User blog comment:StacyFan/Phineas and Ferb on MAD again/@comment-1285566-20120210001603/@comment-406459-20120210012614

"The type of parodies that parody something but don't make fun of it?" That makes no sense. The purpose of a parody is to make fun of something, and in so doing commenting on the original work. One does not necessarily have to dislike something in order to parody it- in many cases a parody is done by someone who actually likes the thing they are parodying, and in many cases the person who is being parodies appreciates the honor. (One case in which the person being parodied is usually always "in on the joke" is the well-known way "Weird Al" Yankovic does his song parodies- though legally he does not have to, he chooses to always seek out permission from both the songwriters and original artist he is parodying and also pays royalties to the original songwriter.)

Most of the featured parodies on the MAD television series are "mash-up" parodies, in which two things with similar-sounding titles are parodied at the same time. This is no exception, as it combines the concept of Dolphin Tale- a dolphin without a tail is given a prosthetic replacement, combined with the fact that Phineas and Ferb, who are of course inventive, are the ones who do the job. However, as a parody of Phineas and Ferb, it fails on the level that other than the joke about them being unable to pay for what they do, it doesn't really make any jokes at the expense of the series. Clearly, they're only in there for the title pun factor- the modifications that Phineas and Ferb make to the dolphin seem "out of character" and could easily have been depicted as having been done by, say, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters or some other pop culture figure who is known for souping things up. There are some funny jokes in the sketch, and it is entertaining overall, but as a parody of Phineas and Ferb it falls flat.