05 December 2009

Stupid or a jerk

[...] their animation director, Rob Hughes, agreed: “in all the other shows every character is either stupid or a jerk, but there are no stupid characters or jerks in this one.”

“Phineas and Ferb”, Wikipedia

This is something that I really like about that show. So many of the characters on the shows my kids watch are fools. It’s one thing to have a token fool, but...

I heard Bonnie Hunt once say that when doing improv at The Second City, she was taught this guideline: The blue joke will always come to mind first. Skip that, and go with the second thing that comes to mind.

I think foolish characters are the blue comedy of kids’ entertainment.

2 comments:

Narmer said...

We love Phineas and Ferb at our house. Adults and children both laugh.

Jeff Rients said...

I agree. An excellent show with real heart.