Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Dr. Heinz "Doof" Doofenshmirtz (also known as Dr. D and later Professor Time) is a fictional character from the American animated television series "Phineas and Ferb", and its spin-off sequel series "Milo Murphy's Law". He was created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, and is voiced by Povenmire. The character first appeared in the pilot episode of "Phineas and Ferb". He was originally depicted as an incompetent and forgetful evil scientist intent on conquering the "entire tri-state area" by creating obscure but nefarious inventions, despite not technically being a true villain; Doofenshmirtz is shown to have a good side on some occasions. By the time of "O.W.C.A. Files" and "Milo Murphy's Law", the character is redeemed, using his inventions for the good of the world and looking after his daughter Vanessa. Dr. Doofenshmirtz speaks with a caricature of a German accent and is from the fictional European country Drusselstein.
Doofenshmirtz appears in several merchandise pieces, including the book series and the video game. He later made an appearance in the "Milo Murphy's Law" episode "Fungus Among Us"; following his house being destroyed in the second season premiere, he begins to live in the Murphys' house, and subsequently becomes a major supporting character in the series.
Role in "Phineas and Ferb".
Doofenshmirtz is portrayed as a bumbling, dimwitted evil genius. He strives to take over the "entire tri-state area" by using peculiar contraptions made up of "strange items [he] purchases off the internet". His nemesis is Perry the Platypus, a skilled anthropomorphic platypus secret agent who disguises himself as the mindless pet of the series' title characters. Despite his claim being a doctor, he actually purchased his doctorate online.
A typical episode features Doofenshmirtz hatching an evil scheme or invention that he often links to a "back story" from his youth. The stories explore his mentally abusive childhood at the hands of his cold and apparently shallow parents in the fictional village of Gimmelshtump, Drusselstein which is loosely based on nations like Germany and Austria such as how the buildings have the Fachwerkhäuser architecture, the citizens speaking German in grammatical form or how the food, dresses and carnivals are similar to that of Fasching or even Oktoberfest . Some examples of him having a bad childhood is when his parents weren't there when he was born, when his parents made him dress like a girl, when his parents made him be a lawn gnome and where his brother, Roger, is favored over him. Doofenshmirtz usually has long monologues and displays acts of "cartoonish" physical violence towards Perry the Platypus. Often his inventions achieve a single successful shot before being destroyed. This shot usually serves to get rid of Phineas and Ferb's invention for that episode, preventing their sister, Candace, from "busting" them by showing their creations to their mother. According to his own life story, he was a bratwurst salesman, before being ruined by the hot dog industry; only then did he become an evil scientist.
In "", a more intelligent and successful version of Dr. Doofenshmirtz (from an alternate reality) appears, with the regular Dr. Doofenshmirtz serving as a supporting character. The alternate Doofenshmirtz later returns in the episode sequel, "Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension".
Despite nearly failing in almost all of his schemes, there are a few times when Doofenshmirtz actually succeeds. One example is in the episode "Candace Disconnected", where he builds a Pick 'Em Up-Inator to successfully pick up his daughter from her school and bring her home in a couple of seconds. Another time is in the , when he built an Otherdimension-Inator that involves traveling to alternate dimensions; this is done with the help from Phineas and Ferb, much to Perry's distress. In the episode "Cranius Maximus", Doofenshmirtz builds a Key-Find-Inator to successfully steal the Key to the City, something which Perry failed to stop. Another example, which is perhaps the most famous, is in the 2014 special "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer", when Doofenshmirtz builds an -inator that uses the mass of the planet Jupiter to move the Earth away from the Sun into an early autumn. Despite being beaten by Perry with a mop, Doofenshmirtz manages to succeed in moving the Earth anyway, much to Perry's dismay. It also may have allowed him to briefly take over the Tri-State Area, as the change in weather caused civil unrest and allowed Doofenshmirtz and his fellow villains to take over City Hall.
In the series finale "Last Day of Summer", Doofenshmirtz built an -inator that involves building a Tri-Governor's Mansion to Danville so that he can be elected as the first Tri-Governor of the Tri-State Area. Through a series of time loops (caused by his Do-Over-Inator, which was activated by Candace), Doofenshmirtz anticipates Perry's every move and defeats him in a series of traps before proceeding with his scheme, which became a complete success. He even took the opportunity to write up a law forbidding Perry and his agents from thwarting him until his term is over, which left Perry very depressed and admitting defeat. Despite succeeding in his lifelong goal, Doof learns that Vanessa wants to have an internship at O.W.C.A. and that his job as Tri-Governor is preventing her from joining the internship, leaving her depressed as well. Deciding that her happiness is more important than his evil ways, Doof decides to give them up, change for the better and allow Vanessa to have the internship. Following this, Doof also becomes a member of O.W.C.A.
Running gags.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz is a part of various running gags in "Phineas and Ferb". One is his redundant naming of inventions, which almost always end with the suffix "inator". Furthermore, Dr. Doofenshmirtz only recognizes the hat-wearing version of Perry. During every introduction of Dr. Doofenshmirtz in the episodes, the audience (and sometimes the characters), hears the ring tone of Doofenshmirtz, typically with the words "Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated", and is almost always sung by a quartet. Habitually, Doofenshmirtz's daily encounters with Perry follow a chain of events that routinely begins with a backstory told by Doofenshmirtz and ends with Doofenshmirtz yelling his catchphrase, "Curse you, Perry the Platypus!", with his failure often caused by the self-destruct buttons he installs on almost everything he owns. The residents of the town of Danville often mistake Doofenshmirtz for a pharmacist because he is always wearing a white lab coat. This theme was featured in a two-part 2014 Halloween episode entitled "Night of the Living Pharmacists". As this would eventually be known as an internet meme since 2021.
Role in "Milo Murphy's Law".
Dr. Doofenshmirtz makes a cameo appearance in the ending cliffhanger of the season finale of "Milo Murphy's Law", and becomes a regular character throughout the second season. In the episode "The Phineas and Ferb Effect", he and the other characters had a mission to stop the Pistachions. After all turns back to normal, the Murphy's Law causes Doofenshmirtz's building to collapse, leaving Doofenshmirtz to become Milo's houseguest, living ever since in the shed in the Murphys' garden.
Leaving his evil days behind, he often tries to be a good guy, but usually causing trouble, mainly with his Inators. After "Sick Day", when he discovers that the O.W.C.A. paid Perry to watch over him, Doofenshmirtz felt hurt, saying occasionally that he is angry with him, and losing his relationship with Perry, he searches for a new adventure buddy, bonding with Dakota in "Look At This Ship" after he too lost his partner Cavendish, and investigating his disappearance together ever since.
Creation and design.
When Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire worked on the Nickelodeon animated series "Rocko's Modern Life," they always included a song/musical number and an action/chase scene. They wanted to incorporate this trait in "Phineas and Ferb", and used a platypus secret agent, due to its interesting appearance and role as a continuous nemesis that viewers could become familiar with. "Dr. Meddleshmirtz," which later changed to Doofenshmirtz, was created in the same vein.
Every main character of the series was designed using the geometric shapes of Tex Avery's "Looney Tunes" graphic style in mind - Doofenshmirtz appears to be an oval. The simplicity of the drawings were intended to allow child viewers to copy them easily. Each one was designed to be recognizable from a distance or, as Povenmire notes as a reference to Matt Groening and "The Simpsons," by silhouette.
Voice.
Co-creator and executive producer Dan Povenmire voices Doofenshmirtz. He describes the voice he uses as "Eastern European" and is one he used at the age of fifteen while having pillow fights with his five-year-old sister. To this day, his sister recognizes the voice and asks him to do it frequently. During recording sessions, Povenmire is easily able to ad-lib and improvise; the writers can change his lines without throwing him off. Povenmire sometimes even adds his own lines or alters his enunciation, and is usually asked to perform the voice in interviews.
Reception.
Despite a negative review of the "Phineas and Ferb" series on "Toon Zone", Maxie Zeus notes that Povenmire's performance as Doofenshmirtz is a strong point of the series. Zeus states that "Dan Povenmire voices him with such energy, and with such perfect timing, that you'll laugh out loud even at the stuff that isn't even "supposed" to be funny." Zeus also says that the Doofenshmirtz subplot would have made a "fine bit of sketch writing" if trimmed down.
In 2009, Josh Jackson, editor-in-chief for "Paste Magazine," wrote in a blog that "Phineas and Ferb" was "the best kids show on TV" and gave Doofenshmirtz a large amount of praise. Jackson calls his inventions "awesomely designated devices of pure evil" and his complex relationship with his nemesis Perry the Platypus as "pitch-perfect."
"Doof's Daily Dirt" webseries.
In January 2013, Doofenshmirtz "launched [his] own YouTube channel and weekly videocast" titled "Doof's Daily Dirt". He comments on various Internet memes and pop culture trends, usually long after the subject is no longer of interest or relevance. Subjects have included Facebook, Internet Acronyms, Lolcatz, Bacon-infused products, Psy's "Gangnam Style", One Direction, Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe", Honey Boo-Boo, the Kardashians and the Mayan apocalypse. He also started a Twitter account where he posts frequently. The webisode series had an original run of 13 episodes. He appeared in the season finale for the reality TV series "Shark Tank" to pitch his latest invention. The web series was renewed for a second season, but ultimately ended along with the end of the main series.
References.
Episode references
Other sources