Phineas and Ferb found the perfect balance between the familiar and the dazzlingly original. Kids across the world (and adults) can relate to squeezing every bit of fun out of summer vacation. Plus, the notion of a secret agent platypus is lots of fun, and who isn't delighted by Phineas and Ferb's absurdly large projects? In other words, the show was incredibly creative, but what triggered this super inventive series?
Well, Phineas and Ferb creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh took inspiration from two classic yet wildly different children's shows: The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Sesame Street. How so? Well, almost every episode includes a Phineas and Ferb project, a subplot with Candace trying in vain to get someone to believe her reporting of her brothers' exploits, and a Perry the Platypus adventure — a lot to pack into just 11 minutes. "The reason we wanted to several stories at once is Rocky & Bullwinkle," Povenmire told Slate. "But they did it as a an anthology, where they'd check in on one story and come back."
And here's where Sesame Street comes in. "Big Bird had this big, furry, mastodon-type character that only he would see," Povenmire added, referring to Snuffleupagus, "and then he would, like, go to try to find other people to get them to bring them back and show them the Snuffleupagus," who would then disappear, because he was initially an imaginary friend. So if you blend those two TV shows together, presto, you get the plot for most episodes of Phineas and Ferb.
