Long before Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb became the self-proclaimed evil genius of the Tri-State Area, he was simply the lonely, misunderstood son of two parents who obviously could not care less about him, growing up in a bizarre and often cruel country of of Drusselstein in a town called Gimmelshtump.
His parents seemed to care and appreciate more of his younger brother named Roger who ended up becoming the mayor of a city in the Tri-State Area called Danville.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s childhood lacked all that is associated with love and encouragement, and was instead a notorious composite of being neglected, embarrassed, and ignored by a family that barely acknowledged his existence.
As Disney Channel and Disney XD will premiere the first two episodes of season five of Phineas and Ferb on June 5, and the first ten episodes will be available on Disney+ on June 6, it is yet to be determined whether the upcoming season will further explore Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s strange and sad childhood.
Numerous Phineas and Ferb episodes explore Dr. Doofenshmirtz's childhood when he is fighting against his secret agent and archnemesis Perry the Platypus. What is revealed to audiences is a combination of neglect, elaborate and emotional trauma that reveals why he is evil.
Here are some of the key stories of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s childhood that Phineas and Ferb explore.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s year in dresses
When Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s parents were expecting a girl, his mother spent months knitting dresses for the child. As fate would have it, the baby was a boy who was named Roger. Since their family ended up not having any more fabric, Dr. Doofesnshmirtz ended up wearing dresses for a whole year having to be ridiculed by his own family and classmates.
The teddy bear
One day, Dr. Doofenshmirtz spent money on a claw machine since he noticed a teddy bear lying in the machine that normally only has rocks. He took the one lucky three-cent coin he had saved for a whole year, and he miraculously won the bear.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz was hoping to get some kind of affection, so he gave it to his mom, who immediately gave it to Roger. Dr. Doofenshmirtz stood sad as he watched his brother become closer to his mother while he became more distant from her.
The lonely birthdays at Gocheezus
By the time he was five-years old, he had to throw his own surprise birthday party when he went to Gocheezus, the ‘Gocheeziest’ place in all of Drusselstein - it was like a Chucky E. Cheese, with animal animatronics as his friends who he celebrated with.
Big black boots Boris
Besides the emotional trauma Dr. Doofenshirtz had to worry about other bullies in his life. Dr. Doofenshmirtz had a childhood bully named Boris, who had huge black boots - and everybody called him “Big Black Boots Boris” because whenever he saw Dr. Doofenshmirtz in the sandbox, he would kick sand in his face.
The origins of the ‘innator’ inventions
But amongst all the bullying and harassment that Dr. Doofenshmirtz had to endure, he had two small comforts that made his miserable childhood at least tolerable. Dr. Doofenshmirtz had a pet cockroach and loved eating garlic ice cream.
One day, he thought of combining both of these comforts wondering if they would both give him more satisfaction if he had them both together.
Intrigued by this idea, Dr. Doofensmirtz entered his very first invention - the “Inator” - in a science fair. Just as he was about to show the judges, a kid brought a volcano made out of baking soda that stole the show.
Fear at the high dive
Doofenshmirtz recounts an important memory from childhood which caused him to fear pools. In Drusselstein, he describes a crumbling swimming hole of the town called the ‘Gibbleston Public Wetness Maker,’ which didn't even really hold water, and only filled on every third Thursday or so.
Jumping off the high dive into this local swimming hole was seen as a big deal and an important rite of passage. When it was time to prove he was brave enough to jump off of the high dive, Dr. Doofenshmirtz climbed up the ladder and became scared as onlookers laughed at him. Too afraid to jump, Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s father labeled him as a ‘schnitzel’.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz's gnome days
Lawn gnomes were an important part in Dr. Doofesnhirt’s family. At one point in his childhood, the family's lawn gnomes were repossessed. From the start of this proud legacy, his father declared Dr. Doofenshmirtz the chosen one to defend it.
While the other kids in town played kick-the-stone-bar and had donko berries, Dr. Doofenshmirtz stood guard for hours on end. His only friends during night watch were the moon and his neighbor.
Dr. Doofenshmirtz later goes back to his story with his gnome days later on with his retelling of his balloon he won at a carnival who he called Balloony, who became his best friend. One night when he was standing guard as a gnome, Balloony slipped from his fingers and began to float away.
All in all, in this animated show, Dr. Doofenshmirtz's parents dismissed him on some major milestones, showed favoritism to his brother Roger, and imposed demoralizing situations that caused emotional harm which lingered long after the events.
These memories were painful for him but because they ended in nothingness of the present, the repeated events sent him to a space of creation and villainy because in some warped way he felt that it might be the only way he could find validation in worth, being heard or recognized, or dare we say understood.
Becoming an evil scientist was not only a career for Dr. Doofenshmirtz, it was a way of transforming deserted childhood.
The Phineas and Ferb revival drops June 6, 2025