Disney Channel is launching a month-long Phineas and Ferb event leading up to its annual National Platypus Day celebration on Saturday, March 2 — in honor of the show's resident platypus, Perry.
This year, they've enlisted some unusual help: Good Morning America anchors George Stephanopoulos, Josh Elliott, Lara Spencer and Sam Champion can be seen in one spot dancing along to "O.W.C.A." (a riff, of course, on the Village People's "Y.M.C.A."). Phineas and Ferb fans know that "O.W.C.A." stands for Organization Without a Cool Acronym, the evil-fighting group where Perry the Platypus serves as his alterego Agent P.
The "O.W.C.A" song premieres on Radio Disney on Friday, the same day Disney Channel introduces the music video (which also includes a wide variety of Disney Channel stars dancing along).
The flagship episode ("Sidetracked") for this year's Phineas and Ferb "Platypus Day" will air Friday, March 1 at 9/8c. In the episode, Agent P teams up with his former partner, the human agent Lyla (voice of The Daily Show's Samantha Bee) to stop a hijacked train. On March 2, Disney Channel will air multiple episodes, while boy tween-centric Disney XD will run a five-hour marathon, starting with the new episode "Primal Perry," starting at 8 a.m./7c.
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There are 104 days of summer vacation, but Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb has already been on many more adventures than that — nearly 175, and counting. The hit animated series' latest episode ("This is Your Backstory"), which premieres this Friday at 9/8c, explores the life of evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz via an odd reality show hosted by his giant human robot, Norm.
Phineas and Ferb has become a major franchise for Disney, spawning merchandise, theme park attractions, a TV-movie, soundtracks and soon (in 2014), a feature film. The brainchild of Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Phineas and Ferb balances the story of two young stepbrothers who go on adventures via their fantastical inventions with the tale of their pet platypus Perry, a secret agent who fights the bumbling Doofenshmirtz. The show's rich backstory, pop culture parodies and recurring irreverent gags have made Phineas and Ferb a hit with adults as well as kids. Povenmire and Marsh filled out our TV Guide Magazine showrunner survey to explain why watching Phineas and Ferb should be what we do today.
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Disney and ABC Television Group are bringing a weekend full of family fun to the World Maker Faire, a unique hybrid science fair/craft festival. Held at the New York Hall of Science in Queens this Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 29-30), the event celebrates creativity and innovation through kid-friendly activities with over 500 exhibits.
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After Damon Lindelof's 6-year-old son fell in love with Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb, it didn't take long for the Lost executive producer and Prometheus writer to do the same.
"Up until then we had him on a very steady diet of Sesame Street and very small mellow shows like Little Bill and Caillou," remembers Lindelof, who moderated Saturday's Phineas and Ferb panel at Comic-Con in San Diego. "And then my wife just showed him an episode of Phineas and Ferb, I don't know how it happened. All I know is if I had done it, I would have gotten into big trouble. I came home and it was like he had been plugged into an electric socket."
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It's The X-Files meets Twin Peaks — but animated. Oh, and for kids. Disney Channel's Gravity Falls, which launches tonight at 9:30/8:30c, may be unlike any other cartoon out there for the runny-nose set — and that's the appeal.
Disney, which already reinvented its cartoon brand with irreverent fare like megahit Phineas and Ferb, goes even further down that path with Gravity Falls, the tale of a brother and sister forced to spend the summer with their great-uncle (or "Grunkle") in a town where very weird things happen. Jason Ritter plays bright-eyed youngster Dipper Pines, while Kristen Schaal provides the voice of his eager sister Mabel. Linda Cardellini is on board as teenager Wendy, the older object of Dipper's affections.
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