Recap / Phineas And Ferb Meapless In Seattle

"A long time ago in a studio in Burbank, California, a ragtag group of animators made a fake trailer for a Meap sequel they never intended to make. Unfortunately, everyone wanted to see that episode so the animators were forced to write it and incorporate all these seemingly unrelated scenes. [shows the ending clip from The Chronicles of Meap] I guess the joke was on them. We now present... Meapless in Seattle."

—Introduction monologue

Meap!

We had to include this seemingly unrelated clip.

The episode starts with scrolling text on a screen, referencing how this episode originally started out as a fake movie trailer. No one intended to make this episode but were requested by fans to do so. They were forced to utilize clips from the trailer that had nothing to do with one another. The clips shown during the end credits of "The Chronicles of Meap" are shown during this transition.

Okay, so let's... Meap! What are you doing here, Meap? Alright, you can be my co-host. So, the episode starts out with a chase scene, the first Parodied Trope in this episode.

Candace is about to go to the mall with Stacy, but then she realizes that if she helps Phineas and Ferb with their project, she will get busted, but will bust them too... Meap! (puts on translator mustache)That's a run-on sentence! Oh.. sorry, Meap. Anyways... Candace discovers that Phineas and Ferb are having a giant pillow fight, and joins them. Oh, and where's Perry? Perry is in his secret spy lair, and gets instructed by Major Monogram to put his hat on his desk... because it's rainy in Seattle (where Doof is taking a vacation), and he wants to try out a new waterproofing formula.

Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb almost get squished by a giant robot foot. Meap shows up, and tells them to run. Meap loses his translator mustache, and Big Mitch picks it up. Isabella runs with them, and they get in Meap's ship. Meap (using an emergency translation mustache which makes him sound like Jeff Foxworthy) explains Big Mitch's plan.

This is the plan: In the days of yore, a man named Zachariah Yore discovered a substance known as cutonium which made everything that touched it ultra cute. He touched it, and became so cute that he got whatever he wanted (a natural consequence). But absolute cuteness corrupts absolutely.

This is a Sequel Episode to The Chronicles of Meap (more specifically the fake trailer at the end), with the return of every voice actor from that episode, including Guest Star David Mitchell reprising his role as "Mitch".

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This episode contains examples of:

• Actor Allusion:
  • Mitch, much like his voice actor, is constantly angry, and can go into rants on petty things. His robots not being encouraging has him rant on how he's Surrounded by Idiots.
  • The southern mustache translator is made in Georgia. Jeff Foxworthy, who voices Southern!Meap, is originally from Atlanta.
• Borrowed Catchphrase: After Meap leaves in the end and Linda sees Candace never bothered to take the garbage out like she asked her before, she tells her daughter "You are so busted, young lady."
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: At the beginning of the second act:
  Southern!Meap: My word, we've been fallin' fer a long time.
  Chibi!Doof: Oh, a joke about the commercial break! Yeah, that's how I wanna spend my last few seconds!
• Brick Joke: Candace is asked by Linda to take the trash out early in the episode; she drops it at the backyard door to partake in the big idea. The trash bag stays at the door throughout the whole episode and is forgotten until the very end, when Linda sees Candace never took the trash out and is busted for it.
• The Bus Came Back: Peter the Panda returns, since he originates from Seattle.
• The Cameo: The voice of Meap's first backup mustache translator (which was made in the state of Georgia and gives Meap a Southern accent) was done by comedian and Georgia native Jeff Foxworthy.
• Cardboard Prison: Turns out that on Meap's planet, the most severe punishment they can give wanted criminals is just a timeout. In a Brick Joke, Meap says that Mitch will get a "serious timeout. Fifteen... sixteen minutes."
• Catchphrase Interruptus: Isabella appears at the gate and says, "Hi, Phineas..." but before she can say the other two words, Phineas tells her to run away from the giant spaceship.
• Continuity Nod: When averting their gazes from Mitch, Ferb covers his eyes the same way when he mistook Candace for Medusa in "Greece Lightning".
• *Crack!* "Oh, My Back!": Major Monogram's back suddenly acts up in the middle of his briefing to Perry the Platypus, forcing Carl to come in and crack it for him.
• Cute Is Evil: Mitch's plot is to use the cutonium to become irresistible and conquer the universe. In the past Zachariah Yore was corrupted by the power cuteness granted him. Averted by Isabella, who is able to naturally out-cute Mitch.
• Cuteness Proximity: Weaponized by Mitch, as anyone who looks at him when he drinks the cutonium cannot resist looking at him, and will do as he asks; the sole exception being Isabella, as her own cuteness outpaces Mitch's.
• Disney Death: Balloony's long-lasting spray finally wears off and he pops. Later, Perry finds Doofenshmirtz still depressed and brings him a now-repaired Balloony.
• Droste Image: Ferb finds a vase that shows an image of an Ancient Greek version of himself holding a vase, which shows another image of Ferb holding a vase, which... you get the idea.
• Evil Laugh: Candace lets out one near the beginning, deciding to get herself busted with her brothers much to Stacy's chagrin.
• Found Footage Films: Candace's SOS to her mom is presented in this manner, complete with an extreme closeup of her face.
• Good-Times Montage: At the end, one is shown between Doof and Balloony to the instrumental of "My Wettest Friend".
• Gratuitous French: Linda is listening to a "Teach Yourself French" tape. And it happens to include phrases that Candace would normally say.
  Tape: "The spaceship is right behind you." "Le vaisseau spatial est juste derrière vous." "Your children are climbing in the spaceship now." "Vos enfants montent maintenant dans le vaisseau spatial." "Oh, for the love of... Would you turn around?" "Oh, pour l'amour de... Voudrais-tu te retourner?"
  Linda: Now, when is that ever gonna come up in conversation?
• Hair Flip: Isabella does this after taking off her helmet to help Phineas snap out of his trance.
• Hypnotize the Captive: Phineas is hypnotized by Mitch under the effects of Cutonium and cannot bother to look away or even contribute to the others trying to fight him.
• Informed Attribute: When affected by cutonium, creatures are supposed to be so cute you only want to coo over them and cater to their whims. It really just makes them Super-Deformed with really big eyes. Lampshaded when the cutonium-infused Heinz has no such effect on anyone.
  Mitch: How homely were you before?
• Implausible Deniability: When Doof tries to hide from Perry the Platypus in Seattle, he attempts to tell him, "I'm not here! You're not seeing me!"
• Local Soundtrack: A Suspiciously Similar Song equivalent of "Smells like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana is used during the first scene in Seattle, where Nirvana originated.
• Lost in Translation: Meap tries to declare war to his species, but since the alien on the other end doesn't speak English, Meap takes off his mustache and relays it again in "Meap" language.
• Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: During the credits, a fake trailer for a third Meap episode is shown, with even more crazy clips used, including the one of Meap fighting Suzy at the Bango-Ru convention used in the intro trailer.
  Doofenshmirtz: Hey, wasn't that Suzy stuff supposed to be in this one?
• Mind-Control Eyes: Whoever is affected by Mitch's cuteness will have their eyes dilate and take on an Animesque look.
• Missing Trailer Scene: Invoked, as while many of the scenes from the fake trailer were repurposed here, there were a couple of shots and lines that were not used:
  • Mitch asking Phineas and Ferb if they are a little young to be saving the universe. This was most likely not used because at this point in the series, the question had become an Abandoned Catchphrase with everyone (except for Linda) becoming somewhat accustomed to the boys inventing impossible things.
  • The reveal of Balloony with his robot body had Mitch in the scene with Doofenshmirtz, with the former calling him "Colin", like he did in the original episode.
  • Most famously, the scene of Little Suzy Johnson fighting Meap at the Bango-Ru convention, which is also used in the "Meap Me in St. Louis" trailer and lampshaded by Doof at the end.
• Oblivious to Love: Isabella tries to prompt Phineas on more than one occasion, to tell her she's cute; the first time she takes it as an insult, and the second time Phineas just completely misses the social cue, and he tells her cuteness is scientific fact, which she goes along with.
• Open the Iris: Happens to Phineas when he's entranced by Mitch's cuteness, as well as the rest of Meap's species.
• Opening Scroll: The episode begins with one of these, in an obvious Shout-Out to Star Wars.
• One-Word Vocabulary: While present in the previous episode that shows Meap, his entire race of people uses the same word with different inflections, without any communication issues.
• Refuge in Audacity:
  • Quite a few of the instances where they fit the trailer clips in. Monogram demanding Perry's hat on his desk? It's for a cool waterproofing spray because it rains in Seattle. Perry throwing his chair at the monitor? A new unbreakable one was installed and Monogram suggested throwing the chair at it as a test. Candace freaking out about Jeremy being somewhere? Her explaining potential anxieties to Stacy.
  • As mentioned above, the Suzy fighting Meap clip was worked in...as part of a trailer for a third part that will never happen.^note Until season five...
• Resized Vocals: Doofenshmirtz' chibi form has a very high-pitched voice.
• Running Gag: Each moustache translation device comes with its own accent; a Southern American accent for the goatee, a WWII-era Stiff Upper Lip accent for the traditional moustache, and an evil Large Ham English accent for the twirly moustache Mitch uses.
• Sequel Episode: To Season 2 episode The Chronicles of Meap, or more specifically, the fake trailer that bookended that episode. Various clips from that trailer are re-used here.
• Sequel Hook: Once again, the episode ends with a fake trailer for a followup the writers have no intention of making with many more out-of-context clips, "Meap Me in St. Louis". (However, in 2023, Dan Povenmire confirmed that "Meap Me in St. Louis" will be airing for season five.)
  Narrator: And now, a trailer for an episode we also have no plans to make.
  Baljeet: (waterskiing) Pay attention up there!
  Candace: (wearing a party hat) Jerry the Platypus??
  Phineas: Ferb, aren't those extinct?
  (shot of Meap walking away from his spaceship as it explodes)
  Jeremy: As a matter of fact, I object to this union.
  Doofenshmirtz: (singing) Yes! I'm just a guy who's a sucker for the sounds of mass transit!
  (shot of Suzy fighting Meap at the Bango-Ru convention that was originally shown in the "Meapless" trailer)
  Narrator: The Chronicles of Meap, Episode 42...
  (zoom in on Meap standing on the Gateway Arch)
  Meap: Meap.
  Narrator: ..."Meap Me in St. Louis"!
  Doofenshmirtz: Hey, wasn't that Suzy stuff supposed to be in this one?
• Shout-Out:
  • The title is in reference to Sleepless in Seattle.
  • The opening narration comes off as a mix of The A-Teams' narration used at the start of each episode, and the Star Wars Opening Scroll.
  • Another reference to Star Wars is when Doofenshmirtz says "This is some rescue!", a line said by Princess Leia in A New Hope.
  • The heavy music that plays when the team arrives in Seattle is suspiciously similar to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana - fitting, since Seattle is Nirvana's home turf.
• Spoof Aesop: Phineas and the gang learned a valuable lesson today.
  Phineas: But we all know what it is, so why waste our time restating it?
• Subverted Catchphrase: Zig-zagged. When Candace takes control of the giant pillow for the giant pillow fight, Phineas says, "You know who else would like this?", and Candace, eager to join just so she can get busted along with her brothers, excitedly bids him to ask where Perry is.
  Phineas: Well, I was gonna say Buford, but where is Perry?
• Super-Deformed: Doofenshmirtz when transformed by the cutonium. He's not happy about it.
• Tempting Fate: When Chibi!Doof sees Meap's translation facial hair fall off, he says "And I didn't think today could get any weirder!" But he is suddenly rescued from falling by a flying panda-shaped vehicle driven by...
  Singers: Peter and Perry...
  Chibi!Doof: Nice try, but the mustache thing was still weirder.