"Well, I went out to the barn, I built a balloon, and I won the most famous Balloon Race in history." — Grandpa Clyde[src] |
The Balloon Race is a hot air ballooning competition held by Phineas and Ferb as a homage to their grandparent's achievement in the past.
History[]
Phineas and Ferb wonder about Grandpa Clyde's balloon race accomplishment. Bringing it up to their grandparent, the boys discover that he had built his own dirigible in the barn, inspiring them to do the same. In the storage of the camp house, the kids encounter several parts for their balloons. Later, with the air vehicles put together, Ferb opens the roof for everyone to fly out, officially kicking off the race.
As Isabella takes the lead, Buford and Baljeet noticeably fall behind. Owing it to excess weight, the former hangs the latter out of the basket, speeding up in the process. They then throw a marlin off to pick up the pace, only for it to propel back and pop their balloon. To save them from falling, Ferb grabs them with a grappling hook. Some time after, Isabella sees Phineas fixing up the steering, and ditches her dirigible to help him.
The kids soon arrive at Gearheart Summit, parking the remaining balloons there. Candace tries to show them to her mom, but they mix with nearby in-sale outfits, causing Linda to confuse them for her children. In the end, Doofenshmirtz and a dodo bird steal the dirigibles, blowing them up in their bickering ("Last Train to Bustville").
Design[]
Four hot air balloons are designed for the Balloon Race. Their characteristics are listed below, divided into common parts.
Owner | Envelope | Basket | Burner | Propeller |
---|---|---|---|---|
Phineas | Himself | Ship | Heater | Upward fan |
Ferb | Himself | Bucket | Grill | Encased fan |
Isabella | Heart | Boat | Helium tanks | Downward fan |
Buford and Baljeet | Buford | Bathtub | Lamp | Mower |
Activities[]
The Balloon Race takes place throughout the campground, wherein the objective is to reach Gearheart Summit. In addition to competing, the kids take the time to observe the sights, noting the animals and surroundings along the way. While two of the balloons are abandoned, the final standings can be summed up as follows:
- 1st place: Phineas and Ferb (tie)
- 2nd place: Isabella
- 3rd place: Buford and Baljeet
Background Information[]
- According to Clyde, he won the most famous balloon race in history. In real life, this is the Gordon Bennett Cup, a yearly event most frequenly staged in Central Europe.
- Upon being questioned, Clyde gives a straightforward summary of his feat. This is a subversion of expectations in respect to alike stories, which are usually more detailed.
- Each of the balloons has stitches colored after their owner's palette; Phineas' has one orange and one beige reflecting his shirt, Ferb's has one lavender and one light yellow like his clothes, Isabella's has two pink, one purple, and two white akin to her dress, and Buford and Baljeet's has one light brown and one brown alluding to the former's hair and the latter's skin, respectively.
- For the race, Phineas and Ferb wear the same aviator outfits from their airplane escapade ("De Plane! De Plane!").
- At the beginning of the race, Isabella indirectly asks Phineas how fast he is going, to which he answers five knots. Confident, she states that her dirigible is going one knot faster. A knot is a unit of speed generally used for air and water navigation equal to a nautical mile per hour, meaning Phineas and Isabella are running at 5.75 mph (9.26 km/h) and 6.9 mph (11.11 km/h), in order.
- As the race begins, Buford yells "last one at the top of the mountain is a stinky dish sponge!". This is a variation of the idiom "last one there is a rotten egg!".
- While dangling out of the basket, Baljeet hits a barn, two pine trees, a regular tree, and a mountain lion.
- When Buford throws the taxidermied marlin off of the balloon, Baljeet refers to it as a swordfish, only to be corrected. This confusion originates from the two species' similar classification in the Istiophoriformes order.
- Isabella suddenly appearing in Phineas' balloon to help him despite the distance gap is a literal interpretation of the saying "do anything for the one they love".
- During the course, the boys find a dodo bird. Ferb crosses it off a list of things to do, subsequently stating that the next goal is to find Frankenstein's brain, which Buford says had been on his dirigible.
- Recreations of the four balloons are used to repel Doofenshmirtz-2's invasion of the Tri-State Area (Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension).
Appearances[]
- "Last Train to Bustville" (First appearance)
- Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
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