Dan Povenmire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Povenmire
Povenmire in 2009
Born	Daniel Kingsley Povenmire (1963-09-18) September 18, 1963 (age 61) San Diego, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of South Alabama University of Southern California
Occupation	Animator voice actor writer director producer
Years active	1987–present
Known for	Phineas and Ferb Milo Murphy's Law Family Guy Rocko's Modern Life SpongeBob SquarePants The Simpsons Hamster and Gretel
Spouse(s)	Clarissa McPeck Rincón ​ ​ (m. 2000; sep. 2022)​
Children	2
YouTube information
Years active	2007–present
Genre	Vlog
Subscribers	1.61 million
Total views	692.9 million
Subscriber and view counts updated as of January 1, 2025.

Daniel Kingsley Povenmire (born September 18, 1963) is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating the popular Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law with Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. In both shows, he also voices the funny character Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

In 2020, Povenmire announced a new show for Disney Channel called Hamster & Gretel, which started in 2022. He has worked on many famous cartoons like The Simpsons, Rocko's Modern Life, and SpongeBob SquarePants. Povenmire has been nominated for several awards for his work, including a BAFTA and multiple Emmy Awards.

About Dan Povenmire

Early Life and Art

Daniel Kingsley Povenmire was born in San Diego, California. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama. Dan started drawing when he was only two years old. By the time he was ten, his artwork was shown in local art shows.

He even made his first animations by creating flip books in his school textbooks! As a child, Dan looked up to animator Chuck Jones. He also admired the works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.

Dan's Education Journey

Povenmire went to Shaw High School in Mobile. Later, he attended the University of South Alabama. There, he created his first popular comic strip called Life is a Fish. This comic was about a goldfish named Herman and the college students he lived with.

In 1985, he moved to the University of Southern California (USC). He wanted to study film and pursue a career in movies. At USC, his comic strip Life is a Fish was published daily in the university newspaper. This helped him learn to draw quickly and simply.

Dan's Amazing Career

Starting in Animation

Dan Povenmire left USC to start his career. His first professional animation job was for a film called Far Out Man. He created two minutes of animation for it. By age 24, he was working as a freelancer on animated TV shows. One of his early jobs was on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Working on The Simpsons

In the 1990s, Povenmire got a job on the popular animated series The Simpsons. He worked on character layout animation and helped with storyboards. This is where he met Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, another animator. They became good friends and later worked together on many projects.

Rocko's Modern Life Adventures

During a break from The Simpsons, Povenmire found a temporary job on Rocko's Modern Life. This was a new cartoon from Nickelodeon. The show's creator, Joe Murray, hired Dan because he could both write and draw.

Dan enjoyed the creative freedom on Rocko's Modern Life more. So, he decided to leave The Simpsons and work on Rocko full-time. Here, he teamed up with Jeff Marsh again as a writing partner. They developed a special style with fun musical numbers and chase scenes. They even won an award for an episode they wrote!

Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants

Later, Povenmire became a director for Family Guy. The show's creator, Seth MacFarlane, gave Dan a lot of freedom. Dan loved this because he could have fun and be creative. He helped make the show's visuals realistic and funny.

One episode Dan directed, "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows," won an Emmy Award for Best Song. Seth MacFarlane said Dan deserved credit for the visuals. Dan was also nominated for an Annie Award for directing the episode "PTV."

During a short time when Family Guy was not being made, Dan worked on SpongeBob SquarePants. He was a storyboard director and writer for the show. He wrote episodes like "Graveyard Shift" and "The Fry Cook Games." He also wrote "The Campfire Song Song" for "The Camping Episode."

Creating Phineas and Ferb

In 1993, Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh came up with the idea for Phineas and Ferb. They based it on their own childhood summers spent playing outdoors. Dan spent many years trying to get networks to make the show. Many thought it was too complicated.

But Dan never gave up! He said, "It was really the show we wanted to see." Finally, Disney agreed to make an 11-minute pilot episode. Dan called Jeff, who was in England, and Jeff immediately moved back to the U.S. to work on it.

Instead of a regular script, they used storyboards with voices and music. Disney loved it and ordered 26 episodes! Dan left Family Guy to focus on creating Phineas and Ferb.

Dan and Jeff wanted to add the same kind of humor they used in Rocko's Modern Life. They included action scenes and, with Disney's encouragement, added a musical song to almost every episode. Dan described the songs as their "jab at immortality." They have earned two Emmy nominations for Phineas and Ferb songs. In 2010, they won an Emmy for "Outstanding Writing in Animation." In 2021, they won another Emmy for their movie Candace Against the Universe.

The show's art style was inspired by the animation legend Tex Avery. Dan used simple shapes for characters and backgrounds. The idea for Phineas Flynn came to Dan while he was eating dinner. He drew a triangle-shaped child on a paper tablecloth. He loved the drawing so much that he used it as the main idea for Phineas and the whole show's style.

Other Projects: Milo Murphy's Law and Hamster & Gretel

After the huge success of Phineas and Ferb, Dan and Jeff created another show for Disney called Milo Murphy's Law. It started in 2016. In 2020, they made a second Phineas and Ferb movie, Candace Against the Universe. They are also working on new seasons of Phineas and Ferb.

Dan also created Hamster & Gretel, which premiered in 2022. His daughter, Meli, voices the main character Gretel in the show! His other daughter, Isabella (now Alex), inspired the character Isabella Garcia-Shapiro in Phineas and Ferb.

Dan's Music

In college, Dan played in a band in Los Angeles, California. His current band, Keep Left, releases albums. They have a website where you can find their music.

Personal Life

Dan Povenmire has two children. His daughters have inspired characters in his shows. He also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Filmography

Films

Animation

Web series

Images for kids

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  Mobile, Alabama, where Povenmire grew up.

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  The University of Southern California, where Povenmire studied film.

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  Tommy Chong gave Povenmire one of his first animation jobs.

See also

In Spanish: Dan Povenmire para niños