So, it wasn't long ago that a new Disney show called Hamster and Gretel came out. This show is the latest creation of Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh - a famous duo of Disney workers who have been well-regarded by Disney fans for...over a decade now!
So let's take you all through the three major Dan-Swampy Disney cartoons, cuz I'd love to discuss them with you guys.
Phineas and FerbOkay so this is the one you're probably most familiar with. In this show we follow the lives of two stepsiblings who are on summer vacation who spend their days doing the craziest, wildest stuff to make the most of their time off school. In the process, their older sister Candace tries her best to catch the two in the act and show off what they're doing to their parents. Meanwhile, the family's pet platypus Perry lives a secret life as an agent for a company based on thwarting the evil plans of a great many villains, with Perry's heroics usually against Dr. Doofenshmirtz of 🎵Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!🎵
The show usually follows close to a certain formula. Phineas and Ferb decide to do a thing, Candace tries to catch them, their friend Isabella drools over Phineas, Perry runs off to fight Dr. Doofenshmirtz and stop his evil plans, Perry succeeds, "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!", Candace fails to catch her brothers doing a thing... rinse and repeat ad infinitum. I realize it doesn't sound TOO exciting, but the show has a LOT of fun with its formula, throwing in all sorts of twists and witty jokes. But I'll shut up about this one for now cuz...let's face it, you all know about it by now
Milo Murphy's LawThis is probably my favorite of the three. Taking place in the same town as the above, we follow the life of the titular Milo Murphy, an ancestor of the man who defined Murphy's Law - "if it can go wrong, it will". Due to his heritage, Milo deals with extreme and uncontrollable bad luck - but he's very optimistic and is usually prepared for anything. He's accompanied by his two best friends - Melissa, a fun and snarky tomboy with a heart of gold, and Zack, a neurotic but good-hearted nerd who is new to town.
This show is a mite more complex than its predecessor, with exciting running plots that move at a nice pace along with the generally slice-of-life episodes. The Murphy family curse of bad luck may be what the show focuses on, but it has a very idealistic tone and the main three friends clearly love each other a lot, and I think this is one of the most likable main casts of any show I've seen. Melissa in particular might be Sprig Plantar's competition for my favorite Disney TV character
period. She's just so adorable, likable and funny, she's a major comfort character for me right now.
I'd go into more detail on why I'm such a fan of this show, but I do NOT want to spoil it for you. Just watch it for yourself, it's amazing!
Hamster and GretelThis is the latest of the three. In this one, a young girl and her pet hamster are given super-powers by an alien race, and thus, the two get up to numerous superheroics while trying to hide their identity. They're helped along the way by the girl's long-suffering older brother ("There's also Kevin in the mini-van!"), who tries to deal with his daily teenager life while also helping his younger sister lead her double life.
It's kinda early to tell how much I'll end up liking this show right now, because WOO does it have a lot to live up to...and I often feel really bad for Kevin, the poor guy's been dealt a really cruddy hand by life and I don't always find his treatment that funny. But the show DOES have a lot of funny moments in its own right...I mean come on, it's a superhero parody made by the Phineas and Ferb guys! Of COURSE it's got some great comedy
Anyway, those are the three major Dan and Swampy cartoons that exist right now. I'm curious to know your thoughts!
