Phineas Flynn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Phineas Flynn |
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| Phineas and Ferb character | |
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| First appearance | "Rollercoaster" (2007) |
| Last appearance | Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020) |
| Created by | |
| Voiced by | Vincent Martella |
| Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Student |
| Family |
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| Nationality | American |
Phineas Flynn is a fun character from the cartoon show Phineas and Ferb. Vincent Martella gives Phineas his voice. The character was created by Dan Povenmire. Phineas first appeared in the very first episode, "Rollercoaster", in 2007. Phineas and his stepbrother, Ferb Fletcher, are the main stars of almost every episode.
The show is all about Phineas trying to avoid being bored during his summer vacation. He always finds something new and exciting to do every day! He does this with Ferb, who doesn't talk much, and often with other kids from their neighborhood. His sister, Candace Flynn, often tries to tell their parents about their big projects, but it never works out.
The activities Phineas and Ferb come up with are usually huge and amazing. They build things like roller coasters, haunted houses, and even a beach in their backyard. Phineas designs these cool projects, and Ferb helps build them.
Phineas lives in a blended family. The show's creators chose this because they felt it wasn't shown enough in kids' TV. Also, one of the creators, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, grew up in a blended family himself. Phineas is a popular character and appears on toys, t-shirts, and in video games.
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Phineas's Role in the Show
Phineas lives in a blended family, which means his parents are remarried. This idea came from creator Jeff Marsh's own life. His stepbrother, Ferb, is his best friend. The show never talks about Phineas's birth father, and the creators plan to keep it that way. We know that his mother, Linda Flynn-Fletcher, married Ferb's father, Lawrence Fletcher, in the 1990s. They fell in love at a concert after being shown on a "kiss cam."
Phineas is shown as a very smart, creative, and kind kid. To avoid boredom, he and Ferb come up with amazing activities during their summer break. They often do things that most kids can't, like designing toys, becoming pirates, or managing a restaurant. Phineas lives in the town of Danville. He gets most of his ideas while sitting in his backyard with Ferb.
Creating the Character
How Phineas Was Invented
Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh first thought of Phineas and Ferb while working on The Simpsons. After planning the show's basics, they started designing the characters. Povenmire was eating dinner when he quickly sketched a "triangle kid." He named this drawing "Phineas" because he "looked like one." The name also refers to Phileas Fogg from the book Around the World in 80 Days. Povenmire immediately called Marsh, saying, "Hey, I think we have our show."
It took fifteen years for the show to get approved. In their final pitch to Disney, the creators made a rough animated story. The early version of Phineas was a bit ruder than the one in the show. The creators decided to make him more good-natured. They wanted Phineas to do most of the talking, while Ferb stayed mostly quiet, like famous comedy duos such as Wallace and Gromit.
Phineas's Look
All characters in Phineas and Ferb are drawn using simple geometric shapes, like in Tex Avery's cartoons. Phineas's head, for example, is shaped like a triangle. The show even jokes that his whole head is just his nose! The goal was to make characters simple enough for kids to draw and easy to recognize just by their outline. Phineas's eyes are oval-shaped and sit on top of his head. He has three "tufts" of hair and three freckles. His ear looks like a small number 3. The creators gave all characters thin arms to make them look more fun.
Phineas's Voice Actor
Vincent Martella, who was known for the TV show Everybody Hates Chris, was chosen to voice Phineas. Martella first tried out for the role five months before he got the part. When Dan Povenmire heard Martella's voice from Everybody Hates Chris, he asked him to voice Phineas for the pilot episode. Martella created a special voice for Phineas, describing it as "wacky and crazy." The creators worried his voice might change as he grew older, but he mostly kept it, even though the tone is a little different now.
Martella is very enthusiastic during recording sessions. He enjoys working on the show and voicing Phineas. He also likes working with guest stars, especially Malcolm McDowell. Martella once wrote in Popstar! Magazine about how much he loved being on Phineas:
The greatest thing about being on Phineas so far is that I can get my parents to laugh! We all sat down to see the beach episode on New Years Eve! Once I saw all the adults laughing along with me and my 10-year-old brother, that was the greatest thing in the world to me!
—Martella
Catchphrases and Habits
Phineas and Ferb uses many running jokes, and Phineas has a few lines he says in most episodes.
- When he gets an idea for an adventure, he says, "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!"
- During their adventures, an adult often asks him if he's "a little young to be..." doing whatever big project he's working on. For example, when building a shrine on Mount Rushmore, a park ranger asks, "Aren't you boys a little young to be restoring a national monument?" Phineas usually replies, "Yes, yes I am," or sometimes "No" or "Well, I don't think so."
- In every episode, Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus, Perry, disappears to do his job as a secret agent. The kids almost always notice and ask, "Hey, where's Perry?" When Perry returns, they say, "Oh, there you are, Perry!"
Creator Povenmire said the idea for Perry came from his own cat, Sprocket. He joked that Sprocket had a "secret life" with his neighbors to get extra food.
Phineas's Personality
His [Phineas'] confidence makes people think, "He must be a prodigy." People rarely ask him if he's too young. He'd never lie to an adult or try to get away with anything. He's just motivated by fun. If he thought mom would actually dislike the things they're doing, he would probably stop, but since he's never gotten in trouble for it, he doesn't think of it as getting into trouble.
—Dan Povenmire in an interview with Animation Magazine.
Phineas is shown as a very smart, imaginative, hopeful, and adventurous boy. Disney Channel describes him as someone who "thinks big." He refuses to let any day be boring. Povenmire also says Phineas is very confident. He is so sure of his abilities that others think he's a genius. Povenmire and Marsh wanted the show to reflect their own childhood memories of having fun in the summer, building forts and tree houses.
The creators wanted Phineas and Ferb to be characters who never did anything mean or tried to upset their sister or trick their mother on purpose. Instead, Phineas is only motivated by having fun and is never unkind. He is very friendly, caring, and polite. Many of his plans involve helping someone. He tries to please his sister Candace, like carving her face into Mount Rushmore for her birthday. He also helps her get back a tape that shows his summer adventures, even though she wanted to use it to "bust" him and Ferb.
Sometimes, Phineas's ideas can accidentally cause problems for others. For example, in "Get That Bigfoot Outta My Face," Phineas scares all the kids at camp by making them think Bigfoot is attacking. But this was just part of telling spooky stories.
Povenmire and Marsh always intended for Phineas and Ferb to be motivated only by fun. In one episode, "Thaddeus and Thor," Phineas says that fun is his only goal. Ferb adds that they also do it "for the ladies." Phineas also says he wants his adventures to give him something interesting to talk about when he goes back to school.
Phineas is also very modest. He often puts Ferb's name on their inventions. This might be because Ferb does most of the building. However, Phineas never seems angry or upset about giving his brother the credit. Phineas seems to love inventing. In "Bully Bromance Break Up," he gets upset when the other kids want to climb a mountain without using any crazy gadgets.
On a few occasions, Phineas shows an angrier side. In Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, Phineas gets angry at Perry when he finds out Perry's secret identity. He feels Perry "never trusted him." But he later understands that Perry kept his identity a secret because if Phineas and his family knew, Perry would have to move to another family. In Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, Phineas gets angry at Candace when she accidentally turns Baljeet into a Hulk-like character. They make up later. In "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer," Phineas raises his voice at Candace to stop her from powering up a machine. Buford even jokes about it, saying, "Must be a special episode, he's yelling at his sister again!"
Phineas in Other Media
Besides the TV show, Phineas has appeared in many other products from the series.
- He is in all the Phineas and Ferb books, published by Disney Press.
- Phineas is in the Nintendo DS video game called Phineas and Ferb.
- Plush toys of Phineas, Ferb, and Perry have been made.
- Phineas also appears on most Phineas and Ferb t-shirts.
- He is expected to appear in a new comic book series based on the show.
- Phineas and Ferb have been mentioned in the book Lost and Found: How Churches Are Connecting to Young Adults. This book uses them as examples of how TV characters can influence people's lives.
- Both Phineas and Ferb appeared in the MAD TV show segments "The Straight A-Team" and "DolPhineas and Ferb Tale." In these, Phineas was shown wearing glasses and looking nerdy.
See also
In Spanish: Phineas Flynn para niños
