As Seen on TV: Phineas and Ferb

This Rocko’s Modern Life descendant is a musical cartoon about adventurous step-brothers, but as a Disney channel kidstoon the songs are a given. Since the songs have been nommed for awards, we’ll give some of the 2010 album a listen.

Winter Vacation” is a good place to start. for to look over the setting, meet the characters, and glimpse their unlikely adventures. Disneyfied rock, but Bowling for Soup thank you very much. The inevitably drippy pop song “That Christmas Feeling” comes from Olivia Olsen, the daughter of the evil mad scientist.

The signature childhood angst of the show finds form in older sister Candace’s ’50s pop lament “What Does He Want?” and the entire cast’s showtune anthem “Where Did We Go Wrong?” (Don’t fret, those are answered in “Danville for Niceness” and “Thank You Santa.” Happy endings, all!)

Most kids’ favorites for the show are the hero-nemesis duo of the pet platypus Agent P (featured in a commercial promo for the show, as he doesn’t get a whole lot of song or vocals, “We Wish You a Perry Christmas“) and Dr. Doofenshmirtz the not-so-confident mastermind, whose conflicted song “I Really don’t Hate Christmas” is a virtuoso of character constricted vocal chords (think Daffy Duck a la Gilbert and Sullivan).