Recap / Phineas And Ferb Save Summer

Monogram gets fired from being Major of O.W.C.A. after accidentally getting a venue it has to share with a meeting involving the evil organization L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N., which results in a fight that causes so much damage, they lose their security deposit. Later, Doofenshmirtz intends to move the Earth farther from the sun so that the weaker sunscreen he bought will still be useful, and actually succeeds on it, despite Perry's attempts to stop him. Upon hearing of Doofenshmirtz's successful scheme, his rival Rodney leads the villains of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. into capturing nearly all of O.W.C.A.'s agents and threatening the world into doing their bidding, or else the Earth gets launched into a second Ice Age (something which even Doofenshmirtz is horrified to hear about). Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb and friends play a concert around the world celebrating Summer, until L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N's cooling of the Earth catches their attention. It's up to them to bring the Earth back into its normal position and save summer while Perry must find a way to rescue his captured agents and stop Rodney and the villains at all costs.

This special contains examples of:

• Acquired Error at the Printer: Linda and Lawrence had a Groupon for a spelunking expedition on the hopes that it would find an inner journey of self-discovery because the brochure said "Inner Spelunking with Soul", but it was supposed to say "Inner Spelunking with Saul", since the guide's name was Saul.
• Adults Are Useless: Zigzagged, as even though Phineas, Ferb and their friends have created powerful rockets to move the Earth back into orbit, Rodney's inizor is far too strong for the rockets to repel against. Fortunately, it took Doofenshmirtz's wrath (and the assistance from Monogram and his cohorts) to take down Rodney and the inizor, allowing the kids to finally move the Earth back into its original orbit.
• Art Shift: When the planet Earth is depicted in the first part, it is shown in the show's art style. But in the second part, it is shown as a live-action photo.
• The Bad Guy Wins:
  • Doofenshmirtz manages to create a tractor beam to move the Earth into an early autumn. This was also the first time he may have actually succeeded in taking over the Tri-State Area, as the change in weather caused civil unrest, which forced Mayor Roger to escape and allowed Doof and L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. to take over City Hall by force.
  • Special points also go to Rodney and L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. when they moved the Earth into perpetual winter, though this only caused Doof to make a Heel–Face Turn after realizing what the consequences would be if the Earth would be moved further away.
• Berserk Button: While attempting to move the Earth into a new Ice Age, Rodney deliberately disables the reverse switch and self-destruct button to ensure that his machine won't be stopped, ultimately provoking a pissed-off Doofenshmirtz to smack him down for this.
  Rodney: (triumphant) THERE!! I've disabled the reverse switch and the self-destruct button, so THERE'S NO-
  Doof: (angrily whacks Rodney with a mop) NOBODY MESSES WITH MY SELF-DESTRUCT BUTTON!!!
• Beyond Redemption: Doof feels that Rodney has gone down that path due to the latter's desire to send the Earth into a new Ice Age that would endangers billions of lives; even Perry himself has the same mindset, knowing that the imminent event would endanger his host family (including Phineas and Ferb) and deeming Rodney to be far more despicable than Doof would ever be.
• Big Bad: Rodney, as he plans to send the Earth into a new Ice Age.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • With Perry, Monty and Carl cornered in the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. base, Dr. Diminutive states that now that all of O.W.C.A.'s agents were captured, nothing could stop them. However, Monogram shows up to prove him wrong, having orchestrated the break-out of all the O.W.C.A. agents the villains had previously captured with the help of the new Agent Rat.
  • In a minor yet pivotal moment, Doofenshmirtz stands up to Rodney and whacks him down with a mop, allowing himself, Monogram, Perry, Monty and Carl to save the Earth.
• Body Horror: Stacy's head and right arm swelling to disturbing levels after she gets bitten by a spider.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Buford knows it's a special because Phineas is yelling at Candace again.
• Brief Accent Imitation: Candace at five years old had a lisp. Candace watches the video of her five year old self making a list of everything she wanted to do over her summer. The last item on the list is to conquer her fear of spiders. Young Candace is understandably freaked out by this, but suggests that this should be no problem for "Future Candathe".
  Candace: But-but-but... But I'm "Future Candathe"!
• Brick Joke:
  • Candace invents a grilled cheese flavor of ice cream. Later, the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. scientists go out for celebratory ice cream and Doof is not crazy about the grilled cheese flavor, but Rodney insists, "You get what you get and you don't get upset!"
  • Perry saves Roger from an angry mob by taking him to the roof of city hall. When the earth is moved back into position, he is seen hanging onto the flagpole and admitting he is not sure what is going on.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The mop Perry used to whack Doof, after the latter succeeds in moving the Earth. Several points goes to Doof, who later uses the mop to whack Rodney from sending the Earth to a permanent Ice Age.
  • The Ferbographic technology in the opening song is later used by Phineas to project himself to the attic, and help Candace overcome her fear of spiders.
• Chekhov's Gunman: The alley rat that Monogram made friends with when he became homeless, as he managed to train the rat into infiltrating the villains' warehouse and free all the captured agents.
• Clark Kent Outfit: Agent Fox twice rips off the fur from his front paws like sleeves to show off his buff arm muscles.
• Code Name: For security purposes, both the O.W.C.A. and the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. events are held under clandestine names. The O.W.C.A. Graduation Ceremony is listed under "the Capulet Bat Mitzvah", while the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. Disservice Awards are listed as "the Hatfield Wedding Reception". Ironically, both names are references to two famous Feuding Families: the former for one of the families from Romeo and Juliet, and the latter from the real life feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.
• Comeback Tomorrow: As usual, Doof fails to utter a comeback every time Rodney points out that he slouches.
• Continuity Nod:
  • In each shot of the Earth and the moon, the tallest building from "The Doof Side of the Moon" is still seen stuck on the moon.
  • When Buford questions why Baljeet has a weather balloon, Baljeet reminds him that he has full-sized molds of all his friends.
  • When trying to make Candace conquer her fears, Phineas reminds Candace of the time she helped him and the gang save Klimpaloon (which had yet to air stateside at the time making it seem like a Noodle Incident when it aired) and when he gave a similar pep talk when she climbed atop their baguette boat.
• A Day in the Limelight: This episode gives Carl a more prominent role and it is also a more featured role for Monty Monogram. This is also the only episode Monty appears in without Vanessa.
• Dissimile: Rodney criticizes Doof's style of giving demands, comparing it to sounding like "a bashful Santa Claus pitching softballs to a girl in a bikini".
  Doofenshmirtz: Hey! You don't know what that sounds like!
• Don't Explain the Joke: A Running Gag is whenever Rodney makes fun of Doof's posture, Dr. Diminutive explains why it is funny.
  Rodney: You also need a chiropractor, Slouchy!
  Dr. Diminutive: Ah! Good one! Because he slouches!
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Colonel Contraction, Major Monogram's superior, is portrayed this way. He yells the word "DEBACLE!" at Major Monogram several times just for kicks.
• Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Played with at the final scene.
• Elephants Are Scared of Mice: The L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. villains capture the elephant agent by scaring it with a wind-up mouse.
• Enemy Mine: Upon being told of Rodney's plan to send the Earth into a new Ice Age, Monogram, Carl, and Monty get very uncomfortable by this, as they too share Doofenshmirtz's disgust over the event. Even Perry himself is horrified by this revelation, knowing that the cataclysm would directly put his host family in complete danger. As such, the four head over to the villains' warehouse, where they spotted Doofenshmirtz whacking down Rodney and attempting to take down the machine to save the Earth and move it back into orbit. Taking the opportunity, Monogram orders both Perry and the boys to help Doof (at least for once). After the Earth is saved, Monogram gets Monty to arrest Rodney while thanking Doof for helping them out.
  Carl: Look! Doofenshmirtz is trying to destroy the inizor!
  Monogram: C'MON!! HE NEEDS HELP!! (they rush over to help Doof push the inizor off the roof)
• Even Evil Has Standards: Doofenshmirtz willingly played along with L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s plan to capture all of O.W.C.A's agents and hold the world for hostage, but takes a step back in disgust after hearing of Rodney's actual plan to bring a new Ice Age and openly objects to it, knowing that it would endanger billions of lives. He even voiced his remorse over his past actions to a homeless Monogram while berating the latter for his failure to stop them, which inspired Monogram to take action and help Doof to stop Rodney in his plot.
• Evil Is Petty: The reason that Doof wanted to shift the Earth away from the sun was because he was supposed to apply 120 SPF sunscreen, but he ended up getting an entire crate of 110 SPF because it was on sale, and rather than exchanging the sunscreen, he decides to just shift the position so the sunscreen would work. Of course, while he was surprised to see that his plan worked, he did not foresee L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. using it to their advantage to advance their plans in world domination; he even lampshades this to himself.
  Doofenshmirtz: I guess my fortune cookie was right. I do tend to overcomplicate things.
  • Of course, Rodney tops it further by moving the Earth further away to perpetual winter when the world leaders failed to meet L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s pretzels demand. And when a disgusted Doofenshmirtz demanded that they move the Earth before any further damage can be done, Rodney responded that he will move the Earth further away from the sun, just to spite Doof further.
• Finger-Snapping Street Gang: The members of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. snap their fingers while kidnapping the O.W.C.A. agents and singing "O.W.C.A.'s Goin' Down".
• Forbidden Chekhov's Gun: The first time they try firing the rockets, Phineas warns Candace not to turn them up to the red line. Later he tells Candace to do it, because it's the only chance to fight against the pull of the -inizor and put Earth in its proper place. Fortunately for the kids, Doof and the others manage to disable the -inizor, thus saving the Earth.
• Grandma's Recipe: Carl offers Monogram some budget-friendly hors d'oeuvres before he goes on stage, saying it to be an old family recipe: "Strips of bologna and wadded-up white bread."
  Major Monogram: Where exactly are you from?
  Carl: Chula Vista.
• Gratuitous Spanish: Señor Killbot, the robot member of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. speaks Spanish phrases that are taught in middle school such as "¿Donde está la biblioteca?"
• Hurricane of Puns: Major-in-Charge Carl, as the temporary head of OWCA, instructs all the animal agents to do stuff. He tells Agent D (a dog) to see what he can dig up, and Agent O (an owl) to find out who's who, Agent Possum to play dead, and Agent B (a bear) to go out into the woods and... see what's out there.
• Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: After Monogram is fired, Colonel Contraction rips off his monogram from his nehru jacket as well as his mustache, which he gives to Carl.
• Insult Backfire: When Doof reminds Rodney that Perry is still out there, Rodney sarcastically thanks him for the reminder, calling him Dr. Bringdown. But then, the evil scientist that has an animal claw for a hand says his name is Dr. Bringdown.
  Rodney: Put a sock in it, David!
• It's Probably Nothing: Dr. Diminutive dismisses the strange sounds heard as the building settling.
  Monty: (inhales sharply, then covers his mouth)
  Rodney: What was that?
  Dr. Diminutive: Maybe the building's settling.
  Rodney: So to you, a building settling sounds like someone inhaling sharply?
  Dr. Diminutive: Well, I live in a strange building.
  Monty: (quietly) I've got to warn Carl.
  Rodney: Okay, tell me you didn't hear that!
  Dr. Diminutive: Still the building settling.
  Rodney: So our building has a sudden urge to warn Carl?
  • Also serves as a Call-Back when all of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. hears Candace screaming.
  Dr. Diminutive: That's just the building settling again.
• Kick the Dog: Rodney does this when he takes over L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. and announces his plan to move the Earth away from the sun with his latest inizor; even using it briefly to send the world into perpetual winter when the world leaders met all of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s demands except for the one about pretzels. And when Doofenshmirtz finally had enough of this, Rodney decides to spite him by sending the Earth further away than usual, not caring if billions of lives would be at risk of it.
• Kissing the Ground: Saul does this upon exiting the cave.
  Saul: Oh, sweet sunshine! (kisses) Terra firma!
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Despite being the guide for Linda and Lawrence's spelunking expedition, it turns out that Saul knows very little about caves.
  Linda: Do you get the feeling that this might be his first time down here, too?
• Left the Background Music On: A favorite trope of the series. When Phineas dramatically reveals that if the temperature keeps dropping with the Earth's shifting, summer could be gone forever. Dramatic music is heard, revealed to be Ferb conducting an orchestra.
  Ferb: What? I'm expressing how I feel. Through music.
• Locked Out of the Loop: As per usual, Phineas and the gang are completely oblivious to L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N's involvement in the Earth's moving.
• Look Behind You: Rodney distracts Doof by saying, "Oh, look! A horse in a bookcase!", in reference to the Show Within a Show.
• Makes Us Even: Having gone to the roof, Monogram has learned that Doofenshmirtz has defeated Rodney, giving him and the others a chance to save the world from a horrific fate and put Rodney away into custody for good. Recalling back on when Doof gave him the cold yet satisfying speech that inspired him to take action, Monogram returns the favor by thanking Doofenshmirtz and letting him go free for the time being.
  Monogram: (after having Rodney arrested) Doofenshmirtz, you just saved the world..... thank you!
• My God, What Have I Done?: Doofenshmirtz feels this way upon learning that his successful scheme has motivated Rodney to formulate a plot to send the Earth into a new Ice Age, even admitting his remorse over it during his cold rant to Monogram.
• Nap Inducing Speech: When the gang does some tests on the climate using Baljeet's weather balloon, Buford asks Baljeet to "'splain". However, when Baljeet goes into too much Expospeak, Buford begins to doze off and Baljeet's voice fades away. Baljeet gets his attention by yelling his name.
  Baljeet: Buford!
  Buford: Stop 'splainin'! Stop 'splainin'!
• Never My Fault: Monogram almost fell to it as he objects to Doof holding him partially responsible for the weather change. However, while Doof admits that while he himself is responsible for the change, he pointed out that Monogram could've done something about it when he had the chance rather than moping over his loss of his job, something which Monogram conceded in the end.
  Doofenshmirtz: This whole weather thing is your fault, you know!!
  Monogram: My fault?!
  Doofenshmirtz: Okay, technically, it's my fault. But if you weren't sitting around in a cold alley whining to rats and feeling sorry for yourself, this whole situation wouldn't have gotten so out of control. Before, I was a regular evil scientist, and now, suddenly, I'm part of this big organization of super-villains bent on world domination! I'm not comfortable with that!! The point is you should've been there to stop me, and YOU WEREN'T!!! (leaves after giving Monogram two cents)
  Monogram: Huh.... two cents.
• Noodle Incident: During his pep talk to Candace, Phineas mentions the events of "The Klimpaloon Ultimatum" and "Summer Belongs to You", but also mentions the time she got a really big bird to stop pecking at her house, which was not shown in any episode.
• Not Me This Time: When Candace finds out that summer had ended, she immediately suspects her brothers did something, then goes out and puts on her Christmas sweater and yells, "Phineas and Ferb, what have you done to summer?!" But, of course, Phineas explains that they did not do it, but they are figuring a way to bring it back.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain:
  • Following Doof's success of moving the Earth from the Sun, the villains of L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. manage to not only capture nearly all of the animal agents, but even managed to hold the Tri-State Area and the entire world hostage.
  • Rodney counts this as well as he uses the same technology to move the Earth to a perpetual winter, which finally shocked the entire population to their knees. He attempted to do so again into a new Ice Age, which finally provoked Doofenshmirtz to stop him for good.
• Only Sane Man: Doofenshmirtz of all people turns into this for L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. when Rodney comes up to plunge Earth into an eternal winter, as he is the only one who realizes doing so is a bad idea.
  Doofenshmirtz: (horrified to hear about Rodney's true plan) Is it just me or is this getting out of hand?
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Buford comments that it must be a special because Phineas yells at Candace.
• Our Presidents Are Different: When Rodney speaks with the world leaders, one of them is clearly meant to be President Barack Obama, right down to his vocal mannerisms. (He is voiced here by Kevin Michael Richardson.)
• Pet the Dog: After giving a homeless Monogram his What the Hell, Hero? speech over his inaction over the whole weather fiasco, Doofenshmirtz gives him two cents out of pity before leaving.
• Put on a Prison Bus: Aloyse von Roddenstein is seen being arrested in the ending and is never seen again.
• Recycled Animation: The brawl between O.W.C.A. and L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. is redone later in the episode, and even lampshaded by Dr. Diminutive. (It is obvious because at points, Rodney is seen taking part in the fight despite the fact that he is supposed to be fighting Doof.)
• Redemption Promotion: Doofenshmirtz proves far more successful when he's out to save the world instead doing evil, beating Rodney unconscious and helping destroy the machine that alters Earth's orbit. But despite his role in saving the world, when he offers Monogram his hand to shake, he promptly pulls it away just to show that he is still Affably Evil.
  Monogram: (disappointed) Yes. Yes, you are.
• Rooftop Concert: Phineas and the gang's virtual concert in London takes place on a roof, and they are all dressed as different characters from Doctor Who, which writer Joshua Pruett is a huge fan of. Specifically, Phineas is dressed as the Tenth Doctor, Ferb as the Fourth Doctor, Baljeet as the Eleventh Doctor, Buford as the Sixth Doctor, and Isabella as Rose Tyler in her Union Jack shirt from "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances".
• Shout-Out:
  • "O.W.C.A.'s Goin' Down" begins with a shot-for-shot recreation of the opening of the original film adaptation of West Side Story (1961), including the overhead helicopter shot and the iconic whistle, and the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. scientists taking the role of the Jets snapping their fingers and walking over graffiti. The song itself is patterned after "Cool" from the musical.
  • After getting stuck in a hole, Saul worries he might have to saw his own arm off.
  • Phineas tells Candace to turn the controls up slowly and steadily, to which Candace replies, "Oh, just like the rabbit in the story," Phineas then says, "Exactly. Wait! No! Like the turtle! Like the turtle!" A reference to the Aesop story of "The Tortoise and the Hare''.
• Simple-Minded Wisdom: Upon seeing the Tri-State Area citizens panicking due to the Earth being moved to an early autumn thanks to Doofenshmirtz, Mayor Roger wisely suggests that they wear warmer clothes (such as sweaters and cardigans) instead of just complaining about the weather change. Unfortunately, the citizens are too upset to accept Roger's suggestion and instead tried to attack him, forcing him to evade City Hall (with the help from Perry), which in turn allowed Doofenshmirtz and L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. to take over City Hall.
  Roger: Citizens of Danville, I want to assure you that your slight discomfort is of utmost importance to me and I will do everything in my power to...recommend you wear a cardigan or light sweater.
  Female Citizen: (upset) But all my sweaters are ugly and Christmas-themed!
  Roger: (annoyed) Well, then, just wear warmer clothes.
  Male Citizen: (furious) Warmer clothes?! Do you know how dumb I would look wearing socks with flip-flops? (to the angry crowd) Hey, his sweater looks nice and warm. Get it!
  (the angry crowd storm the steps in an attempt to attack Roger)
  Roger: (gets nervous) People, people! Look look look, take-take it easy. I'm still your mayor!
  • Upon L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s press conference at City Hall, the citizens are complaining about their personal problems caused by the villains' actions, to which Doof rightfully calls them out on it.
  Male Citizen #2: Your fall is ruining summer!
  Female Citizen #2: You made me buy a blanket with sleeves!
  Male Citizen #3: My toilet seat's cold!
  Doofenshmirtz: (annoyed) Ladies and gentlemen of the press, kindly put a cork in it!
• Special Guest: Jay Leno plays Colonel Contraction, Major Monogram's superior, and Wallace Shawn voices Saul, Linda and Lawrence's spelunking guide.
• Spiders Are Scary: It is revealed that Candace is afraid of spiders ever since she was 5 years old.
• Status Quo Is God: Because they lost their security deposit due to the fight at the banquet, Colonel Contraction announces he is shutting down OWCA despite having reinstated Monogram as a reward for stopping Rodney. Carl suggests that Monogram start his own agency. By a pure "convenience", the "OWCA" name and their old building happened to be available, so Monogram names his agency that and moves there. But he also says that they'll need to lay off some personnel, so he relieves Colonel Contraction of duty.
  Contraction: Yeah, well, that's to be expected.
• Stealth Pun: After giving a lengthy rant to a homeless Monogram, Doof puts two pennies into Monogram's cup. Essentially, Doof gave him "his two cents".
• Stupid Evil: Rodney threatens to plunge Earth into a perpetual winter if a list of demands from L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s demands aren't met. All but one of their demands are met, and this is all the motivation he needed to go ahead with the plan. Doofenshmirtz points out how terrible an idea this is, but Rodney refuses to back down as he still intends to prove to everyone's who's boss, even if it means endangering billions of lives.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Rodney disables the self destruct button his machine to keep from being disabled, so Doofenshmirtz and the others take action by making the machine fall over the roof instead.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Summer has been so long that the sight of the inator taking away the control panel in the backyard doesn't even phase Candace.
  Candace: Yeah, well, that's to be expected.
• Villain Has a Point: Being disgusted by Rodney's plot, Doofenshmirtz expressed his remorse for setting off the events, but pointed out that Monogram could've done something about it instead of moping over his loss because of a bad fiasco that cost his job. Doof even pointed out that Rodney has become a much more worse threat than he'll ever be and that Monogram should've known better than to let Rodney accomplish his goal for world domination.
• Wham Line: At the very end of part one, when the gang discover that summer is over and Buford suggests to wait for next summer, Phineas says, "No, Buford! If we don't do something soon, summer will be gone forever!"
• "What Do They Fear?" Episode: Part of the plot concerns Candace tries to overcome her fear of spiders, which she eventually does so.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Monogram becomes homeless, but he previously mentioned having a wife that we never got to see. Where was she during all this?
• You Are in Command Now: After relieving Monogram of his service, Colonel Contraction temporarily names Carl in charge of OWCA, until a suitable replacement is found. It is not much of a difference, except that he gets Monogram's mustache, and his new title is "Temporary, Unpaid, Major-in-Charge Carl".
• You're Insane!: Doof feels that Rodney has ended that way after the latter announcing L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s success after moving the Earth into perpetual winter.
  Rodney: (triumphant) Now the world knows that L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s not an organization to be trifled with!
  Doofenshmirtz: (flatly) Yeah, well, meanwhile, you may have plunged the Earth into a new Ice Age.
  Rodney: The world is ours for the taking!
  Doofenshmirtz: (angrily) But this is crazy talk!! I'm an evil scientist, not a mad scientist!! Th-There's a difference! Subtle, I grant you, but, still, y'know, I don't really like the new direction this organization is taking and I think we need a little fresh air!

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