Happy New Year! is the 177th episode of Phineas and Ferb
It's New Year's Eve in Danville. Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro has invited all the neighborhood kids over to watch the New Year's Eve ball drop while the adults, along with Candace and Stacey, go to a party at city hall, so Phineas and Ferb decide to build a giant ball and drop it from space while holding a New Year's party inside it.
Candace has decided to give up trying to bust Phineas and Ferb as her New Year's resolution, but is already having trouble sticking to it. She decides that she still has an hour left to finally bust the boys and tries to find a way to show Linda their project before midnight.
Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz is planning to use his Resolution Changer Inator to make everyone's New Year's resolution be to serve and obey him and him alone.
Note: This episode and its predecessor do not take place during Summer vacation.
Tropes present:
- 2D Visuals, 3D Effects: Exterior shots of the ball are in CGI.
- An Aesop:
- Some promises that you make might end up being broken some time later.
- Be careful what you promise; you never know the result.
- Bait-and-Switch: Perry carries a chair onto the stage. At first, he carries it as if he is going to throw it at Doof, but instead... he sits down on it and allows Doof to activate his inator. Because he knows that no one ever commits to their New Year's resolutions.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment:Isabella: And of course, there's the other tradition of kissing someone special at midnight.
Phineas: Well then, I know what we're going to do tonight...
Isabella: Really?
Phineas: Yeah! We're gonna make our own New Year's ball, and drop it from outer space!
Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro: Your mother is right, Phineas. You have such an active imagination!
Isabella: Not active enough. - The Big Damn Kiss: Candace and Jeremy share their second on-screen kiss at the end, complete with fireworks.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: This time, Mrs. Garcia-Shapiro says to the gang, "Hey, where's your platypus?"
- The Cameo: Images on the New Year's ball show Grandpa Reg and Grandma Winnifred and Grandpa Clyde and Grandma Betty Jo dancing.
- Captain Obvious: Irving is streaming Phineas and Ferb's ball. Candace addresses "everyone in Internetland" announcing she is going to bust her brothers once and for all before the New Year starts. Irving pops in and says, "She never busts them... and 'Internetland' is not a real place."
- Comical Nap Drool: Baljeet is out like a light at the beginning and Buford wakes him up to keep him from drooling over his arm.Baljeet: You know, saliva is 98% water and the other 2% is made up of very beneficial electrolytes. It is gross, but it is science.
Buford: You're lucky the "gross" factor outweighs the "science" factor, or you'd have a one-way ticket to Wedgie Town! - Continuity Nod:
- Candace is wearing the same dress she ended up in at the end of "Gaming the System", but in a different color.
- In the previous episode, Monogram complains about the cold in the OWCA office and Carl mentions the repairman went to Aruba. In this episode, Monogram mentions they had to call a guy from Aruba, but a beach ball knocks down the set to reveal he and Carl are in Aruba for the New Year.
- Continuity Snarl: Doofenshmirtz, who gave up evil in "The Last Day of Summer", is still evil in this episode, even though it should takes place after the summer vacation. Much like in Season 2, (and the previous episode), the creators likely didn't think of the series finale in mind.
- Dance Line: Phineas leads a conga line out of the ball.
- Dance Party Ending: The episode ends with everyone dancing to celebrate the New Year.
- Exposed to the Elements: Candace and Linda do not wear their jackets when in the courtyard, yet they show no signs of freezing in the supposed cold weather there.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Isabella's mother can be seen dancing with an unknown man on one of the the New Year's Eve ball video screens. Word of God confirms that the man is Isabella's father: one of the only times he's seen in the whole series, and you probably won't even notice him until the third or fourth viewing.
- Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Doof tells Perry that the New Year's party is a black tie affair. So Perry leaves, and then returns wearing a tux jacket and shirt and bow tie (Singers: Perry agaaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnn....) and Doof shrugs and guesses that it didn't say anything about pants.
- Hypocritical Humor: When Doof thinks he has finally taken over the Tri-State Area, he asks Perry the Platypus how it feels to be a loser.Doofenshmirtz: I mean, that's a rhetorical question. Of course, if anyone should know how it feels, it should be me, right?
- I Am Not Weasel: When Doof asks Norm how he looks, Norm responds, "Like a pharmacist in a bow tie".
- Is the Answer to This Question "Yes"?: When Lawrence asks Linda if she's ready to party, Linda replies, "Do one-legged ducks swim in circles?"note
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Not exactly kicking ass, but Candace busts out some cool parkour moves while trying to bust her brothers, all while wearing her fancy New Year's Eve dress.
- Kissing Discretion Shot: Linda and Lawrence are close to sharing a kiss when Candace finds them, but we never get to see it before the countdown ends.
- Loophole Abuse: Candace's relapse kicks in so much that she can't control it; her obsession soon arises when she sees someone reveal it's not midnight yet so she can avoid her resolution to not eat sandwiches in the bathroom until then, inspiring her to bust her brothers until midnight comes.
- Magic Countdown: Everyone counts down from ten to midnight, but judging by how long it took, it was actually over twenty seconds.
- Meaningless Villain Victory: Perry lets Doofenshmirtz go ahead with his plan to change everyone's New Year's resolution, knowing that they won't keep it anyway.
- New Year Has Come: The episode takes place on New Year's Eve with the characters attending a New Year's celebration party.
- New Year's Kiss: Isabella mentions the tradition of kissing somebody at midnight to Phineas, who responds "I know what we're doing tonight." Much to her disappointment, he's talking about building a giant ball to drop from outer space. Later, during the New Year's party, Lawrence and Linda kiss in the courtyard during the final countdown, preventing them from seeing Phineas and Ferb's contraption. Candace admonishes them for this, but at the end of the episode, she shares a kiss with Jeremy. During the credits, even Norm ends up having a kiss with an air conditioner.
- New Year's Resolution: Doof's plan this time around is to cause everyone's resolution to be to serve him and him alone. Perry lets him do it, since no one keeps their resolutions anyway.
- Poor Communication Kills: When Isabella mentions to Phineas the tradition of kissing someone at midnight, he mentions to her, "I know what we're going to do tonight," leading her to believe he's going to kiss her by then, only for him to mention they're going to make a giant ball and drop it from outer space, which she's not happy about.
- Running Gag: Norm celebrating New Year's too early and Doof chastising him for squandering.
- Sealed with a Kiss: The episode ends on one, courtesy of Candace and Jeremy.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Candace spends the whole episode in a fancy dress. This is also one of the only times in the whole series that she sports noticeable curves.
- Ship Tease: Ginger and Baljeet share a dance during the big celebration at the end. Irving and Gretchen are also seen dancing together.
- Special Edition Title: The title of the episode is shown as neon lights in the night sky.
- Shout-Out: During the ending song, Phineas and Ferb are dressed up as two guys from the famous Gangnam Style music video and even doing the dance. Isabella and the Fireside Girls are also seen doing it.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: A rotund debutante (the same one from "Meatloaf Surprise" who brought opera glasses to an auction) says if Phineas and Ferb were her children, they would be so busted.Candace: PLEASE! Adopt me now!!!
- What Happened to the Mouse?: We never see what happens to Candace between the time the new year comes and the final dance number begins. Stacy, Jeremy and Coltrane are also not seen, and it's unknown if they were hit by Doof's inator.
- When the Clock Strikes Twelve: Candace relapses and soon overhears someone's resolution is not in full effect until midnight, and Candace realizes she can still bust her brothers until then.
