Of all Comic-Con panels and events, my #1 favorite was the “Phineas and Ferb” panel, it was “Perrific!”! I attended a similar panel at Comic-Con in 2010 for the first time, and asked questions during the Q&A. This year, I got invited to a special one-on-one press interview with the creators and voice talents of my favorite TV show!
Mom (also my producer) and I arrived at the panel on Friday July 22. We got to skip an incredibly long line since we were press! We sat with our friends Liz Kelly and Joyce Wang from an earlier interview. The panel opened with a funny clip of a future episode where everyone is a caveman version of themselves.
If you don’t already know about the Disney “Phineas & Ferb” TV show, Phineas and Ferb are two step-brothers who make the most of each day by building huge machines in their backyard, such as roller coasters, Magic Portals, and scale models of Niagara Falls! Their pet, Perry the Platypus, is actually a secret agent working for the government, who foils the schemes of Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, an evil scientist that builds machines to destroy things that angered him in the past. Candace, the semi-neurotic teenager who is Phinea’s big sister, obsesses about getting Phineas and Ferb in trouble while at the same time spending time with her boyfriend Jeremy. Phineas’s mom and Ferb’s dad never seem to notice unusual things that are happening right in front of them!
On the panel, there were the two creators of the show, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh; as well as voice talents Vincent Martella (Phineas), Ashley Tisdale (Candace), Dee Bradley Baker (Perry the Platypus). I thought that the clips of “Across the Second Dimension (in 2D),” the new “Phineas & Ferb” feature film looked very interesting.
After the panel, mom and I went to a separate room for my 1-on-1 interviews, it was like a press junket without the free food. I noticed that I was the only kid invited to this special press event. I was wearing my special “Perry the Platypus” pullover for this special event!
The show creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh gave me insight on the characters and shared behind-the-scenes stories. Have you noticed that many cartoon characters have 4 instead of 5 fingers, including Phineas and Ferb? Do you know why Candace always obsesses about busting Phineas and Ferb? Watch my interview below to find out:
Dee Bradley Baker made interesting animal sounds, including his signature platypus sound. It was quieter than I expected. We also discussed the biology of platypus, and if my name Perry came before or after “Phineas and Ferb” show. What a fun interview! Watch:
Vincent Martella, the voice of Phineas is older in real life than Phineas who is 11 in the show. Vincent was pretty nice and he told me some fun facts that I never knew about before.
I got all their autographs on the special poster that my animation film director Kevin Sean Michaels gave me, and many cool souvenirs. Everyone loved my animal letter “Thank You” cards! I gave a copy of my animation short “Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest” to Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, who were eager to watch it and encouraged me to continue with making animation.
Mom and I also enjoyed meeting Sara Goldberg, a producer from “Phineas and Ferb” and her colleagues during Comic-Con. They enjoyed my drawing of Perry the Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz (the one I was holding in the photo above).
Phineas and Ferb is my #1 favorite TV show. I watch every single episode as soon as it comes out and keep an eye out for upcoming ones. I love it because it is hilarious, interesting and often has a clever twist at the end. The show is my mom’s favorite cartoon, because it is very clever, funny, and sometimes has a lesson to it. “Phineas and Ferb” show accurately represents family dynamics and the dreams and desires of kids very well too.
Since first grade, a lot of my friends at school called me “Perry the Platypus.” Initially I didn’t know what it was until I searched on the web and found out about the show last year. Now I often draw my version of “Perry the Platypus” as part of my signature when I autograph for fans!
Finally, I want to congratulate “Phineas and Ferb” cast and crew for creating this year’s most-watched film of the year ” Phineas & Freb: Across the 2nd Dimension” on cable TV with over 7 million viewers!