The Secret of Success

Road and mud aren't exactly "all terrains"...

Phineas and Ferb are building an ATV powerful enough to handle extreme terrains and even buildings. Meanwhile, Candace and Stacy go to a leadership seminar where Candace learns the steps needed to achieve her ultimate goal of busting her brothers. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is hosting the Telethon of Evil.

Episode Summary
Candace is bored in her room until Stacy calls her to help her come to a seminar that will bore her. Stacy convinces Candace by saying there might be cute boys. Candace reluctantly agrees, but tells Stacy that she owes her. In the living room, after watching a commercial for an all-terrain vehicle, Phineas decides that he and Ferb can build a better model - one that can drive on literally any type of surface, like across some cheese and up a mountainside - which they later do. Buford is particularly happy to get into this idea, after Isabella explains some of the vehicle's features to him.

Perry enters the lair on a skateboard, and Monogram tells him that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has been stockpiling cameras and microphones.

Stacy and Candace attend a seminar hosted by Tedd Shaw, the topic at hand being "leaders of the future". She's surprised to see Baljeet there, because the seminar is directed at high school students. Baljeet, however, is always open to studying anything and everything he can. Although Stacy ends up falling asleep during the seminar, Candace becomes inspired to use Shaw's techniques - B.L.A.R.F. and N.A.R.G. - to bust her brothers. The boys conveniently drive by, Candace hops inside their vehicle, and tells them to drive it home so she can show it to Mom. Stacy, meanwhile, ends up spending time with a new boy named Chad.

Over at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, Perry is captured and tied up, and Doofenshmirtz explains that his alimony checks aren't covering his evil plans like they used to, so he intends to hold a Telethon of Evil to raise the money to fund his various evil schemes. He gives Perry a telephone so that he can accept call-in donations, then uses his Pre-Empt-Inator to override all TV programming in the Tri-State Area with his telethon. Lawrence, sitting in a dentist chair, watches the program (which he believes to be a "brilliant work of satire") in confusion.

While on the way home, Candace decides that Phineas drives too slow and takes the controller from him, activating the windshield wipers and the radio in the process, where a familiar tune can be heard. A news anchor spots the vehicle go by and drives after them, noticing the danger of the situation because there isn't an adult driver in the car. Back with Doofenshmirtz, he manages to raise a paltry 23 dollars before his telethon gets preempted for a news flash concerning the car. Furious, he goes after the news van with his hover car, shooting at them with a laser so that he can regain control of the airwaves. Candace drives on, blissfully unaware of what's going on around her. The news helicopter zooms in on Doofenshmirtz, who says hi to his mother, but ends up crashing into his own building due to the distraction. The unmanned hover car flattens the news van, losing the footage and disappointing the crew.

The kids arrive home, seconds after Linda, and Candace tells them to stay put. The disbelieving and fed-up mother tells Candace she's grounded and to go to her room after learning that she drove a vehicle without an adult supervision, and she stomps up the stairs in frustration. She calls Stacy, to tell her about her (mild) success in busting her brothers, but as she's out with a boy, and tells the last one is "F.R.E.E.P.O." as she is dismissed. The kids, bored of waiting in the car, are shot up into the air after Ferb notes that they haven't yet tried the vehicle's "rocket mode", Candace tries to figure out what F.R.E.E.P.O. means until the kids leaves her in the dust.

Songs

 * Quirky Worky Song
 * All Terrain Vehicle
 * Give Me Your Money Today

What'cha doin'?
None.

Perry's entrance to his lair
He uses a skateboard and goes through a pipeline, to which he lands upside down in his seat.

Evil Jingle
Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!

Background Information

 * Ferb was counting the seconds between Phineas getting his daily idea and wondering where Perry is. This indicates he's well aware of Phineas's usual pattern.
 * A rock version of the Quirky Worky Song can be heard faintly during Isabella's explanation of the all-terrain vehicle's features.
 * The Reporter seen in "Toy to the World", "Voyage to the Bottom of Buford" and "Backyard Aquarium" makes another appearance, and reveals her name is Bridgette Oshinomi.
 * The O.W.C.A. initials can be seen on the "No Signal" card when the Telethon of Evil gets preempted.
 * This is the first time Candace gets grounded.
 * As revealed in "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", 20 years later, after the leadership seminar, Stacy became the President of Uruguay. She probably got tips after Candace left.
 * Candace's guesses as to what F.R.E.E.P.O. stands for includes "Frequent Rampages Encourages Enormous Perpendicular Octagons" and "Free Raccoons Enter Existential Plastic Origami".
 * Phineas operates the vehicle by remote control, stating that he's doing it that way because he's too young to drive, just like he did in "The Fast and the Phineas", even though in that episode, Ferb was actually controlling it.
 * When Candace says you are going too slow and puts music if you hear very closely you can hear I'm Lindana.
 * The white SUV seen in "Finding Mary McGuffin" appears in a commercial and in the song All Terrain Vehicle.
 * This is the fourth time that Candace brings Phineas and Ferb's Big Idea to her Mom ("Hide and Seek", "Bowl-R-Ama Drama", "Just Passing Through").
 * One of the dancers from Charmed Life appears ("Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo").
 * The same hover craft that Doofenshmirtz rode in some occasions is used again ("Perry Lays An Egg", "Not Phineas and Ferb").
 * The poster above Stacy's bed has changed from The Bettys ("Ready for the Bettys") to the Paisley Sideburn Brothers ("Fireside Girl Jamboree", "She's the Mayor").
 * The kids respond with "Duh!" when Candace tells them that they're too young to drive ("The Fast and the Phineas").
 * Phineas, Ferb and their friends continue to complete Today is Gonna Be a Great Day in the song All Terrain Vehicle when they cross a tundra and surf a tidal wave.
 * Despite the existence of an evil science channel ("The Ballad of Badbeard"), mentions that no channel Doofenshmirtz intends to give its telethon.
 * The chase scene music appeared again like in "Perry Lays an Egg".
 * Bridgette Oshinomi appears again ("Backyard Aquarium"). Her name is also revealed.
 * Like in "Got Game?", "That Sinking Feeling", and "Robot Rodeo", Isabella's ears are shown for a moment.
 * Ferb counting before Phineas knows what they're going to do and asking where Perry is another breaking of the fourth wall.

Production Information

 * It first aired on June 4, 2010 on Disney XD Germany. It later premiered in Latin America on July 16, 2010 on Disney Channel and in the United Kingdom on July 19, 2010 and showed on Disney XD on October 9, 2010, and it aired on Verzion on Demand on October 1, 2010.

International Premieres

 * June 4, 2010 (Disney XD Germany)
 * July 16, 2010 (Disney Channel Latin America)
 * July 19, 2010 (Disney XD UK)
 * July 31, 2010 (TVNZ 2)
 * August 7, 2010 (Disney Channel Asia)
 * October 14, 2010 (Disney XD Poland)
 * October 31, 2010 (Disney XD France)
 * November 20, 2010 (Disney XD Spain)
 * December 29, 2010 (Disney Channel Spain)
 * February 18, 2011 (Disney Channel Scandinavia)
 * March 5, 2011 (Disney Channel UK)
 * May 15, 2011 (Disney XD Scandinavia)

Errors

 * During the song, Baljeet could be seen at the dance scene but he was supposed to be at the seminar.
 * During the song, the singer mentions driving on a tightrope, yet the vehicle is not shown on a tightrope until towards the end of the song.
 * During the song, Phineas and Ferb are dancing on top of the ATV, but this is impossible because the cliff is extremely bumpy and they would have fallen right off.
 * Also during the song, when the singer says "through a cave," the headlights from the vehicle would have created cones of light through the cave.
 * As Isabella shows the hydrolics of the ATV, the space between her arms are white.
 * When Dr. Doofenshmirtz is on the flying vehicle, he mentions Perry, on live TV. This could uncover his secret agent identity to the citizens of Danville who are watching the news preemption. In fact, Lawrence was watching the Telethon of Evil at the dentist which he could still be watching, even though it was interrupted by a news break. This was straight after the Telethon of Evil was preemptied, so it means that Lawrence could have figured it out. However an explanation to this may be that this episode takes place before "I Was a Middle-Aged Robot" and Carl may have found a memory of this incident, and erased it to prevent Lawrence from finding the full truth out. Alternately, he could have been under the influence of nitrous-oxide, (which could also explain his declaration that it was his "new favorite show")."
 * In the all-terrain vehicle, when Candace says she has got the hang of it, Ferb is gone.
 * When Candace is talking to Stacy on the phone Stacy convinces Candace to go with her because there might be cute boys, but Candace is dating Jeremy and her checking out other boys might ruin their relationship.
 * When the camera is showing the people walking into the seminar, it doesn't show Candace, Stacy, or Baljeet walking in.
 * When the camera is showing the people walking into the seminar, it show little kids walking in too. Candace points out that only "high school kids" are allowed to attend.
 * Bridgette points out that the ATV is filled with children, but Candace is a teenager.

Continuity

 * Isabella knows a lot about cars and motors ("The Fast and the Phineas").
 * Stacy falls asleep during a briefing again ("Phineas and Ferb-Busters!").
 * Candace is not allowed to drive alone; she would need her parents or an adult with a permit ("It's a Mud, Mud, Mud, Mud World", "Bubble Boys"). This would indicate that Candace is still working to obtain her driver's license.
 * I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun! was heard when Candace pressed one of the buttons on the radio controller.
 * Doofenshmirtz is rubbish at poetry ("Unfair Science Fair").

Allusions

 * This title seems to be a reference to self-help books, with titles such as "The Secret of Success", and to a lesser extent, the 1987 Michael J. Fox movie The Secret of My Success.
 * Thomas and Friends - During the song All Terrain Vehicle, Ferb, Phineas and Isabella faces are seen part of the vehicle as a Submarine, an Airplane and a Train respectively.
 * Flubber - "F.R.E.E.P.O." may be homage to Weebo's name.
 * Tedd Shaw - His name and the fact that he led a seminar may be an allusion to the TED Conference.
 * Pinky and The Brain - B.L.A.R.F. and N.A.R.G may be allusions to Pinky and The Brain, where Pinky often spouts nonsense words such as "narf" and "zort" while The Brain has a tendency for creating crazy acronyms.
 * James Bond - Perry uses metal teeth to escape the trap, like the James Bond villain Jaws.
 * Rayman 3 Hoodlum Havoc or Rayman 3 HD  - The machine that Doofenshmirtz used to see what is going on is going on seems like the machine that Globox used to help Rayman get to The Tower of the Leptys and beat Reflux and Andre.

Cast

 * Vincent Martella as Phineas
 * Ashley Tisdale as Candace
 * Thomas Sangster as Ferb
 * Caroline Rhea as Mom
 * Richard O'Brien as Dad
 * Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz
 * Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram
 * Tyler Mann as Carl
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Perry
 * Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
 * Bobby Gaylor as Buford
 * Alyson Stoner as Isabella
 * Kelly Hu as Stacy
 * Jack McBrayer as Irving
 * Diedrich Bader as Albert
 * Additional Voices: Diedrich Bader, Jennifer Grey, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Jason Spisak, Romi Dames, Tom Kenny, Jameson Moss, Keith Ferguson, Tyler Mann, Maulik Pancholy, Alyson Stoner
 *  designates a character that did not appear in this episode