Five Life-Lessons You Can Learn from Phineas and Ferb

I love Phineas and Ferb. It’s my favorite television show of all time. I can watch a show from the first season in 2008 and still be able to sing along with all of the songs as if it had just aired for the first time. I have been watching the “Last Days of Summer” marathon on Disney X D for nearly four days in advance of tonight’s series finale. Such an extensive binge session not only makes one nostalgic for the magic of a simpler time, but also affords the viewer an opportunity to pick up on what made the show so special to begin with.

Being who I am, I instinctively began to analyze the characters and themes of Disney Channel’s longest-running series. Thus, I present to you this list of five virtues that the show teaches. It would be prudent for anybody, especially young conservatives who are bogged down by the bleak and negative world-view which is peddled by the traditional conservative media, to adopt these traits as well. Just saying…

Enjoy!

-The Elephant’s Conscience      

1. Positivity- Phineas and Ferb are insanely positive, maybe even to a fault. The brothers are practically unable to be offended and only lose their bright outlook on life during extremely dire situations such as being marooned on a desert island in “Summer Belongs to You” or facing a group of super villains with powerless super-heroes in the “Mission Marvel” episode. Even the consistent sarcasm of their sister, Candace, (and her constant attempts to ‘bust’ them) don’t phase them and they just let it roll off of their backs.

2. Humility/Manners- When people make a big deal out of their inventions dubiously asking them, “Aren’t you a little young to do that?” or compliment their work they only give a simple and cheerful answer, like their catch-phrase, “Yes, yes we are”. They don’t toot their own horn at all or show offense. Humility and manners are sadly lacking in our culture, but not in Phineas and Ferb.
3. Imagination/ Ingenuity- Imagination and ingenuity go hand-in-hand with positive thinking. More than that, imagination leads to action, creation, and ultimately progress. Creating something through your own labor gives one a sense of accomplishment and that creation becomes a part of you. The fruits of your imagination may also inspire others to create and that’s even better. In “Toy to the World”, Phineas and Ferb develop the Perry the Platypus inaction figure (the toy that does nothing) for the Har-D-Har Toy Company because the other toys that were being produced did not allow for imagination. Creating the rules is better than abiding by the rules.
4. Forgiveness- One of the main characters in the show is Buford “the Bully”. As his nickname suggests, Buford would be the type of person that mellow technological types like Phineas, Ferb, and Baljeet would shy away from. Instead, Buford is a trusted and valued member of the friend group. After the events of the thumb wrestling contest in “Raging Bully”, Buford sees the boys as his equal. Phineas, Ferb, and the gang look past Buford’s past of terrorizing them and give a boy who’s really just a lonely soul who acts out his rage the greatest gift of all…friendship. A little forgiveness flipped Buford’s life around for the better.
   

5. Persistence- Some call it being stubborn, but those who possess this quality see it merely as not caving in to adversity as they try to bring their vision to life. Over the entire course of the series, the boys do the impossible. They discover Atlantis, fly the circumference of the globe in a day, travel through time, and so much more because they refuse to doubt themselves. You can do anything if, as Clay Aiken and Chaka Khan sing in “Summer Belongs to You”, “you believe you can”. Heck! One can even learn from Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s daily attempts to take over the Tri-State Area. The man is defeated every day, yet he always comes back for more the next morning knowing that he will probably fail again. How about that? “Evil” teaching good!