Disney Halts “Phineas and Ferb” Film

Exhibitor Relations got the unfortunate news, Disney’s planned theatrical Phineas and Ferb film has been dropped from their slate…

“Mom, PHINEAS AND FERB have been removed from Disney’s release schedule.” Was 2014 TBA.

— Exhibitor Relations (@ERCboxoffice) August 16, 2013

Looks like it’s a no-go now, unless Disney just isn’t sure if it’s ready or it’s just temporarily on hold. The DisneyToon/Mandeville-produced Roger Rabbit-esque adaptation of the massively successful television series was originally slated for a July 2013 release, but Disney made a wise decision by moving it a year back considering the summer battle that was building up: Despicable Me 2, Turbo, The Smurfs 2 all got July dates and soon… Planes took up early August.

But it just happened to languish during the “TBA 2014” phase, which in hindsight spelt trouble for the film. When Disney announced their full 2014 film slate two months ago, it was nowhere to be seen so that implied it would be opening sometime in 2015. Also, August is when a Phineas and Ferb film would have to open, or late July at the least, given the tradition of the specials usually premiering every August. August 2014 was already taken by a big Disney release, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

However, with the film off the schedule completely, this hints that it might not even come out in 2015 because Disney seems to have most of that year all planned out in terms of big releases. But why? Was the script weak? Production problems? Other projects getting in the way? Or is Disney not confident in one at this point? It’s also possible that Disney wants a Phineas and Ferb movie to truly deliver on all fronts. After all, they’d have to deliver the best film possible, and if the film is undergoing big problems, then the delays would be understandable.

What do you think? Do you think it’s possible that it will end up coming out in 2015? Do you think we’ll eventually get the theatrical film a couple years later? Or do you think Disney scrapped it?