Recap / Phineas And Ferb The Baljeatles

Even a mild mannered nerd can be badass when singing.

When Baljeet signs up for a class called "Summer Rocks" and finds out it's for musically-talented kids, Phineas and Ferb help him discover his rock and roll side. Meanwhile, Candace is worried Jeremy won't think of a cool nickname for her, and Doofenshmirtz tries to get babies to obey him with his Bum-Bum-inator.

Tropes:

• Absurdly-Long Limousine: Phineas, Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet all arrive in a long limousine that is powered by bicycle.
• Answer Cut: While hearing Baljeet's screaming, Candace asks "Where is that coming from?"; the scene immediately cuts to Phineas and Ferb arriving at Baljeet's house.
• Band Episode: Phineas, Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet form a band for the Summer Rocks concert.
• Berserk Button: Baljeet EXPLODES when Coltrane tell him that Summer Rocks has no grades and to just have fun, due to Baljeet realizing that his fears of failing the class were in vain.
  Baljeet: I do not believe this! I wasted all this time in a class without grades? Aohhhhh! If only there were some other kind of outlet for me to express these feelings to my like-minded peer group!
  [Baljeet notices his band playing on stage]
  ...Pardon me! I want to try something!
• Brick Joke: Candace suggests she has a fake mustache to give Stacy. Later, we see Jeremy asking Coltrane what it means when someone leaves a fake mustache at their house.
• Concert Episode: Phineas, Ferb, Buford, and Baljeet performing at the Summer Rocks Graduation Concert.
• Cannot Tell a Joke: Doofenshmirtz tries to tell a pun regarding his Bum-Bum-inator and his heart rate detector that he wears on his arm, but he flubs the punchline.^note Which is "wearing my heart on my sleeve."
  Doofenshmirtz: You might say I'm wearing my sleeve on my... I- I mean my heart is wearing, uh... Never mind, whatever, you get it!
• Catchphrase Interruptus: Doofenshmirtz, in a Continuity Nod to "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together!":
  Doofenshmirtz: Curse you, Perry the - wait, is that The Baljeatles?
• Child Soldiers: Discussed and Played for Laughs. Doofenshmirtz learns that a baby is soothed by a mother's heartbeat, so he plans to use his latest invention to broadcast his own heartbeat all over the Tri-State Area, hoping to trick all the babies within the vicinity to follow his bidding, creating an army of babies. He reasons that no one will fight back against him because any reasonable person Wouldn't Hurt a Child.
• Character Development: This is the episode when Baljeet has the most character development. Heck, it's the first time viewers get to see Baljeet so PISSED. Even in his badass song's lyrics "I ain't gonna waste my summer taking beatings from my drummer" (which means he won't allow Buford to harass him anymore), he kept true to his word in later episodes and seasons. Baljeet's character arc is clearly one of the reasons why this is considered one of the best episodes ever by many fans.
• A Day in the Limelight: For Baljeet.
• The Diaper Change: Exploited. After being caught by the Nanny-inator and having a diaper worn on him, Perry uses a nearby bottle to wet his diaper so that the Nanny-inator comes at him, allowing Perry to escape by climbing onto the Nanny-inator's arms.
• Dissimile: Phineas asks Baljeet if everything is okay, and Baljeet responds, "If by okay, you mean that my life is a meaningless, black cauldron of swirling failure... then yes, everything is groovy."
  Phineas: That's not at all what I meant.
• Fembot: The Nanny-inator.
• Heartbeat Soundtrack: Phineas hears the Bum-Bum-inator's heartbeat and mistakes it for a drumbeat by Buford, prompting him to match the beat. When the heartbeat speeds up, the music speeds up as well.
• Inelegant Blubbering: Baljeet's "Fail Wail" is Played for Laughs despite the fact that Phineas, Ferb, and Candace were annoyed by it.
  Baljeet: That was not my guitar. That was me. I call it the Fail Wail. [bawls melodramatically]
  Phineas Baljeet, Baljeet! Whoa! HEY! [Baljeet stops wailing] Thank you.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Coltrane reappears, but this time is redesigned to resemble his voice actor, Corbin Bleu.
• Le Film Artistique: The first part of Perry's briefing is done in the style of an art film. Apparently, Carl's been taking some film courses.
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Gimme a Grade" is a Punk Rock song where Baljeet praises rules and authority and expresses his desire to be a conformist.
• Mind Screw: Ferb is seen twice in a row, once driving the limo and opening it, and again stepping out of it. As the limo pulls away, Ferb looks to the side where the driver Ferb is as if he's bewildered at what just happened.
• The Nicknamer: Jeremy is revealed to be one of these, coming up with a nickname for everyone except Candace, much to her dismay.
• No, You Hang Up First: Candace tries doing one of these with Jeremy, but once she says, "No, you hang up the phone", Jeremy hangs up.
• Offscreen Teleportation: Ferb acts as the driver of the limo, the valet, and one of the band members. He lampshades this by shrugging his shoulders.
• Rockers Smash Guitars: Subverted. At the very end of "Gimme a Grade", Baljeet holds his guitar up, appearing to smash it; the camera then pulls back as he gently puts it back in its case.
• Shout-Out:
  • The episode's title and the titular band is, of course, an allusion to The Beatles. The Baljeatles' song is more punk and metal inspired, though.
  • In "Gimme a Grade", Baljeet sings "I have got something to say!", a reference to "Rock of Ages" by Def Leppard.
  • Candace rants about how couples give pet names to each other, like baby, honey, or Peg-Leg Pete.
• Subverted Catchphrase:
  • When Phineas and Ferb hear the loud screaming, which turns out to be Baljeet, Phineas angrily says, "C'mon, Ferb. I know what we're NOT gonna do today. We're not gonna find out what we are gonna do today if we keep hearing that strange noise."
  • "Hey! Seems like the 'Fail Wail' scared Perry off!"
• Sure, Let's Go with That: When Phineas mistakes Doofenshmirtz's heartbeat for a drum beat:
  Phineas: Cool beat, Buford!
  Buford: Uh... thanks?
• Teach Him Anger: Played for Laughs when Coltrane tells Baljeet that Summer Rocks was just for fun and not an actual academic class, which drives him into such a rage that he performs a badass rock number about how cheated he feels that he made all that effort and won't even get a grade to show for it. That's ironically what it takes.
• Took a Level in Badass: Baljeet LOSES it when he's told to just have fun at Summer Rocks and sings "Gimme a Grade" during the concert as a response.