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Original Pitch

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This is a former Featured Article. This article is written from the Real World Perspective.

This article pertains to a topic that is thought to be non-canon.


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. Heinz Mittleshmirtz's evil plan to halt the Earth's rotation.

Summary[]

Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh describe how they created Phineas and Ferb and how they sold it to the Disney Channel. Instead of selling them a script, they pitched a storyboard, which is a scene-by-scene visual breakdown of how the episode would look. When it came time to present it to the executives overseas, Dan edited the storyboards together into a film, adding music, sound effects and providing the voices for all the characters. Jeff notes that after seeing it, Disney realized that they didn't want Dan to be the voice of Isabella.

The show is inspired by Dan's summers growing up where his mom would encourage him and his siblings "to do something creative instead of sitting around bored." His mom would say, "Summer's short. You gotta make every day count."

In the original rollercoaster, Phineas is shown having a hot dog, so that means that the idea of bending off a tree and ordering from a restaurant in the middle of the woods was kept.

Transcript[]

Read the transcript of Original Pitch.

Gallery[]

Click here to view more images from Original Pitch.
View the image gallery for Original Pitch.

Background Information[]

  • Some of the pictures in the Original Pitch were used during the Season 1 title sequence in lieu of having an animated sequence. If one looks closely, several of the pictures can be seen scrolling from right to left behind Phineas and Ferb as they dance to the music near the end of the production title sequence. In Season 2, they are replaced by various still shots from Season 1.
  • According to a short video before the pitch, Jeff added "Swampy" to his name so that it would be fifteen letters long, "bigger than most other names", including Dan's, which is only twelve. (Though this may have been a joke by Povenmire.)
  • Characters were in different colors. Phineas wore a red and yellow shirt with green shorts, Candace had dark red hair and green clothing, Isabella had brown hair, a yellow bow, and blue clothes, and Dr. Doofenshmirtz wore a red shirt instead of a black shirt and had blonde hair, lacking his thick, black eyebrows. His original name was Dr. Heinz Mittleshmirtz. Perry's fedora hat stripe was originally yellow, which may have been referenced in "O.W.C.A. Files" as O.W.C.A.'s trainees are seen bearing yellow bands.
  • Mr. Slushy Burger was originally spelled Mr. Slusee Burger. Dan pronounced it the same as in the final release, however.
  • The pitch reel features some extended scenes and dialog that were cut or altered from the pilot, "Rollercoaster". Some of the elements of the pitch reel would later be reused for "Rollercoaster: The Musical!", including Phineas's extended unveiling of the rollercoaster and his Spanish spiel (a nod to the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland).
  • The title sequence includes two lines that were not included in the final version:
    • ...or giving a monkey a shower.
      Phineas: "Don't try this at home."
    • ...or driving our sister insane.
      Phineas: "It's a short drive."
      Candace: "Phineas!"
  • Despite there being only two lines not present in the final release, the original theme song sounded almost completely different from the final one, being slower and more classic. This was likely changed because Disney Channel wanted it to be more modern.
  • During many scenes following the rollercoaster ride, the song "Mister Go" can be heard in the background, a song Dan Povenmire help create as part of the band Keep Left. Sections of it were also later used in Milo Murphy's Law, the show he worked on after Phineas and Ferb.
  • Even though there is minimal score before Danny Jacob was hired as composer (most of the score is made up of stock cues and renditions of the theme song played by Povenmire on guitar and harmonica), Povenmire sings a snippet of what would become Candace's theme when she rides her bicycle.
  • A full color animatic of the original pilot was leaked onto YouTube on June 22, 2025.

Differences from pitch to pilot[]

The pitch reel and the pilot episode have several differences of note.

The first is that Phineas has more of an adversarial role when interacting with others. Examples:

  • The sardonic "it's a short drive" comment that is in the theme song after "driving our sister insane".
  • After Candace points out that it's summer, Phineas says "Fine. You wait 'til the last minute then." "Fine." is said with a bit of defiance.
  • When Isabella says she thinks that building a roller coaster is kind of impossible, Phineas responds "Is there something I can do for you?" in a slightly annoyed fashion. He also seems to be annoyed about her trying to drop romantic hints when she comes into the backyard.
  • In the original pitch, Isabella does not ask about Ferb being a "man of action", nor does Phineas describe him as such. The line was eventually added during the pilot.
  • Phineas's line about how great of a brother Ferb is was not present in the original pitch. It was added during the pilot and finalized episode.

The second is that a mention of the boys creating androids was removed. This was later explored in "I, Brobot". Plus, Linda says "Most boys just build forts." This was later explored in "Thaddeus and Thor".

There is also a brief gag where Dr. Mittleshmirtz tells Perry he is too late to stop him, only to check his watch to see if it is eleven o'clock. This gag was later used in "Gaming the System".

When Perry gets on the Rollercoaster, during the original pitch and puts his hat on Isabella, she looks at Phineas lovingly in the original pilot when he says it's a nice hat. In both the pilot and the finalized episode, she instead takes the hat off in confusion.

Finally, some of the dialog was removed because they appear to be at more of an adult level than expected from a Disney cartoon:

  • "I still don't know how they cleaned that up so fast. I mean, the poop alone should've taken..."
  • "Their butts are mine now. Mom!" (Later changed to "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Mom! Mom!")
  • "My, you can be awfully helpful when you are having a psychotic break!"

Differences from color animatic to pilot[]

The beta pilot has some similarities to the pitch reel, as well as minor differences.

At the start of the theme song, Phineas is heard singing the introduction and playing the guitar, while the Disney chorus sang the rest. In the final product, the entirety was performed by Bowling For Soup.

The color schemes of many of the characters are different:

  • Phineas's shirt has red and yellow stripes. This was changed to orange and pale yellow stripes.
  • Mom is a blonde with no headband and wears a pink top and green capri pants and pink shoes. This was changed to her being a redhead with a pink headband wearing a yellow-orange vest over a white T-shirt and brownish-green capri pants.
  • Candace's hair is a more of a dark red and she wears a green blouse and skirt with a red belt and green socks over her red Mary Janes. This was changed to her hair being closer to orange, wearing a red shirt and white mini skirt with a red belt and white socks over her red Mary Janes.
  • Isabella is a brunette. She wears a yellow bow over her hair and wears an orange and yellow dress with yellow shoes. This was changed to her hair being black and her dress and bow having a pink and white color scheme.
  • Agent P's fedora has a yellow band. This was changed to black. The yellow headbands were later used for trainees in "O.W.C.A. Files" as hatbands for cadets. This could be a reference.
  • Major Monogram has yellow-orange hair and facial hair, and his nehru jacket is a lighter shade of green with his insignia still written in pen over it. This was changed to his hair and mustache being all white and his jacket being olive-green with a purple insignia over it.
  • The evil scientist character who would evolve into Heinz Doofenshmirtz has yellow hair, wears a white lab coat and a red turtleneck and tan pants. This was changed to him having brown hair, still wearing a white lab coat, but now has a black turtleneck and brownish-green pants.

A couple scenes and dialogue were cut between the pilot and finalized episode

  • Phineas tells Ferb " We better have something great to tell 'em."
  • Candace's phone call with Stacy is slightly longer in the pilot. Her line about nearly dying has her clarify her that she's exaggerating, and she tells Stacy that her brothers are "always up to something". She also initially tells Stacy that the boys are doing homework before Stacy tells her she can see the rollercoaster.
  • Perry's computer says he has "one new secret mission", which would be used in later episodes. Major Monogram says that if the evil scientist is "just watching TV or something… use your discretion". He also says that Perry is working for the government rather than OWCA, and that he will be relocated if his family discovers his secret, the latter of which resurfaced in later episodes.
  • When Mom tells Candace that she never saw the boys training monkeys, Candace laments that the poop should have taken a while to clean up. Immediately afterwards, Mom asks about the boys building androids, and Candace concludes that the androids cleaned up the mess. Mom also jokes that "most boys build forts".
  • While Phineas is using the crane to build the rollercoaster, Isabella comes by again, with Isabella saying that it's "so manly". Phineas tells Isabella that he'll put up fliers before telling Ferb to create fliers.
  • As the evil scientist is about to monologue about reversing the rotation of the earth, he waits for the time to br 11:00 before continuing his monologue. He also says that he lost his receipts for the tinfoil.
  • Candace asks Mom how Phineas got a crane, directly stating that he is nine years old. Phineas's age in the actual show is unspecified.
  • The dialogue of the three boys being excited for the rollercoaster is slightly extended by two lines. Phineas's announcement of the rollercoaster is also slightly extended, with him calling it the " next generation of amusement park rides" and telling the audience to " Mark your calendars ladies and gentlemen, because you'll want to tell your grandchildren". The latter line was brought back in Rollercoaster: the Musical.
  • Phineas tells the riders to stay seated in both English and Spanish. A line that was completely cut is "The emergency exits are located... well, I guess it's just this whole area up here, isn't it?"
  • The androids and monkeys Candace mentioned earlier appear on the rollercoaster, with Phineas being happy to see them, calling the monkeys Cedric and Alfredo and an android X-37.
  • The evil scientist tells Perry the name of the Magnetism Magnifier again as he activates it. He says that the tinfoil ball is 20 tons rather than two, and that the Magnifier won't budge.
  • Instead of "Curse you Perry the Platypus", the evil scientist simply says "I'll get you!"
  • Mom tells Candace that she can be " awfully helpful when you are having a psychotic break".
  • Phineas asks if anybody wants croissants in an American accent instead of a French accent.
  • Isabella asks Phineas if the ride will be open tomorrow, and Phineas says that he doesn't want to get stuck in a rut.
  • Isabella does not start petting Perry until she says maybe Phineas can teach him some tricks.

In this version, snippets of actual music were used to give the composer an idea of what kind of music they would like underneath. During Candace's bicycle ride, the Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch theme from The Wizard of Oz is heard. Throughout Perry's subplot, the James Bond theme is heard. At the unveiling of the rollercoaster, "Also sprach Zarathustra" is used. Even though this was in the public domain, it was replaced by a generic fanfare. When Perry rescues the doctor, some music from Raiders of the Lost Ark is used.

While a majority of the voice cast remained the same, there were some differences. Major Monogram was voiced by Dee Bradley Baker instead of Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Also, Ferb is voiced here by Mitchel Musso in an American accent. When Thomas Sangster auditioned for the character, it was decided to make him British and cast Musso as Jeremy, who was initially just supposed to be an unseen character like Stacy.

Most of the scenes were done in animatic style, with the exception of the final scene, starting when Mom and Candace park in the driveway, which was done as a full animation test. Most of this animation was reused for the final product, with the exception of one exchange between Phineas and Isabella.

Production Information[]

Cast[]

Original pitch[]

Color animatic[]

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