“Animatin” with Dan Povenmire and Jeff ‘Swampy’ Marsh

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on

We’ve come a long way since The Reluctant Dragon. Here’s how Disney’s Phineas and Ferb is made. Except for the rap music, it’s a pretty accurate account.

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  • http://popyea.deviantart.com/ nick

    haha.
    that was lame, but not in the way i was expecting.
    in a cute way.

  • http://bakertoons.blogspot.com/ Charles Brubaker

    I don’t care for the show but that’s an interesting video. I always love these “behind-the-scene” look.

    I think the part I liked was how they said that nobody knows how sheet timing works.

  • http://www.daryl-rhystaylor.co.uk DarylT

    And that’s why I like the show.

  • Dave

    “it’s a pretty accurate account.”

    Clever vid, but … are they really “animatin” this show here in the U.S.A. ? Somehow I doubt it. They make a quick mention of packing the show off to “China” for “inbetweenin”. But is any of the show actually animated in the U.S.A. or is it just the storyboards and key layouts, then the rest is off-shored as with every other TV production ?

    I guess the refrain “we’re animatin” sounds better than “we’re storyboardin and sluggin’ x-sheets” , but wouldn’t that be more accurate ? I hate to be a stickler over terms, but to me the word animating and the title Animator means something. “Animator” is a real job classification that has pretty much become extinct in the U.S. television animation industry. If the P & F show is not employing U.S. animators to animate the show here , but rather the animation is subcontracted off-shore to places like China then just admit that. Is it in fact only the “inbetweenin” that gets sent away to China ? I don’t think so. (all the while many, many traditional animation artists in L.A. continue to languish in long term unemployment or under-employment)

    • snip2354

      “Animatin” is used for every kind of phase in the production, not just the actual animating.

    • dirty animator

      Somehow I think your version of the song would be less fun.

  • Moroni

    They’re kidding. They know perfectly well what timing is. The show is good but not as much fun as this music video.

  • chyeah

    shits on my ipod, dawwwwg

  • http://dtoons.com/conroy Failed Art Student

    Never has the (television) animation process been taught in such an entertaining way.

  • http://www.bunkerrow.blogspot.com Chris Powell

    That was cheesy but in a funny, good way.

  • http://youtube.com/user/Mesterius1 Mesterius

    This made my day.

  • Terrapinato

    “Animatin’” is what they chose to title it. The general public, for whom this was made as a DVD extra, would have scant conception of”‘storyboardin’ and inbetweenin’”, nor would those words have provided such a facile hook. And yes, they do ship all the animation overseas, just like every other television animation production. That ship sailed over 30 years ago.

  • hash

    that animation disk necklace is so baller

    • Nicoface

      Thats its only use now!

  • http://www.FredtheMonkey.com/ JK Riki

    This was terrific. I forwarded links to all the animators I know. :)

    I watched it twice and it kept getting stuck in my head after that. Goooooood stuff.

  • Dan Povenmire

    Just for the record, we were working on the Phineas Movie when we did this and a large portion of that was actually animated here. Basically all the action scenes we animated out, often on ones or twos.

    • http://exclusive-cheese.deviantart.com/ Taco Wiz

      I’d like to say that I hate rap/hip-hop. I think that it doesn’t even qualify as music. However, nearly every rap featured on Phineas and Ferb is brilliant. That includes Squirrels in My Pants, Intimate Get-Together, Platypus Controllin’ Me, and this song as well.

      You took the worst thing to ever happen to music and made it entertaining.

      You are god tier, sir.

    • Matthew Koh

      Do they animate on boards or layouts and poses?

    • http://www.sexymecha.com Hal

      Mad respect for keepin’ it real dawg!

    • snip2354

      WHAT?!?! YOU KIDDING?! WOAH AWESOME!

      I heard on several Futurama commentaries (also animated overseas, but in Korea), they said the show runner wanted to animate select scenes themselves because they had a definite vision for how something should move! It could happen!

    • http://youtube.com/user/Mesterius1 Mesterius

      That’s refreshing to hear, Dan! I thought all of “Phineas and Ferb”‘s actual animation was always handled overseas. Nice to hear that is not always the case:) So… does this mean that for select scenes of Phineas and Ferb, EVERYTHING is done in-house (i. e. pencil animation, inbetweens, cleanup, coloring etc.)? I never would have imagined…

    • Camden Lobato

      I loved the movie and I love the show. You have inspired me to live my dream, and my dream is to be a cartoon animater. I love cartoons and i fell in love with Phineas and Ferb the first time i saw it. I love it! I hope somday i can do animation, it’s my dream and if i belive, and try i could somday be as great as you thank you for inspiring me to live my dream. Thank you!

  • http://MrFun'sBlog Floyd Norman

    Pretty damn cool… for white boys.

  • MissConception

    Pretty accurate, but they forgot to mention the addiction to caffeine, poor eating habits, lack of exercise and sleep, and the occasional urge to throw oneself out a window. Eh, but it was close enough.

  • http://she-thing.blogspot.com Caty

    You’ll kill me for this, but I loved this. Specially the Weird Al thing going on. I don’t care for (actually I have no idea who they are) Phineas, and I almost HATE rap, but this was fantastic. I wish John Lasseter would do this, instead of just saying “Yes so we do this like this and that’s how you get it. It’s easy” and you haven’t understood a thing because with the whole “yes, we knew the project was going to be perfect” ego thing going on they simply forget the whole idea-objective of the “making of”.
    Anyway, thanks for the share. I LAUGHED (which is saying something :p).

  • http://miuniversoloco09.blogspot.com/ Salomon Fenix

    ”My Name is Dan you’ll do what i say woop woop”
    ”My Name is Swampy you’ll do what i say woop woop”

    ”My Name is Dan you’ll do what i say woop woop”
    ”My Name is Swampy you’ll do what i say woop woop”

    ”My Name is Dan you’ll do what i say woop woop”
    ”My Name is Swampy you’ll do what i say woop woop”

    • snip2354

      *hypnotized* His name is Dan… and I’ll do what he says…
      His name is Swampy… and I’ll do what he says.

  • Dr. Truth

    This was great!!! I watched it twice back to back!!
    I love the: “i worked hard on this” “call someone who cares”. LOL

  • http://midnightheist.deviantart.com/ Scott

    That’s probably the best rap song I have ever heard.
    :)

  • http://awprunes.com Larry Levine

    Great video!!!

  • Aaron

    1:55 Celeste Moreno!

  • Dan Kyder

    Wow, I mamaged to smile through this despite my utter hatred of rap. Well put together and fun, good job

  • mike

    Really fun look into how they make that show. i never know how involved the shows creators are with some of the animated shows nowadays. Nice to see they have a strong handle on it, or at least present things that way.
    Funniest part was the animation disc necklace.

  • loosetoon

    I find that we do “animate” when we do boards. Our animatics are keyed out animation pose tests in a way. The inbetween company uses our board drawings as keys and then takes it from there. And I know we do much of the retake animation ourselves after it comes back.

  • Lucy

    This is awesome! :D Great work, guys!

  • E. L. Kelly

    I have no love nor hate for rap. I find it a legitimate form of expression that has been used in ways I approve of…but unfortunately, used most in ways of which I do NOT approve of.

    That aside, I certainly approve of Dan and Swampy’s use here. Its the EXACT opposite of the dreadful “Making of ‘Anastasia’” feature on that movie’s two-disc set: not only short, but informative and indicative of the attitude of the show and its creators…and most of all, very entertaining!

  • http://www.davidfreedman.co.uk David Freedman

    It’s a fantastic fun video. And check the map, the show is a comedy! All you sticklers out there, lighten up. Hmmm… what rhymes with pedant.

  • melissa

    The rap is as brillant as the show. Absolutely brillant, but then again I wouldn’t expect less from those two. I wonder why it was cut from the dvd though.

  • http://kipwblog.blogspot.com Kip W

    Very entertaining, and nice to see the two head guys getting some exercise. I find the show more entertaining than the video, but then I find the show more entertaining than a lot of things. For instance, it’s more entertaining than anything else Disney Channel shows these days.

  • http://kipwblog.blogspot.com Kip W

    And three pop-up ads in three and a half minutes. That’s Diz-neeâ„¢ for ya!