Dan Povenmire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dan Povenmire
Povenmire in 2009
Born	(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
Employer	20th Television Animation (1992-1996, 2000-2002, 2005-2007) Nickelodeon (1993-1999, 2001-2004) Disney Television Animation (2005-present)
Known for	Phineas and Ferb Milo Murphy's Law Hamster & Gretel
Spouse(s)	Clarissa McPeck Rincón ​ ​ (m. 2000; sep. 2022)​
Children	2
TikTok information
Followers	6.9 million
Likes	251.3 million
Page Display Name	Dan Povenmire
Page Direct URL	danpovenmire
YouTube information Years active 2007–present Genre Vlog Subscribers 1.68 million Total views 750.1 million Subscriber and view counts updated as of July 14, 2025.

Dan Povenmire (born September 18, 1963) is an American animator, voice actor, writer, director, and producer. He is best known for co-creating popular animated TV shows like Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law for Disney Channel.

With his creative partner, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Povenmire has brought many fun characters and stories to life. He also voices the funny villain, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, in both Phineas and Ferb and Milo Murphy's Law.

Before creating these shows, Povenmire worked on many other famous animated series. These include Hey Arnold!, The Simpsons, Rocko's Modern Life, and SpongeBob SquarePants. He was also a director for the animated sitcom Family Guy. In 2020, he and Marsh released a second Phineas and Ferb movie, Candace Against the Universe. He also created a new Disney series called Hamster & Gretel, which started in 2022.

About Dan Povenmire

Early Life and Artistic Beginnings

Dan Povenmire was born on September 18, 1963, in San Diego, California. He grew up in Mobile, Alabama. From a very young age, he loved cartoons and started drawing when he was only two years old. By the time he was ten, his artwork was shown in local art exhibits.

He even made his own flip books in his school textbooks. As a child, Povenmire looked up to the famous animator Chuck Jones. He also found inspiration in the works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.

Education and College Comics

Povenmire went to Shaw High School in Mobile. He first attended the University of South Alabama. There, he created a 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) to study film. At USC, he continued his comic strip, Life is a Fish, for the university newspaper, Daily Trojan. The comic was very popular and even helped him earn money from merchandise like T-shirts and books. This experience taught him how to draw things simply and clearly.

Starting a Career in Animation

Povenmire left USC to pursue his animation dreams. He used the money from his comic strip to become a street artist for a short time. His first professional animation job was for the project Far Out Man, where he created two minutes of animation. By age 24, he was working as a freelance animator on shows like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Working on The Simpsons

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

Povenmire worked on character layouts and storyboards for The Simpsons. He also wrote scripts for films on the side. He was even offered the chance to direct a low-budget horror movie, Psycho Cop 2. However, he chose to stay with The Simpsons because he enjoyed it more and felt it was better for his future goals.

Creative Freedom with Rocko's Modern Life

Sometimes, the animation staff at The Simpsons would have breaks between productions. During one of these breaks, Povenmire found a temporary job on Rocko's Modern Life, a new cartoon from Nickelodeon. The show's creator, Joe Murray, hired Povenmire because of his Life is a Fish comics, which showed he could both write and draw.

Povenmire found that he had more creative freedom on Rocko's Modern Life. He decided to leave The Simpsons to work on Rocko full-time. Here, he worked with Jeff Marsh again, this time as a writing team. They developed a unique style that included musical numbers and chase scenes.

Directing Family Guy and SpongeBob SquarePants

Later, Povenmire became a director for Family Guy. The show's creator, Seth MacFarlane, gave Povenmire a lot of creative freedom. Povenmire enjoyed this freedom, saying MacFarlane trusted him to create fun visual gags.

Povenmire used his own experiences to make the visuals in Family Guy more realistic. For example, he used his childhood memories from the Deep South for a scene in the episode "To Love and Die in Dixie". An episode he directed, "Brian Wallows and Peter's Swallows", won an Emmy Award for Best Song. Povenmire was also nominated for an Annie Award for directing the episode "PTV".

During a time when Family Guy was briefly off the air, Povenmire worked as a storyboard director for SpongeBob SquarePants. He also wrote several episodes for the show, including "Graveyard Shift" and "The Fry Cook Games". He also wrote "The Campfire Song Song" for "The Camping Episode".

Creating Phineas and Ferb

In 1993, Povenmire and Marsh came up with the idea for Phineas and Ferb. The show was inspired by their own childhood summers spent playing outdoors. Povenmire spent about 12 years trying to get Phineas and Ferb picked up by different networks. Many networks thought the show's plots were too complex.

However, Disney eventually decided to make the series. They asked Povenmire to create an 11-minute pilot episode first. He called Marsh, who was living in England, and Marsh immediately agreed to work on the pilot. Povenmire left Family Guy to focus on creating Phineas and Ferb.

Povenmire's drawing style for the show was influenced by animator Tex Avery. He used geometric shapes for the characters and backgrounds. The very first sketch of Phineas Flynn was drawn on butcher paper at a restaurant.

Povenmire and Marsh wanted to include the kind of humor they had developed on Rocko's Modern Life. They added action sequences and, with Disney's encouragement, included a musical number in almost every episode. Phineas and Ferb has received many awards and nominations. In 2021, Povenmire won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Animated Program" for the movie Candace Against the Universe.

Musical Talents

During his college years, Dan Povenmire played in a band that performed in clubs around Los Angeles, California. He is currently in a band called Keep Left, which releases albums. They have an official website where they also share "clever and twisted" comic strips.

Personal Life

Dan Povenmire married Clarissa McPeck Rincón in 2000. In 2023, he shared that they had separated. His daughter, Meli, voices the main character Gretel in Hamster & Gretel. She is also the inspiration for the character Melissa Chase in Milo Murphy's Law. His other daughter, Isabella (now known as Alex), inspired the character Isabella Garcia-Shapiro in Phineas and Ferb.

Povenmire has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Filmography

Films

Animation

Video games

Web series

See also

In Spanish: Dan Povenmire para niños