“S.I.M.P. (Squirrels in My Pants),” “Busted,” “There's a Platypus Controlling Me.” These aren’t just viral TikTok trends; they’re songs from Phineas and Ferb. The hit Disney Channel series is making a comeback in 2025, and series co-creator Dan Povenmire stopped by LightBox Expo for a panel about storyboarding for songs in TV animation. H was joined by fellow songwriter Martin Olson and his daughter, Olivia Olson, the voice of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz, who is now a writer on the revival, a role she technically played on the original series, albeit uncredited (She confessed to co-writing “Rebel Let’s Go” but being too young to be listed as a songwriter at the time).
(Disney)
“When I was young, there was this animated show called The Archies, and while I don’t remember any of the storylines, I can still sing ‘Sugar, Sugar,’” Dan Povenmire shared about the power of songs in TV animation. Dan Povenmire kicked things off by sharing the team's unconventional approach to songwriting for animation. With nearly 800 songs written between them, Dan and Martin Olson revealed their “hour rule” – an informal guide they use to keep songs fresh, fun, and not overthought. “If it takes longer than an hour, you’re probably overthinking it,” Dan said. As an example, they showed excerpts from their rapid songwriting session for “Gotta Get Away” from Hamster and Gretel.
A songwriting session for Dan Povenmire, Matin Olson, and Olivia Olson usually involves the three of them holed up in an office with guitars. From that jam session, a barebones demo is made in GarageBand that can be sent to series composer Danny Jacob, along with instructions about the style it should be in, which isn’t always obvious from the demo. In the case of “S.I.M.P. (Squirrels in My Pants),” the instruction was to emulate the style of N*SYNC. With guitars in hand, the trio gave a live rendition of “Busted” the way they would’ve recorded the demo. And then, as an example of how a song can change stylistically, they played a blues rendition of the same song.
Keen-eared fans will have caught a few times when a song was recycled as a parody, inspired by "Weird Al" Yankovic. In the case of “Busted,” the sang become a joke in the Season 2 parody of The Wizard of Oz about the Tin Man, titled “Rusted.” The Love Händel hit “You Snuck Your Way Right Into My Heart” was parodied by Dr. Doofenshmirtz as “Couldn’t Kick My Way Into Her Heart." But things became even more meta when a song from Phineas and Ferb, “Boat of Romance,” was parodied in an episode of Milo Murphy’s Law as “Toboggan of Love,” sung by the one and only Weird Al. Dan likened the moment to “a snake eating its tail.”
Olivia Olson highlighted how the music of Phineas and Ferb gained a second life on TikTok, where songs like “S.I.M.P. (Squirrels in My Pants)” went viral with fans lip-syncing and creating new dances. Dan and Olivia recalled the surreal experience of seeing pop stars like Lizzo join in, reflecting on how digital platforms introduced the show’s music to a new generation.
In another anecdote, Dan described how some of the show’s humor comes from very on-the-nose songwriting. One favorite was the literal “Building a Supercomputer in the Backyard” song. Dan had pitched the episode’s premise to a Disney executive, sharing that there would be a song about building the supercomputer in the backyard. The executive asked, “Is that really going to be the song title?” That wasn’t the plan, but in that moment, Dan simply responded, “Well, it is now!” An inside joke that is now public.
Moving from songwriting to storyboarding, the team discussed the challenges of animating musical sequences, a daunting task even for experienced artists. Dan shared a fundamental tip for storyboarding dance scenes: use at least three poses instead of two to convey rhythm and fluidity. He explained that most storyboard artists draw two back-and-forth poses, but this often falls short for dance moves like the twist, which requires a middle pose to bring it to life.
Dan’s advice on timing cuts was particularly useful for fans and aspiring artists. In musical numbers, he advised storyboard artists to cut to a different angle or pose every four beats to keep the scene dynamic and engaging. Dan demonstrated with an animatic from Family Guy, showing how even a long, 45-second dance sequence can feel fresh and escalating when scenes are cut with rhythm. He brought along with him an animatic for The Music Man “Shipoopi” parody sequence, with all but the urinal dance segment being credited to Dan.
Asked about a favorite song, the panelists agreed that “Summer Belongs to You” holds a special place in their hearts. Dan, Martin, and Olivia described a magical moment when the chorus came together spontaneously during the writing session. Olivia recounted how this song was difficult to make a demo for because of how many characters it incorporated. When initially conceived, Candace didn’t have a verse, but the song lent itself perfecly to giving her a moment of depth in the episode.
The panel wrapped up with a Q&A, where fans asked about storyboarding techniques and coping with creative block. Dan emphasized that, in television, deadlines drive creativity – artists must find ways to keep producing, even when they aren’t feeling inspired. Olivia encouraged fans interested in songwriting to try setting quick deadlines to spark their creativity, while Martin added that trusting the process will ultimately lead to breakthroughs.
The complete series of Phineas and Ferb is available to stream on Disney+, including feature-length movies and specials. Stay tuned for news about the upcoming revival.