Phineas and Ferb' to be Disney's next big marketing vehicle

LOS ANGELES — As Disney Channel prepared to launch the cartoon series "Phineas and Ferb," one top company executive thought the hard, geometric shapes of the characters' heads represented too radical a departure from Disney's round-faced animation tradition.

But talk of forcing the creators to soften the edges of Phineas' isosceles dome to make him and the other angular characters less jarring was quelled.

"I said 'no,'" said Disney Channel Entertainment President Gary Marsh. "This is what I love about this show. It is different, and driven by someone's unique vision — as opposed to compacted by a committee."

Two seasons later, "Phineas and Ferb" has emerged as Disney Channel's first breakthrough original animated series, attracting more children and young teens than even rival Nickelodeon's 11-year juggernaut "SpongeBob SquarePants," according to Nielsen Media Research.

In a sign of its growing significance, "Phineas and Ferb" is getting the full Disney treatment as the company revs up its well-oiled franchise machine. Soon it will uncork a full merchandise line, with 200 Phineas and Ferb-related items — including boxer shorts, skateboards and boxes of macaroni and cheese — headed to stores. A Disney Channel movie, "Phineas and Ferb: Across the Second Dimension," is scheduled for release next summer.

"I do believe that within the next 18 months, this will be one of the biggest properties that we've ever had," Marsh said.

That's hardly a modest goal from Disney Channel, which was the seedbed for billion-dollar entertainment properties such as "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical." And the series — which follows the absurd lengths to which stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb will go to conquer boredom during their summer vacation — is earning the ultimate Hollywood validation: voice cameos by guest stars.

"Everybody and their mother wants to do this show," said Bonnie Liedtke, an agent with William Morris Endeavor. "We have requests from our clients to do the show because they watch it with their kids."

Among the stars who have recently lent their voices are Tina Fey, Ben Stiller, Seth MacFarlane, director Kevin Smith, and musicians Clay Aiken and Chaka Khan.

"It is a smart television series that does not play down to kids," said Toper Taylor, chief executive of Cookie Jar Entertainment, the creator of such PBS children's shows as "Arthur" and "Caillou." "Parents enjoy watching because there're a lot of jokes in the show for them."