"Aren't you a little young to have early concept art from the 90s?"
"Yes, yes we are."note
Behold my What Could Have Been-inator, It shows off the various early ideas that the show was going to have but will never be... Or were later used in one way or another. Like those three bugs that weren't seen until the Doof 101 episode and the O.W.C.A. Files pilot that was never picked up."Yes, yes we are."note
Examples
- Before being accepted by Disney, the show was pitched to both Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Fox Kids.
- The theme song's lyrics were the same but it was originally going to be sung in the style of upbeat, chorus-led Disney songs of the past.
But it was changed to pop rock since the creators decided that modern audiences wouldn't get it. - Jeremy was originally going to be an unseen character, with Candace and others only referring to him in conversation. Likewise, Stacy was going to be just someone Candace spoke to on the phone.
- Planty the Potted Plant was going to get more screentime, but most of his scenes ended up being cut for time.
- Carl was a completely accidental character: one of the writers just started having Major Monogram make aside comments to the guy operating the camera. The other writers loved it and began including Carl in the show proper.
- There were originally numerous plans for films that never occurred.
- The first attempt would've been a live action/animated hybrid theatrical film that would've had Phineas and Ferb and co find themselves in the 3rd dimension when they open a portal to it and would have to figure out a way to get back to their world, while being on the run from a Cloudcuckoolander government agent who thinks they're aliens. This pitch was rejected by Disney for unknown reasons, leading to them to come up with a different idea. One gag from the pitch though would be recycled in Candace Against the Universe (more specifically, the meta gag in which they gradually become storyboards).
- Not much is known about the second attempt, outside of the fact that it would act as a Origins Episode for O.W.C.A, where it was revealed that Professor Destructicon (Doofenshmirtz's mentor) was originally a friend and partner of Major Monogram, until he betrayed him and attempted to destroy O.W.C.A by sabotaging their newly introduced animal agent system. Disney was far more receptive towards the idea, but outside factors would cause it to also get scrapped. Concept art for this pitch can be found here.
- The third attempt would happen years later, when Disney brought Dan and Jeff back on to do a new film. The duo originally wanted to make a film that would take place in an Alternate Continuity and change up the relationships of the cast. This pitch was rejected by Disney due to the idea being aimed towards longtime fans and it relying on familiarity with the show, which Disney didn't want, as they wanted something that would appeal to newcomers as well (especially given that the show had ended for several years). This would ultimately lead to Candace Against the Universe being made instead.
- The bugs from "Doof 101" and The O.W.C.A. Files can be seen among the early character designs, but it wasn't until "Doof 101" that they found a use for them.
- See here◊ for an early version of the main cast. Dr. Doofenshmirtz was originally blonde and called Mittelshmirtz note , Candace wore green, Linda was blonde as well (and Candace too at some other stage), Buford looked completely different, and Isabella and Baljeet are completely absent with Irving taking their place.
- Dan and Jeff wanted considered making Perry a capybara, before deciding on a platypus.
- The original plot to "Tip of the Day" was very different. It would've been an elaborate 22 minute-long episode about a secret society that keeps the word "aglet" from becoming common knowledge to prevent the end of civilization itself. Dan and Swampy both flatly rejected this idea, and it was redone as a much shorter and simpler story.
- Dan Povenmire had pitched a spinoff for the Fireside Girls, which was even reported in this article from 2010, at the height of the show's popularity. Further details were revealed by Dan in a 2020 interview: Much like the Fireside Girls episodes seen in the series, the idea was that each episode would somehow connect to a Phineas and Ferb episode in some form. It never happened because the higher ups at Disney at that time feared it would lose its boy audience (Phineas and Ferb tested gender neutral with audiences.)
- Swampy Marsh's twitter confirms the spin-off episode "The OWCA Files" was a pilot for another spin-off series. They never heard back from Disney if the show was going to be picked up, so they moved on.
- Buford's "I Want" Song in "Wizard of Odd" had a full version planned out, but it was shortened to a gag in the final version to save time.
- The 2-parter "Where’s Perry?" was originally called “World Without A Platypus”, and both parts originally served as the Season 3 finale and the Season 4 premiere.
- There was supposedly going to be an episode where Isabella would've asked Candace for relationship advice.
- In an earlier version of Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel, Iron Man would have gained the ability to wield Thor's hammer after the powers get swapped. However, according to Swampy Marsh, this was shut down by Marvel. According to Marsh, the conversation Thor and Iron Man have in the final version is based on their writers' conversation with the Marvel representatives about what can and cannot be done with the hammer.
- The ending of "Night of the Living Pharmacists" went through a few versions. In the storyboards done by Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft, Phineas would kiss Isabella after her confession, but this was deemed too much. At another point, the same scene would have had more dialogue implying he might reciprocate, but like in the final version, he's cut off before any clear answer can be given. Also, before settling on "Lots of Me" for The Tag, one version would have had Phineas acknowledge Isabella earning her Emotional Bravery Patch and hug her after they turn back into themselves, and another would have explained how the rest of the world was cured.
- Mitchel Musso was nearly fired from the show following his DUI arrest in October 2011 (which did cost him his role in Pair of Kings). However, Dan and Jeff convinced the executives to let him keep his role.
