gender is not something automatic or mechanical, but it is the “practice of improvisation within a scene of constraint” (Butler 1). She explains that gender is not something an individual can create by him/herself. Instead, society influences the individual through gender stereotypes and build in social constraints that keep them from deviating. Butler further explains through her idea, “the agency of ‘I,’” that gender should be an individual’s decision alone, not society (Bulter 3). However, because of society’s gender norms and social constraints, people are pressured to fit in these constructed gender norms. Furthermore, Phineas and Ferb increase the pressure to fit in by promoting gender stereotypes through fictional characters. There are two main female characters in the show are Isabella, a 10-year-old girl who has a massive crush on Phineas, and Candace to promote these stereotypes.
At the beginning of the episode, Ferb and Phineas are in their backyard wonder what their Platypus Perry’s chatter means. While this was happening, Candice is in her room talking to her friend on the phone about why her crush Jeremy not calling. This scene displays a variety of hidden gender stereotypes. For example, the walls in her room are painted purple, her bed sheet is pink, her pillowcase is a purple color with pink hearts, and her mobile phone is pink as well. The pink and purple colors are supposed to feminine colors, this portrays the stereotype that girls are supposed to be feminine. Hung on her wall is a scripted photo of Candace and Jeremy, Candace dressed as a princess and her Jeremy dressed as prince which depicts the stereotype that girls are supposed to dream about founding prince charming and live happily ever after. Another scene that displays gender roles is when Candace was playing video games are Jeremy’s place. While Jeremy was extremely good at video games, Candace was awful at video games. This portrays the idea that videos are supposed masculine and therefore, is not for girls. The ending scene also does a neat job displaying gender role. In this scene, Candace is by the garage upset that her date with Jeremy didn’t go so well. Suddenly, Jeremy arrives with Candace’s shoe and puts it on her foot. Then, surprised by what just happened, Candace ends up passing out of joy. This is another example of girls waiting for their prince charming to come to rescue them.
The second way the show promotes gender stereotypes is through Isabella. She is always dressed in a pink mini dress with purple headband, and every time she arrives at a low tempo pretty soundtrack is played. Again, this is further displaying the stereotype that girls are supposed to be feminine and wear feminine color. As for the soundtrack, it is only played when Isabella approaches Phineas. This because Isabella has a crush on Phineas and the music is supposed to display her emotions. This is intriguing because both of the main female characters are characterized by their crushes which again goes back to the stereotype that girls are full of emotions and a guy in their lives. Finally, Sabella is also part of Girl Scout; and the help of other Girl Scout members they run errands and find other ways to help Phineas and Ferb. This displays that boys are supposed to be the leaders and girls are there to be submissive and followers.
In the article “A longitudinal content analysis of gender role portrayal in Belgian television advertising”, Verhellen, Dens, and Pelsmacker conducted an experiment to see if advertisements on Belgian commercial television depicts gender roles (Verhellen, Dens & Pelsmacker 181). They discovered that advertisements tend to use younger women of over women and these are portrayed as a housewife, caregiving parents, and sexual objects (Verhellen, Dens & Pelsmacker 181-182). The researchers gathered and analyzed results from two distinct periods, 2002–2003 and 2009–2010, to get a more comprehensive view on gender role and to see if there have been changes concerning gender role across the two periods. They discovered gender stereotypes in advertising has not changed and continued to over time (Verhellen, Dens & Pelsmacker 183). This article provides evidence that gender stereotypes don’t just occur on T.V shows but also occurs advertisement. And this trend of gender role has been going on for a long time.
In conclusion, Phineas and Ferb is an amazing show that teaches its audience to be creative and innovative. However, the show also implies that girls should focus on beauty and chase after their crushes which promotes the dominant ideology that boys are supposed to be intellect and creativity and have potential to be inventors, engineers, and scientists. Furthermore, Verhellen, Dens, and Pelsmacker discovered that these gender stereotypes don’t’ just get displays in the United States in television, but also in Belgian. Judith Bulter states that gender roles are socially constructed, which means they can be social deconstructed.  As a considered citizen, it is our job to be aware of these gender stereotypes and found ways to start deconstructing them.
 Reference:
Butler, Judith. Introduction: Acting in Concert. Undoing Gender, by Butler, Routledge UP, 2004, pp. 1-4.  
Phineas and ferb interview with a platypus. . (2016, Apr 10,).[Video/DVD] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjy70a9GMQ
Verhellen, Y., Dens, N., & Pelsmacker, P. d. (2016). A longitudinal content analysis of gender role portrayal in belgian television advertising. Journal of Marketing Communications, 22(2), 170-188. doi:10.1080/13527266.2013.871321
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