Sometimes, I get confused with how Disney picks and chooses which show they want to renew or revive. Then again, I also wonder why I have to question it. After all, if they didn’t dig through their old back catalog of stuff they made, we wouldn’t have gotten the very excellent X-Men ’97. Still, I would never have put a new season on Phineas and Ferb on my bingo card. Yet, this is exactly what Disney did. After an entire decade since the fourth season, we got a totally new season featuring Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford, Perry the Platypus, Dr. Doofenshmirtz and the rest of the gang in June.

Now, I wasn’t planning on reviewing the latest season of Phineas and Ferb now because the season hasn’t finished yet. But you may be asking why I’m just reviewing the latest season’s first ten episodes only. There are more than that now, correct? Well, that’s because I’m also confused with how Disney picks which shows get to be updated on Disney+ Philippines!

As of right now, Disney+ Philippines only has the first ten episodes of season 5, despite more episodes have already come out! I actually wanted to wait until the entire season was complete. So I waited and waited and then I just gave up. I decided to binge watch the measly ten episodes we have. Really, Disney+? You want me to look for more unscrupulous ways to watch your shows, even though I’m paying for Disney+ already?

Anyway, on with the review of the fifth season of Phineas and Ferb… the first ten episodes of season 5, that is.

The latest season of Phineas and Ferb follows the same formula as the previous seasons. Stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb create a new thing to while the boredom of summer vacation. This usually is something huge and generally impossible. To which, their sister, Candace, tries to “bust” the two to their mother. While this is all happening, Phineas and Ferb’s pet, Perry the Platypus, is trying to foil the latest attempt of Dr. Doofenshmirtz to rule the Tri-State Area. Oh, and Perry the Platypus is actually a secret agent. One thing usually leads to another and Perry stops Dr. Doofenshmirtz, usually leading to whatever Phineas and Ferb created getting destroyed. This leads to Candace looking crazy as their mother doesn’t see the supposedly crazy thing the boys made.

Now, I really enjoyed the first four seasons of the show. There was a very hectic energy to the show and the absurdity made it all the more hilarious. Although there is a general kid-friendly vibe to Phineas and Ferb, there are a lot of clever jokes that feel are more geared towards adults. From what I’ve seen from these ten episodes, they did manage to recapture most of that magic. I say most because there just seems to be something missing in a couple of the episodes I saw. It’s not like they were bad. It was just that some episodes were lacking that certain spark that made it feel so energetic.

I guess the best way for me to try to explain it is by discussing a specific story. That would be “A Chip To The Vet,” the first story in the fifth episode. Here, the family takes Perry the Platypus to get a tracking chip implanted in him because he keeps vanishing to fight Dr. Doofenshmirtz. As the appointment line is very long, Phineas, Ferb and the gang build an elaborate pet grooming machine while people wait. While this is happening, Dr. Doofensmirtz takes this opportunity to try to chip Perry the Platypus himself so he can track his movements. This leads to the two fighting each other with chip guns throughout the clinic.

While I do appreciate the writers trying to mix things up by Dr. Doofensmirtz just trying to antagonize Perry the Platypus in the spur of the moment, the humor just didn’t land for me. The entire pet grooming service the boys built also lacked the flair I expected from their other inventions. It’s not a bad episode. It just feels like a big step down from what I usually expect from the show.

That’s not to say all of the episodes/stories are bad, though. There are some really good ones, like “Lord of the Firesides” which is a really odd episode as it doesn’t really follow the show’s standard formula. Here, there’s more focus on the Isabella’s Fireside Girls troupe as they battle against each other regarding what kind of cupcakes they should bake for their annual bake sale. The side story involves Perry the Platypus trying to assist Dr. Doofenshmirtz in renewing his evil business license. This didn’t have the boys invent something. It didn’t have Candace try to bust them. It didn’t have Perry the Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz fighting. No, but the fight between the Fireside Girls got hilariously chaotic. I really enjoyed this story because it was a nice change of pace.

I guess one thing I have to comment on regarding season 5’s first ten episodes are the songs aren’t that good. Well, not as good as the ones found in the first couple of seasons, at least. The only song that I really liked from this new batch of songs would be “Stabby Barf Pain.” I just liked the flow of the melody and the dumb lyrics. But I kind of forgot all about this song. That’s really weird, especially with the previous seasons really putting out a lot of catchy songs. I get you can’t hit a home run all the time but I just was a little disappointed with the quality of the songs from these episodes.

While it does sound like I’m really down with what I’ve seen from the fifth season of Phineas and Ferb, I can’t say I didn’t like it overall. Like I said, a lot of the stories do recapture a lot of what made the earlier seasons special. I guess it’s just a bummer Disney+ Philippines only has the first ten episodes of Phineas and Ferb. That’s because I think, if there were more available here, there’s a good chance my rating would be higher. Hopefully, they release the next batch of episodes sooner rather than later.

Hint, hint, Disney+ Philippines. Hint, hint!

Have you seen the first ten episode of Phineas and Ferb’s fifth season? What about the other episodes? Let me know in the comments section below!