| “ | I just mailed a letter stating my true feelings to Phineas and we need to stop it before he reads it! This mission is top priority! I call it "Operation Crumb Cake"! | ” |
— Isabella Garcia-Shapiro | ||
Isabella sends a letter to Phineas admitting her true feelings; however, she instantly regrets her decision and desperately tries to get it back. Meanwhile, Doof invents an Unretrograde-inator to reverse his bad luck.
Episode Summary[]
Isabella visits her Nana Shapiro in the Danville nursing home. A friend of Nana's is writing a letter on paper, which intrigues Isabella. Nana tells her that people used to write handwritten letters long before e-mail and how she once wrote a letter to a boy who later became her husband. Isabella is now even more interested since she has been meaning to tell a certain person how she feels. Nana's friend gives Isabella a paper and pencil, and she writes her letter rather quickly, saying she has been "scripting this thing out in [her] head for years." She gives her letter to the mailman and he takes it. Isabella asks her Nana how her grandfather reacted to her letter, but Nana reveals that she never sent it for fear of embarrassment. Now Isabella regrets mailing her letter.
In the garage, Linda and Lawrence are going through boxes of take-out food leftovers and utensils. They decide to get something to eat. Phineas and Ferb decide to clear out the boxes while they are gone. Phineas then takes a look at a spork and is intrigued by how artsy it looks. As Phineas is about to utter his catchphrase, Candace comes in to ask if they are doing anything bustable. Phineas tells his sister that they are simply cleaning out the boxes. Candace decides to do some of her own chores. Buford and Baljeet say that they have some of their own leftover take-out food packets and utensils. Phineas tells them to get those and bring them to the backyard for some artwork. He then successfully says another catchphrase.
Agent P enters his lair through the sprinkler. Major Monogram informs him that Doof is now into astrology, which he admits to have been skeptical of in the past, but he worries that Doof might use their horoscopes so that he will know their every move. Carl admits his own skepticism by saying the horoscopes were only created for entertainment purposes and not to be taken seriously.
Isabella walks down the street still regretting that she mailed the letter, as well as the things she wrote in the letter, such as referring to Phineas as her "little crumb cake". She calls up the Fireside Girls and informs them of the letter. She tells them they need to retrieve the letter before it gets sent, designating the mission "Operation Crumb Cake", which makes the girls giggle. Meanwhile, in the backyard, Phineas and his friends start their work on the takeout art piece.
At Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, Perry gets trapped by a dream-catcher that Norm made earlier in the morning. Doof tells his adversary that his astrologer informed him that all of his evil schemes have been failures because of the planet Mercury being in retrograde. He unveils his un-retrograde-inator, which will make Mercury go backwards. He demonstrates it on Norm who decides to dump Doof's early-morning piñata pieces on the floor.
Isabella follows the mail truck on her skateboard. She is later joined by the rest of the Fireside Girls. As soon as the truck goes into the garage, the girls stick their skateboards onto the building and climb up them to the roof like stairs. They rope down into the mail-sorting machine area and try to get Isabella's letter. Adyson almost gets it; though she gets sucked into the pneumatic tubes and ends up in a mailbag. Katie keeps an eye out for it, however, she constantly gets distracted by Adyson on the conveyor belt. Isabella finally finds the letter, but it gets collected by the mailwoman, who puts it in her truck and drives away. Isabella and the Fireside Girls decide to make haste at the Flynn-Fletcher house.
Back at D.E.I., while Norm does everything backwards, Doof reads his horoscope. Norm then unmakes his dream-catcher and takes it off of Perry, who kicks Doof backwards.
The Fireside Girls make it to the Flynn-Fletcher house before the mail truck arrives. Isabella instructs Holly and Ginger to keep an eye out for the truck and for the rest to fan out while she distracts Phineas.
Meanwhile, the effects of Doof's inator finally wear off on Norm. Doof tells the robot to take Perry off him, but Perry runs away making it difficult to do so.
Isabella enters the backyard by nervously saying her catchphrase. Phineas shows her the artwork they have been doing. Isabella attempts to avoid letting Phineas see the mailwoman come. However, Ferb informs Phineas that the mail has arrived and Phineas goes down in hopes that his comic book arrived, and Isabella follows him. Candace sees the artwork and gets her mother as usual.
Holly informs the others that the mailwoman is coming their way. Ginger asks sternly to hand over the letter addressed to Phineas to her, but then asks politely. The mailwoman informs her it is against the mail carrier's protocol to hand the letter to anyone other than its recipient. Phineas asks the mailwoman if his comic book arrived and the mailwoman informs him it didn't but gives him the letter. Isabella nervously accepts her fate. Meanwhile, Perry makes Norm trip over on the inator, making him activate it. Just as Phineas begins reading the letter, the inator hits both him and the mailwoman. Phineas involuntarily gives the letter back to her and equally involuntarily unmakes the art sculpture.
When Perry hits the self-destruct button, it does not activate. Doof informs him that he made it coin-operated. However, Perry gets a nickel from his fedora and puts it in the slot, with the usual results.
Candace arrives as usual to see another failed bust attempt. Her mother tells her to clean her room. Isabella is relieved that somehow Phineas didn't read her letter, but Ferb reveals to her that Milly told him about the "crumb cake" thing.
Transcript[]
Read the transcript of Operation Crumb Cake.
Songs[]
- "I Need My Letter Back"
- "Quirky Worky Song" (played in reverse)
End Credits[]
"Perry the Platypus". (During the end credits when broadcast by itself on Disney XD UK)
Gallery[]
|
| View the image gallery for "Operation Crumb Cake". |
Running Gags[]
I know what we're gonna do today[]
Phineas: Ferb, I --
Candace: What? What are you doing? Phineas: Helping Dad by clearing out this stuff. Candace: You're doing a chore? No way are you getting all the parent points, I've got chores to do, too. Carry on. |
The "Too Young" Line[]
None.
Ferb's Line[]
Phineas: Oh, look at this! It's like a spoon and a fork together! What would you even call that?
Ferb: In the UK, they call that a "foon". Buford: They do not! |
Phineas: Yeah. We're really getting into it. Who knew that making an art piece out of old take out stuff would be so fun?
Baljeet: It is almost like Tadashi Kawamata's massive chair sculpture in Abu Dhabi. Ferb: Or the Sub Lyric Pile Killabuster with Onion on Marble in Salzburg, Austria. Baljeet: Really? Phineas: Actually, I think he just made that one up. |
He wolf-whistles to Phineas to indicate the mail has arrived.
Isabella: Well, I guess we'll never know what was in that letter!
|
What'cha doin'?[]
Isabella: Hey, (chuckles). So, er, what'cha doin'? Phineas: What do you think? The world's largest art piece made entirely of takeout food packets and utensils! |
Hey, where's Perry?[]
Phineas: Well, go home and grab it, guys! We're gonna make some art! Hey, where's Perry? |
Perry's entrance to his lair[]
He enters his lair through the backyard sprinkler.
Oh, there you are, Perry![]
None.
Evil Jingle[]
Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!
Memorable Quotes[]
Isabella: Thanks for showing me the old scrapbooks, Nana. I love hearing about the old days. Tell me again about string art. And what was it like to get up and change the channel on the TV? Nana's friend: Oh, that's so cute, honey. Look at how old-fashioned I still am. I'm writing a letter. By hand. |
Isabella: Wow. I've been wanting to tell someone how I feel for a long time, now. Nana's friend: Really? I've got an extra pen and paper! |
Isabella: So Nana, when Grandpa got your letter, did he come running to you and sweep you into his arms? Nana Shapiro: What? Oh no. I never mailed it. I'm not brave like you. I mean, he would've laughed at me or shown the letter to his friends. Can you imagine the embarrassment? |
Linda: Hon, why do you have all these boxes of take out food thingys? Lawrence: It's such a waste to get rid of them. See? Look. Chopsticks and Ponzu sauce. That's Japanese but-but look, there's also a Chinese fortune cookie, that's what's known as fusion. |
Carl: Excuse me, sir. I believe horoscopes are meant for entertainment rather to be taken as fact. Major Monogram: Of course, you think that, Carl. You're a Capricorn. |
Isabella: I just mailed a letter stating my true feelings to Phineas and we need to stop him before he reads it! This mission is top priority! I call it "Operation Crumb Cake"! Ginger: Crumb Cake? Is that what you called him? |
Doofenshmirtz: No wonder my evil schemes keep failing! And that is why I invented the Unretrograde-inator! You know, to reverse my bad luck. And I know that Unretrograde is sort of a double negative. It sounds like I'm making Mercury go forwards but I'm actually sending it backwards from going backwards which happens to look forward but it isn't. You know what? Basically, it's a Reverse-inator but... Unretrograde-inator! It sounded more astrology-y. |
Isabella: We'll never catch them this way! But we will get that letter back! No matter how nicely or politely we have to ask! |
Doofenshmirtz: (to Perry) Does this make sense to you? Listen. "Someone is secretly speaking on your behalf." Norm: (offscreen) Time to unmake the coffee. |
Isabella: Any questions? Gretchen: Yeah. How long has this mailbox been here? |
Norm: Wow, is he hard to catch! Doofenshmirtz: You're just noticing this, huh? |
Phineas: Here, Baljeet has thoughtfully recreated Gainsborough's The Blue Boy completely in red pepper flakes. Baljeet: (revealing his eyes are red, teary and bloodshot) I wish I would have thoughtfully recreated an eyewash station. Sheesh! |
Ginger: Excuse me, but do you have a letter in your bag addressed to Danville resident Phineas Flynn? Mrs. Ferguson: (searches in her bag) Hmm, looks like I do. |
Norm: Come back here! Now I've got-- (Perry spins the inator and it hits Norm.) --rhythm? |
(Perry pushes the self-destruct button. To his surprise nothing happens. He ponders for a moment and tries pressing again repeatedly.) Doofenshmirtz: Ha! Gotcha! See, I began to think, "If only I had a nickel for every time you pushed my inator's self-destruct button", and then it hit me. You wouldn't have a nickel either because you don't have any pockets! Wait, wait, wait, what are you-?! (Perry takes off his fedora revealing a nickel on his head.) Oh, I forgot about your hat. (Perry puts the nickel in the slot.) Curse you, Perry the Pla-- |
Background Information[]
- Phineas almost finds out about Isabella's crush on him.
- Both Carol Kane and Marilu Henner were members of the cast of the 1980s sitcom Taxi.
- "Foons" are also known as "sporks".
- If one looks closely, Isabella's letter is the "Lorem ipsum" filler text.
Production Information[]
- This episode was confirmed by Disney Channel Poland.
- For unknown reasons, the episode wasn't aired on Disney Channel for over seven months after it aired on Disney XD. Normally, it is no more than 3 months. Due to this, this episode and "Mandace" were the last 11-minute episodes to run on that channel.
International Premieres[]
- May 15, 2014 (PlusPlus, Ukraine)
- June 2014 (Disney Channel Netherlands)
- July 26, 2014 (Disney XD Poland)
- August 1, 2014 (Disney XD Germany)
- August 7, 2014 (Disney Channel Brazil & Latin American)
- September 7, 2014 (Disney XD Canada)
- November 8, 2014 (Disney XD Middle East/Africa)
- December 7, 2014 (Disney XD Spain)
- January 25, 2015 (Disney XD Canada)
- February 21, 2015 (Disney Channel, Poland)
- February 22, 2015 (RCTI Indonesia)
- June 15, 2015 (Disney Channel Asia)
- July 28, 2015 (Disney XD Australia)
- April 25, 2016 (Disney Channel Poland)
Errors[]
How did Isabella change clothes?
- When Isabella peeks at the mail truck behind a bush, she is wearing her Fireside Girls uniform but without the sash. When the camera zooms in on her skateboarding, she's suddenly switched to her regular outfit. In every scene after, she switches back to her uniform.
- Isabella can change outfits by pulling on her belt, which may explain the sudden outfit change ("Night of the Living Pharmacists").
- Isabella is not wearing her sash while skateboarding, but after sneaking into the Mail Depot her sash suddenly appears on her body.
- At multiple times during the song, Isabella's shoes are brown instead of red.
- During "I Need My Letter Back", Adyson is sucked into a chute, but when she emerges at the other end, she is relatively smaller than when she went in.
- When Phineas approaches the mailwoman when she is about to give him the letter, Adyson's eyelashes disappear. Also, in the next shot, the order the Fireside Girls were standing in changed.
There are two Millys visible.
- During "I Need My Letter Back", when the lyric "A full-scale rejection" is reached, there are two Millys visible for a couple of frames.
- When Phineas starts reading the letter, the envelope apparently disappeared.
- At the very end of the episode when Isabella yells at Milly, the far edge of her beret is superimposed over her head.
- Monogram says he's a Sagittarius, which means his birthday is between November 22 and December 22, but he celebrates his birthday sometime during the summer as in "Backyard Hodge Podge".
- Mercury only goes retrograde for about three weeks at a time. Although the date of this episode is uncertain, it's likely the summer has been going on for a lot longer than that by this point.
- The driver's side of the mail truck is on the left. However, the door is on the right and near the end of the song "I Need My Letter Back", the mail woman enters the truck from the right also.
- When Phineas first reveals the art piece to Isabella, all the kids are lined up on the left including Baljeet and it is apparently finished. However, when he's explaining the details, Baljeet is now adding pepper flakes to The Blue Boy.
- When the Isabella and the Fireside Girls got in the Post Office, Gretchen and Milly are missing.
- Perry's "hair" is missing when he takes of his hat to get the nickel.
- During "I Need My Letter Back", the mail truck's stripe changes from blue to orange as it drives into the Mail Building. Also, just before the truck enters the building, the rear stripe slides slightly upwards. There is also one frame in which a portion of the stripe turns blue.
- Additionally, the text "Mail" changes from red to black,
Continuity[]
- Isabella rides the same skateboard from "Face Your Fear", and has the same design as her surfboard seen in "What'd I Miss?", "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel", and "Great Balls Of Water".
Allusions[]
- The Spork - Phineas wonders what they call a spoon/fork combination.
- Rocko's Modern Life - This episode is similar to the plot of the season 4 episode "S.W.A.K.", which is probably not a coincidence since Dan and Swampy also worked on this show.
- Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies - Ferb holds up a sign indicating the mail has arrived similar to how certain characters speak when speechless in the Warner Bros. cartoons, notably Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
- Massive Chair Sculpture - Baljeet mentions Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata's sculpture in Abu Dhabi.
- The Blue Boy - Baljeet does a recreation of this Thomas Gainsborough painting as part of the art sculpture.
- I Got Rhythm - When Norm lands on the inator, he inadvertently says the title of this George Gershwin song.
Trivia[]
- Norm is dressed like a maid again ("Canderemy").
- This is the second time Doofenshmirtz makes an inator related to luck ("Just Our Luck").
- This is the seventh time Isabella almost reveals her crush on Phineas ("Comet Kermillian", "Phineas and Ferb: Summer Belongs to You!", "Troy Story", "Steampunx", "The Return of the Rogue Rabbit", "It's No Picnic").
- This is the third episode focused on Isabella and the Fireside Girls ("Isabella and the Temple of Sap", "Bee Story"), but this is the first one that doesn't take place during another episode.
- Phineas gets hit by Doofenshmirtz's inator again ("Tip of the Day", "Gaming the System", "Phineas and Ferb Interrupted", "Agent Doof"), but this time, Ferb does not get hit.
- This is the fourth time someone uses the phrase "If I had a nickel for..." ("Wizard of Odd", "Phineas' Birthday Clip-O-Rama!", Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension).
- Isabella breaks the fourth wall by saying "Oh, boy!" to the audience, expressing her embarrassment.
- The Danville Senior Center Lodge is seen again ("Lotsa Latkes").
Cast[]
- Main article: Credits
- 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
- John Viener as Norm
- Dee Bradley Baker as Perry
- Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
- Bobby Gaylor as Buford
- Alyson Stoner as Isabella
- Kelly Hu as Stacy ♦
- Mitchel Musso as Jeremy ♦
- Ariel Winter as Gretchen
- Diamond White as Holly
- Michaela Zee as Ginger
- Isabella Murad as Milly
- Marilu Henner as Nana's friend
- Carol Kane as Nana Shapiro
- Monica Raymund as Mrs. Ferguson
- Patrick Rafferty as Jeremy and Coltrane's friend ♦
- Additional Voices: Jeff "Swampy" Marsh
- ♦ designates a character that did not appear in this episode
References[]
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Episodes | Next: "Mandace" |