Rollercoaster

Our lives should be a roller coaster! And I mean a good roller coaster, not like that one we rode at the state fair.

Phineas and Ferb construct a roller coaster from their backyard out to the whole city for themselves and the neighborhood kids. Meanwhile, Perry the Platypus attempts to thwart Dr. Doofenshmirtz's evil plan to reverse the rotation of the Earth. (This is also the first episode of the series.)

Episode Summary
Phineas and Ferb are sitting under a tree, bored, wondering what to do. Phineas realizes that they will be back in school shortly and they will have to say what they did over their summer vacation. He feels that their time off should be exciting, like a rollercoaster. Remembering the lame coaster they rode at the State Fair, Phineas realizes that's what they should do today: build a rollercoaster.

As their mom, Linda, heads off to do some shopping, Candace runs to her car to confirm that she's been put in charge. Mom doesn't think it's necessary that anyone be in charge, but Candace does. "What if a satellite falls out of orbit and crashes into the house?" It's not likely to happen, so her mom gives her approval and Candace rushes over to tell the boys, "Mom says I'm in charge! ...conditionally!"

That doesn't bother Phineas. He and Ferb have set up drafting tables and have started working on their "homework". Candace doesn't understand why they would be doing homework during their summer vacation. She heads into the house after admonishing them that they are being watched, and reminds the boys that she's in charge, conditionally.

Candace only gets to take one look out the window before the phone rings. It's Stacy, wanting to go to the mall with her. But she says she can't go because she has to watch her brothers. Candace makes sure that Stacy will see if Jeremy is there.

While Candace was talking on the phone, the boys and Perry have been transporting various building materials into the back yard: lumber, steel I-beams, a jackhammer and plumbing supplies. The lion's roar breaks her concentration and she yells at the boys, "Will you hold it down? I am trying to use the phone!". Going back to talk to Stacy, she gets her first hint that something is wrong. Stacy tells Candace that she can see something being built in the back yard from her house.

Candace runs out to the backyard, then stops in her tracks. She looks up and sees a patchwork of pipes and track. Whatever it is, she doesn't like it. She storms off to tell Linda, proclaiming that the boys are going down. She repeats it several times and spells it out for emphasis. "We're going to need a blowtorch and some more peanut butter" is Phineas's assessment.

As Candace rides off on her bike, Isabella walks into the yard with hearts in her eyes. "Whatcha doin'?" she asks. Phineas tells Isabella that they are building a roller coaster. Isabella then says hi to Ferb, but Ferb only waves his sledgehammer in response. As a man of action, he's busy laying track. He strikes a rivet with the sledgehammer, causing it to bounce and hit him on the nose. Ferb just blinks, apparently unhurt. Isabella had stopped by to invite Phineas to go swimming with her, but he wants to work on the coaster, so she heads off. Phineas then notices that Perry is missing.

Perry is walking nearby alongside the house. He stops and checks to make sure no one can see him. Jumping up onto his hind legs, Perry's demeanor changes. He is no longer a platypus that "doesn't do much". He puts on a brown and black fedora, becoming "Agent P". A remote control opens a hidden door in the side of the house and Agent P steps in and rides the tube elevator down to his lair.

Major Monogram informs him that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has bought "80% of the country's tin foil". Agent P must find out why and stop him. Before Agent P leaves, Major Monogram reminds him to maintain his cover as a "mindless domestic pet". Giving the Major a quick salute, he flies off in his platypus-shaped hover-jet. He exits to the surface through a tunnel. Shortly thereafter, he flies by the boys and pulls his hat down over his face to avoid being recognized.

The boys are taking a break from construction to discuss the next part of the coaster. There will be solid-fuel booster rockets and snakes being released during a corkscrew around the Interstate highway. Phineas heads off to get the snakes while Ferb resumes welding.

Meanwhile, Candace has been trying to get Linda to come home from the grocery store and see what Phineas and Ferb are doing. Linda mentions that she recalls Candace doing the same thing previously, claiming that the boys were training "monkeys to juggle bicycles," but when she came home, "there was a stunning lack of monkeys". Candace persists, telling her about the roller coaster. Linda thinks Phineas is a little young to be a roller coaster engineer.

At that moment, a foreman at a car factory is asking Phineas the same question. After Phineas confirms it, the foreman approves their building permit despite it being filled out in crayon. He offers to give them whatever help they need, so Phineas takes him up on the offer and borrows one of the robotic assembly arms. In short order, the robot arm is mounted to the coaster cars and is laying out track for them.

Nearby, Agent P swings in through a window at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. Dr. Doofenshmirtz greets him with: "Ah, Perry the Platypus! What an unexpected surprise. And by unexpected, I mean completely expected!" After trapping Agent P, he informs Agent P of his plan to move the Eastern Seaboard (now covered in tin foil) to the West by using a "Magnetism Magnifier", which will reverse the rotation of the Earth. While Doofenshmirtz is talking, Agent P tries getting free of the robot arms holding him, but then notices a screw on the ground at his feet. Looking around him, he formulates a plan....

Back at the Super Food Stuff Mart, Candace continues her attempts to convince Linda to come home. She sees the poster that Ferb has just put up, but when she gets Linda over to there, two boys took the poster to see if they can get in for a discount. Candace screams when she sees that the poster is gone. Linda informs her she'll be over in the dairy section if Candace wants to "come yell at some cheese or anything".

Phineas and Ferb unveil the Coolest Coaster Ever to the neighborhood kids. The first lift hill climbs up through the clouds, high enough that a bird flies into the track and falls to the ground.

As they start to go up, Phineas is showing everybody how the seat belts work, but he drops it. The coaster comes to a stop at the top of the lift hill, revealing part of downtown Danville far below them. He asks everybody, "You all signed the waivers, right?" They then shoot down and begin the wild ride. There are loops, hairpin turns, and the promised corkscrew. A load of rubber snakes falls on them just before they plunge into a mud bucket. Fortunately, the next section includes a trip through a car wash and they all emerge squeaky clean. Next is an "A-A-A-A" portion and a few loops around Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated.

Inside, Dr. Doofenshmirtz is still rambling on about how much this scheme cost him. Agent P uses his tail to fling the screw at Doofenshmirtz, "missing" him, making it rebound and hit him in the foot. Hopping around, he accidentally releases Agent P from his robotic arms. Agent P then starts to battle him with wrenches and strikes the same foot of Dr. Doofenshmirtz that the screw hit.

During the fight, Dr. Doofenshmirtz runs over to the Magnetism Magnifier and turns it on, telling Agent P he is too late and it cannot be stopped now. But the Eastern seaboard did not move to the west, just the tin foil, causing a two-ton ball of tin foil going, at two hundred miles an hour to head straight for them. They both frantically try to turn it off.

At the store, Candace and Linda are at the checkout when Candace hears the coaster going by. She sees the coaster track out in the parking lot and goes back to get her mom so she can see as well.

Agent P is now helping Doofenshmirtz in trying to move the Magnetism Magnifier, but it will not budge, so he hooks the magnet to a helicopter, causing the magnet to go with it. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is happy about being saved, but is then moved (along with the rest of the tallest part of the building) by the tin foil ball that crashes into it. The magnet attracts the Magnetism Magnifier, which sends a magnetic ray at the track under it, picking up the entire roller coaster.

Candace gets Linda out of the store, but the roller coaster track has already been moved. Since Linda has finished checking out, the two leave, and Candace is now excited because she believes that when they get home, the boys will not be under the tree, therefore proving to Linda that she is right.

Agent P has been riding on top of the magnet and notices that the helicopter has been trailing a plume of smoke from the strain of lifting that much weight. He cuts the cable, making the roller coaster drop to the ground. The kids are still riding this very fast coaster. Agent P jumps onto the coaster with the kids as it passed beneath him. Phineas looks behind him and utters the famous catch phrase, "Oh, there you are, Perry." Instead of seeing Agent P, Phineas sees Perry again, since Agent P put his hat on Isabella a moment before, so he wouldn't be recognized.

The kids reach the broken end of the coaster and ride out into the street, through a construction site and up onto the tail of a passing jumbo jet after a crane swings them up into the air. Candace, in the car below, sees the boys on the airplane flying in the other direction and laughs gleefully. Linda says she worries about her sometimes.

The coaster cars finally come loose from the tail of the jet and they fall onto the Statue of Liberty. It bends and then flings them over to Mount Rushmore, where they do some loops inside Theodore Roosevelt's glasses. They then shoot out on a tree over a Mr. Slushy Burger, then get flung to Paris where they land on a very bendable Eiffel Tower over a croissant stand, finally getting flung all the way into outer space. A satellite passes by the coaster, and Phineas points out that if it falls to Earth, Candace is in charge. At that moment, the coaster plummets to the Earth, picking up speed and catching the nose of the first coaster car on fire from the friction of re-entry. As they get closer to Danville, Phineas says, "We should've charged more."

Candace and Linda now pull into the driveway and Candace runs out of the car, laughing crazily. She looks into the backyard, and does not see Phineas and Ferb and shouts "Yes!" She tells Linda she told her, closing her eyes and extending her hand out to point at the yard, as we hear a rustle of leaves. Linda says "Hi" to the boys, who are sitting under the tree. She walks into the house, Candace gasping "But" over and over again until Linda pulls her into the house.

The kids now fall out of the tree, all saying how much they liked the ride. Isabella also falls out of the tree, telling them how great it was and asking them what they're going to do tomorrow. Phineas says he doesn't know, and Isabella suggests teaching Perry some tricks. Phineas says that platypuses don't do much, followed by Ferb saying his first spoken words in the show: "They're the only mammals to lay eggs". Phineas says maybe he'll lay an egg, and Isabella leaves, saying it really was the best coaster ever and the two make a great team. Phineas replies, saying that he couldn't have asked for a better brother than Ferb, who then burps. Phineas comments that he can smell the peanut butter.

Phineas then asks what they should do tomorrow, and suggests making a list. Just then the top of the tree explodes, causing Candace to shout, "Mom!", who responds with, "Give it a rest, Candace!".

Songs

 * Perry the Platypus (during the end credits when broadcast by itself)

Perry's entrance to his lair
Perry enters through a secret door on the side of the house.

The bird that runs into Phineas and Ferb's invention
When the roller coaster is first revealed, it runs into the top.

Evil Jingle
None, the camera just zooms in on the building.

Background Information

 * This is the first episode of the series.
 * The cars that Phineas and Ferb use for their coaster are the same as what is used at the State Fair, and several of the kids that rode with them at the State Fair rode their new coaster.
 * Phineas's voice is different than it is now, possibly due to Vincent Martella experiencing puberty.
 * This is the first episode with a song in the end credits that wasn't featured in the episode.
 * Katie and Ginger make an early cameo in this episode; they appear in a crowd shot during the unveiling of the coaster, but they did not wear their berets and sashes.
 * The employee at the Mr. Slushy Burger stand in the woods is not specifically identified as Jeremy, but bears a strong resemblance to him. It is possible that he is Jeremy, because, in the Latin American and Spanish versions of this episode, that employee speaks with Jeremy's voice. (Also, in the musical version of this episode, Phineas says to the employee "Hi, Jeremy" and Jeremy says "Say hello to your sister". It is also stated that it was Jeremy in the novelization of this episode in "Speed Demons")
 * In some later episodes, "Mr. Slushy Burger" is sometimes called "Mr. Slushy Dawg".
 * Stacy was first mentioned in this episode, but she is not seen.
 * If you look hard in the Ah-ah-ah-ah! scene, you will see a sign that reads: "Exclamation Finance".
 * Mt. Rushmore, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty can be seen in this episode, though the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty shouldn't have been able to bend due to them being solid metal.
 * The boys are shown carrying a lion through their backyard, but it isn't seen on the roller coaster, though it is possible it was used off-screen.
 * The door and window on the side of the helicopter together bear a strong resemblance to the Ukrainian flag.
 * Phineas's line: "...and boredom is something of up with which I will not put!" is a take off on a quote (often misattributed) from Winston Churchill as a way of preventing a sentence from ending in a preposition.
 * This is the first episode where Dr. Doofenshmirtz's invention doesn't end with the "-inator" suffix.
 * In the musical version of this episode, when Candace is screaming at the poster in the store, it is shown that she did want to yell at some cheese.

Production Information

 * This was the first episode to air, following the premiere of High School Musical 2 on August 17, 2007. It garnered a total of 10.8 million viewers.
 * Creator Dan Povenmire's real voice makes a cameo as the automobile factory manager who notes that Phineas's building permits are filled out in crayon.
 * In early airings of this episode, it was aired by itself, but when "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" premiered, it was paired with it. Later, in 2008, this episode was paired with "Candace Loses Her Head" because it is the second produced episode.
 * This is the first episode to have live-action shots.

International Premieres

 * August 17, 2007 (Disney Channel Netherlands/Flanders)
 * September 22, 2007 (Disney Channel Germany)
 * October 5, 2007 (Disney Channel Poland)
 * December 14, 2007 (Disney Channel Latin America)
 * December 16, 2007 (Disney Channel Brazil)
 * February 1, 2008 (Disney Channel Portugal)
 * February 1, 2008 (Disney Channel Spain)
 * June 1, 2011 (Disney XD Canada)

Errors

 * In "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", Candace states that this date was the first day of the summer, but Linda states that Candace told her about another of the boys' ideas, making it at least the second day. Although it may have happened before the last day of school.
 * When the boys were finished riding the rollercoaster at the start of the episode the usher said "please exit to the left" but if they did that they would have exited in the middle of the coaster.
 * Right after they started building the rollercoaster, it curves forward much earlier then it does when they ride the rollercoaster.
 * The boys borrow one of the 'contraptions' at the automotive factory in order to speed up the building process. The rail passes by Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated and continues past it. But as the kids are riding the rollercoaster later on, they ride on spiraling rails that wrap around the outside of the building.
 * When Ferb goes on the stage before unveiling the rollercoaster, several characters appear in more than one place, with some having different coloration. An example of this are Katie and Pedro's duplicates who are not recolored.
 * Before the unveiling of the rollercoaster, when Katie and Ginger are seen from behind, they have their berets on, but when they're seen from the front, they aren't worn. They are also not wearing a sash.
 * When Perry was captured by Dr. Doofenshmirtz, there was no nail underneath him, but later there was a nail underneath him, which he uses to attack Doofenshmirtz. (Or it could of just fell out of one of the arms).
 * After Dr. Doofenshmirtz gets the nail stuck in his foot, there is no blood, but because the nail pierced the skin, he should have been bleeding. (Although the absence of blood may simply be because this show is directed towards a young audience.)
 * While Perry was in Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc., a machine breaks a window. When we see the outside of Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. shortly thereafter, there's a hole in the wall, but after we see the outside of the building a second time, there's no hole in the wall.
 * Tin is not magnetic. The magnet should not affect it. (though he might of made it to affect the tin.)
 * (Possibly intentionally vague) Danville's eastern seaboard is different than that of the United States. In the U. S., the eastern seaboard is the easternmost portion of the country, and one standing at the seaboard would face east to see the Atlantic Ocean. Danville's seaboard might make more sense as an eastern shoreline (of an unnamed body of water). Alternatively, the Danville seaboard could still be on the east coast of the U. S., but be situated between the Atlantic and another body of water to the west. In that case, we are seeing the other body of water when we see the tinfoil pulled from the buildings.
 * After Ferb unveils the roller coaster, Phineas says, "Who wants to go first?". In "Rollercoaster: The Musical!", he doesn't say it.
 * Candace rides to the store on her bicycle, but she later drives home with her Mom and doesn't even take her bicycle. However, this might be because Candace wanted to bust her brothers so badly, that she didn't mind losing her bike to do so.
 * When the roller coaster was flying by the satellite, Phineas knew that if it crashed to Earth, that Candace was in charge, but Candace never told Phineas and Ferb the condition that would allow her to be in charge, so how did Phineas know? (Although Phineas could have overheard them talking.)
 * Ferb's platypus line is incorrect, as echidnas (there are three species) also lay eggs. Phineas's line about Perry laying an egg is also incorrect, because only females lay eggs, and Perry is obviously male ("Perry Lays an Egg").
 * The Disco Ball Ferb was wearing disappeared after the rollercoaster was shown.
 * When Candace is giggiling in the car and Linda said "I worry about you sometimes Candace," her headband is yellow. This error was not fixed in Rollercoaster: The Musical!.
 * In the closed captions, It said "How do you like the lanai?" When Doofenshmirtz said "Now you are too late!" and Doofenshmirtz was misspelled "Doofenchmirtz". This error was not fixed in "Candace Loses Her Head".
 * When Candace comes into the Store and starts to tell Linda about the boys building the Rollercoaster, Linda puts two Cereal Boxes in her cart, but when she and Candace pass the pillar with the Rollercoaster poster, the two Boxes are gone, although this could mean she changed her mind and put the cereal boxes back.
 * When they were all screaming when they started the rollercoaster, Ferb's bigger eye was in front of the smaller eye. Usually the smaller eye is in front.
 * When the gang is covered in snakes, Phineas's hair turns green, but when he stands up to say they're rubber, his hair quickly turns back to red.
 * When Phineas says "We're gonna need a blow torch and some more peanut butter," His shoes are all blue.
 * When Isabella leaves the backyard for the last time, her shirt turns the same color as the dress.
 * When Candace shows Linda the rollercoaster near the end, it can easily be seen in the flaming tree, but somehow Linda didn't notice it.
 * When they reveil the rollercoaster there was a platform that has three pineapples. But, when it was showing the camera going paning up to the top of the rollercoaster, there were gone.
 * The rollercoaster catches on fire when falling back to earth, but when Phineas says "We should've charged more", the fire is gone. This error was reused in "Rollercoaster: The Musical!".
 * During the corkscrew up D.E.Inc the colours on the car's nose change.

Continuity

 * Permanent continuity change: Phineas's voice sounds slightly lower from the second episode, onward.
 * I'm Lindana and I Wanna Have Fun! can be heard as "elevator music" when Candace and her mom are shopping at the Super Food Stuff Mart.
 * The events of this episode are later revisited in "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", with the battle between Agent P and Heinz Doofenshmirtz one of main events that alters the future. It is again revisited in "Rollercoaster: The Musical!", where the entire episode is recreated in song-and-dance format.
 * Perhaps in a short-lived carry-over from the Original Pitch, Phineas is more arrogant and sarcastic in this episode. For example, rather than happily admitting what he and Ferb are building, he dismisses Candace with a quick "whatever" and tells her they are doing "homework".
 * This episode is referenced many times later (probably because it's the first episode).
 * In "I Scream, You Scream", Candace tells Phineas that she is in charge. He becomes confused, and says, "isn't that just if a satellite- (crashes into the house)?"
 * When Candace says "Will you hold it down? I am trying to use the phone!", it sounds similar to the quotes said by Constance, "Will you hold it down? I am trying to use the quill!" in "The Monster of Phineas-n-Ferbenstein", and said by Carl, "Will you stop that? I am trying to have a conversation!" in "I Was a Middle Aged Robot".
 * As Phineas and Ferb ride on the rollercoaster, they pass by or through many things they will later include as one of their daily projects, including a tub of mud ("Spa Day"), a car wash ("At the Car Wash"), a construction site ("The Doof Side of the Moon"), an airplane ("De Plane! De Plane!"), Mount Rushmore ("Candace Loses Her Head"), the Eiffel Tower ("Not Phineas and Ferb", "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!"), and outer space ("Out to Launch", "The Chronicles of Meap", "Meapless in Seattle").
 * Doofenshmirtz's giant magnet can be seen in later episodes.

Allusions

 * Rocky Horror Picture Show - When Candace tells her brothers that she is going to bust them she says "You're going down! Down, down, down!" This can be seen as a reference to the Rocky Horror Picture Show song "Touch-a, Touch-a, Touch-me" in which the character singing the song says "I'll oil you up and rub you down" to which two other characters respond "Down, down, down!".
 * Wizard of Oz - Candace's theme that plays when she rides her bicycle is very similar to the theme for Miss Elmira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz".
 * Heavy Metal - The flaming re-entry of the open roller coaster car is similar to the flaming re-entry of the Corvette convertible in the opening sequence.
 * Toy Story 2 - Phineas repeating please remain seated while the ride is in motion in spanish is a reference because Barbie did the same thing In Toy Story 2

Cast

 * Vincent Martella as Phineas
 * Ashley Tisdale as Candace, Additional Voices
 * Thomas Sangster as Ferb
 * Caroline Rhea as Mom
 * Alyson Stoner as Isabella, Additional Voices
 * Mitchel Musso as Jeremy, Additional Voices
 * Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Additional Voices
 * Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram, Additional Voices
 * Richard O'Brien as Dad
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Perry, Additional Voices
 * Additional Voice: Ricky Ullman


 *  designates a character that did not appear in this episode