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Lampshade Hanging / Phineas and Ferb

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This is a Lampshade Hanging page for Phineas and Ferb, which has earned most of its fame through its constant lampshading, mostly over its own jokes and Running Gags.


  • Here are some regular lines:
    Random Person X: Aren't you a little young to be [Y]?
    Phineas: Yes. Yes I am.
    Random Character: Hey, Where's Perry?
    Random Character: Oh, there you are Perry.
    • Not only Phineas, but other characters from the series get to say "Yes. Yes I am." Or "No. No I’m not."
  • The lampshade hanging really takes off starting with "Leave the Busting to Us!", in which Candace notes how the same thing seems to happen every day, and exclaims "My life is like a bad sitcom!"
    • Doofenshmirtz comments in "A Real Boy" on how Vanessa overhearing something he said out of context was like something on a sitcom, but he ends up mainly Breaking the Fourth Wall more than anything else.
    • In the same episode, Candace wonders why there is suddenly an expository poster about hypnotism in her bedroom.
  • Dr. Doofenshmirtz does this frequently, too... like in "It's About Time!" discussing how he wants to hurt Perry the Platypus "the right way, with cartoonish acts of violence and hare-brained schemes."
    • Another Dr. Doofenshmirtz example: when most of the main characters are in space for one episode, he exclaims "why is there so many people in space? What's up with that?"
    • In the episode where Phineas and Ferb go to the mall and Ferb tries to help Vanessa get the Pizzazium Infinionite her dad wants, but at the end, Perry tricks the security guards into thinking Doofenshmirtz was going to steal it unbenknownst to him. As they drag him away, he says "Wait you can’t take me, I don’t have anyone to curse!"
  • Another one lampshades the length of the series, with Phineas saying, "You're right Ferb. It DOES feel longer than 104 days."
    • Buford also says "Are you sure it's only been three months? Because I added up the stuff we've been building and we're way over 150..."
    • In "Fly on the Wall," Doof laments that the summer seems to be going on forever.
  • In "Bad Hair Day", Stacy says "Hey, where’s Perry?" and Candace gives her a dumb look. Stacy responds with "What? I’m like the only person who hasn't said it yet."note 
    • In Irving's debut episode, he asks if he can "Say the Perry thing." Also:
    Phineas: Ferb, I know what we're going to do today.
    Irving: (giggly noise) You said the words!
    Phineas: What?
  • This bit from Buford in "Summer Belongs to You":
    Buford: There's nothing I've ever seen that would make me believe that you could pull this off... Except for that time machine thing and oh, and that roller coaster, and other than that, nothing. Oh, and that time you played that song and the platypus came back. Man, nature just bends to your will, doesn't it?
  • Buford holds fast to his Arbitrary Skepticism about space ship even as he's riding in one.
  • There is a moment in "The Lizard Whisperer" where Phineas calls Steve the chameleon a dinosaur, but Isabella manages to question his terminology. Phineas replies that he uses dinosaur simply because it's "cooler".
  • Doofenshmirtz often gets angry at Perry the Platypus for breaking holes in his walls and doors. This is taken to a new level in "Tri-Stone Area," when Caveman Doofenshmirtz obviously complains about this without even speaking English. It's pretty obvious the writers are adding even more Running Gags as the series goes on.
  • "Rollercoaster the Musical" has several characters point out the non-discernible music source and this episode's similarities to the pilot.
  • Phineas notes the Empathic Environment in the Christmas Special:
    Phineas: Woah, is it me, or does the sky look really dark and ominous? As if it's foreshadowing events which will have a negative impact on our lives.
  • By the Lights of Their Eyes is lampshaded in the episode "Blackout".
    Phineas: Hey Ferb, isn't it cool how you can still see people's eyes in - Ferb, where'd you go?
    Ferb: *opens eyes*
    Phineas: Oh-hoh, you prankster!
  • As is Traintop Battle.
  • And Desert Skull in "Road to Danville".
    Doofenshmirtz: Why do we always see cow skulls in the desert? And why do you only see the skull? Did the body die somewhere else? It makes no sense.
  • Jokes about weight are unusual for this show, but when they do pop up, it's almost always Buford-centric. For example, when the kids are having fun with the moon's low gravity in "Moon Farm", Buford still finds a way to crush Baljeet.
    • Another example occurs in "Meatloaf Surprise". When the kids are flying their helium-inflated bounce house to the Meatloaf Festival, Buford jumps out and hangs by a rope to lower the bounce house when they arrive. Baljeet points out that it shouldn't be physically possible since his weight hasn't changed, and Ferb responds by saying "It's probably best not to question it".
  • Phineas' triangle head is the subject of the occasional comment. Isabella thinks it's very acute.
  • When Phineas and Ferb made all the kids ninja suits to wear Buford asks Phineas which direction he's facing. Phineas says it's a good question before completely turning his eyes to the right before responding, "Left".
  • During one of Perry and Doofensmirtz's fights. Doofenshmirtz states "But this is real life" cue Perry and Doofenshmirtz awkwardly looking at the audience for a few seconds. Also is a case of Breaking the Fourth Wall.
  • In "The Secret of Success", Ferb literally counts the seconds between Phineas getting his inspiration and announcing what they're going to do today, and then another three seconds until Phineas notices Perry is missing.
  • Doofenshmirtz's line in "De Plane! De Plane!"
    That was your last highly improbable judo maneuver, Perry the Platypus!
  • Canderemy makes fun of the Slow "NO!" trope. When the robotic dog gets shut down and drops the device that can return Candace and Jeremy to normal, the program goes into dramatic slow-mo and Phineas, Candace, Isabella and Buford all yell "Nooo" frantically (save for Ferb, who blinks in slow motion), complete with loud distorted voices. The only exception is Baljeet, who merely stands in his place and does the lampshade by asking why are they doing that.
  • Pre-Character Development Candace is a very stereotypical teenage girl, where all she wants out of life is a boyfriend and to see her little brothers get into trouble. "Split Personality" takes this to its logical extreme, where Candace is literally separated into two versions of herself — one who is pure aggravated "busting" and a gentle, ditzy one fawning over Jeremy.
    • "The Best Lazy Day Ever" sees Candace melt down when Phineas and Ferb decide to take a day off from inventing.
  • It is sometimes acknowledged that Major Monogram's eyes are positioned on the same side of his nose, in reference to the way in which he is drawn.
    Doofenshmirtz: Wait a minute, wait a minute. How did you get the sunglasses to go on one side of your face? Who made these, M.C. Escher?
  • Candace notes her limited social circle in "The Lemonade Stand" as she goes through her extremely short contact list — her mom, Stacy, Jeremy, and Jenny.
    Candace: I only have four friends! And one of them's my mom!
  • Doofenshmirtz regularly wonders aloud about his invention’s strange purposes when they inevitably blow up in his face — about a dozen mops ("Ready for the Bettys"), a very large bedroom set ("Invasion of the Ferb Snatchers"), five boxes of oyster crackers ("Terrifying Tri-State Trilogy of Terror"), and so forth.
  • This line from "Great Balls of Water":
    Doofenshmirtz: Oh, now it's stuck in random fire mode! Why did I even put that mode on there?!
  • In Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars, Darthenshmirtz gets this gem as Rebel Agent Perry the Platypus enters his lair:
    Darthenshmirtz: See, what did I tell you, Norm-3PO? You put a big red "X" on the floor, people will stand on it. (Perry suddenly looks down, realizes his mistake, and falls into a carbonite trap) It's human nature. Or in this case, platypus nature.
    • A similar remark in "Der Kinderlumper":
    LET THAT BE A LESSON TO YOU— (suddenly very smug) Never stand on a big, cartoony "X"!
  • "Night of the Living Pharmacists" has Buford say "what's shakin', bacon?" which results in Baljeet pointing out that bacon does not shake. A few minutes later, Doofenshmirtz burns his hands, remarks that they're like bacon now, and then shakes them saying "Look, I'm shaking bacon!" Then he points out that he just made a Call-Back to something he didn't hear, just for the sake of it.
    • In the same episode, Baljeet points out that the jaunty, upbeat "Triangulation" is a bit out of place considering they're in the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse.
  • In the opening song of "Save Summer", "Summer all over the World", the whole world is celebrating Summer via a concert, even people in the Southern Hemisphere. The song realises this and says that it's a different time of year in the south.
  • Commercial Break Cliffhangers get called out:
    • In "Excaliferb", Carl decides to take a break from writing his book just as the kids' Elseworld equivalents are literally jumping off a cliff into the Rocky Shallow River of Nevermore.
    • In "Meapless in Seattle" ties this in with Breaking the Fourth Wall as Meap and Chibi!Doofenshmirtz are sent plummeting to their dooms, and are still there when we return from commercials:
    Meap: We've been falling for quite a long time, haven't we?
    Doofenshmirtz: Oh, great, a joke about the commercial break. That's really how I want to spend my last few seconds!
  • In Save Summer, Buford comments about how Phineas somehow ends up yelling at Candace in every special.
  • Naturally the final episode of the show has loads of references to the previous episodes, especially during the final song which recaps the entire show.
  • Candace ocassionally lampshades the Limited Wardrobe, asking people if they've seen her other white skirt ("Just Desserts") or rooting through a pile of identical outfits and still being able to remember which one was worn on the day of which bit of nonsense ("La Candace-Cabra").
  • Candace has a few comments about her Butt-Monkey status. Take this line from "A Hard Day's Knight":
    Candace: Wait a minute. Could this be one of those things that backfires horribly on me? (Pause) Nah!
  • In "Minor Monogram", Doof has an evil protege, Rodrigo. When the latter points out that Perry could pretty easily escape the trap, Doof explains:
    Well, duh, the trap only needs to hold him for just enough time for you to get through your evil scheme monologue. At that point, your nemesis escapes and the race is on! Who will win, good or evil? No one can say, except, of course, if you go by recent statistics which, it's pretty much good who wins every single time. No matter what. But, hey, if it was easy, everyone would take over the Tri-State Area, right? Every single person would be in charge and we'd be forced to, I don't know, decide the rules together by voting or something.
  • Ripple dissolves and flashbacks that no one can see are a Running Gag in "Doof Dynasty".
  • Phineas and Ferb are too young to legally start a car, and so whenever they operate a vehicle, a joystick or remote is always in use.
  • In "Phineas and Ferb-Busters", the time arrives for someone to ask, "Where's Perry?"
    Phineas: Baljeet, would you do the honors?
    Baljeet: Boy howdy! Hey — (he's abruptly cut off as the scene shifts to Agent P's lair)
    Monogram: Where's Perry?
  • Isabella is a bit protective of her Catchphrase. In the Christmas Special, she senses across town when Candace delivers the line to Jeremy.
  • Candace points out the Stand-In Portrait at the Fireside Girl Lodge: "Who puts a portrait frame over a window?"
  • Evil Is Petty: "And now, Perry the Platypus, prepare to witness a truly petty act, brought on by my own mindless jealousy!"
  • The contrived coincidences that basically power the show aren't off-limits either, such as this bit in "Out to Launch":
    Doofenshmirtz: Why are there so many people up in space? What is up with that?
  • The Unclimable Mountain of Unclimableness and the Uncrossable River of Uncrossableness were named by the Redundant Scribe of Redundantness.
  • Doofenshmirtz names nearly every machine a "[insert whatever-it-does here]-inator". In a flashback to his boyhood, the first machine he ever built was simply called "Inator".
  • When announcing the fourth-highest-ranked song in "Cliptastic Countdown", Doofenshmirtz holds up all fingers but his thumb, then realizes he's only been drawn with 4 fingers, and sheepishly holds up the thumb.
  • The Grand Finale consists of Doofenshmirtz and Candace trapped in a high stakes "Groundhog Day" Loop that causes Ret Gones of various objects, animals, and people. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before groundhogs are removed from existence.
  • Hammerspace is called out with Buford's velvet rope in "Chez Platypus".
  • According to the Credits Gag, it's in the lyrics for "Lunar Taste Sensation" for the disembodied reggae space voice to blame Baljeet for the missing marshmallows.
    • Also, the singer's name is literally Disembodied Reggae Space Voice.
  • Vanessa's aware of her dad's Joker Immunity and has no qualms with watching him ride away on an out-of-control rocket in "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together".
  • In "Skiddley Whiffers", Johnny asks what the odds are that all of Vanessa's friends are allergic to bees just as an entire swarm descends on their campground.
  • Doofenshmirtz is a little annoyed with the Running Gag of people mistaking him for a pharmacist. Take his exchange with Stacy in "Happy Birthday Isabella":
    Stacy: Who's this pharmacist?
    Doof: Why does everyone just stampede to that conclusion? Really? Other people wear lab coats you know. Why, why don't you say, "Oh look a rocket scientist." Or a veterinarian?
    Stacy: Are you a veterinarian?
    Doofenshmirtz: No... But that's not the point!
  • In "Ask a Foolish Question", Made of Explodium gets called out: "Why does everything explode so easily?"
  • Ferb notes when Doofenshmirtz's inators cause Out Of Character Moments for Buford and Candace in "Got Game" and "Misperceived Monotreme", respectively.
  • In "Candace Disconnected" Candace's phone has been broken (again) and she asks her brothers to fix it.
    Phineas: Well, it took almost forty years to perfect the technology that makes the modern cell phone possible. So...give us thirty-eight minutes.
  • Candace takes note of the Super Cell Reception that her brothers get on Mars.
  • In "Face Your Fear", Jeremy immediately realizes that Candace is probably going to try and use a satellite with a powerful camera to bust her brothers. Except he ends up calling it early — it actually takes a bit before she realizes the same thing.
  • "That's the Spirit!" lampshades the concept of a Pumpkin Person.
    Phineas: Wait a minute. If you're a ghost and you have a pumpkin head, what did that make you when you were alive?
    Ferb: The probability of a humanoid vegetable hybrid is exceedingly remote.
  • In the third segment of "Terrifyin Tri-State Trilogy of Terror", as the gang is talking with Rusty Britches on how to deal with the evil platypus clones rampaging just outside, Buford points out they're taking a lot of time with it.

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