Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension

In a fair and just world, children would have access to safe homes, healthy food, perfect educations, and smart, funny TV shows they could watch and re-watch so much. Noel Murray noted in his review, “In 2011, about all the powers-that-be can reasonably guarantee is the latter, thanks in large part to shows like the Disney Channel’s Phineas And Ferb. Since 2007, Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh’s snappy little cartoon series has entertained youngsters (and a fair number of their parents) with the adventures of two good-hearted, super-smart stepbrothers, who construct crazy inventions and defy their vindictive older sister Candace (Ashley Tisdale), all while their pet platypus Perry squares off covertly against evil-but-hapless scientist Heinz Doofenshmirtz. The appeal of Phineas And Ferb is immediately clear: The show is funny, fast-paced, and rooted in the “havin’ fun in the summertime” vibe that’s been the backbone of kid-friendly American entertainment since the days of AIP beach-party movies. It’s top-drawer escapism.”

As a TV show, “Phineas and Ferb” usually has two 11-minute stories in a half-hour slot along with commercials. “Phineas And Ferb – The Movie: Across The 2^nd Dimension,” released in 2011, last exactly a completely epic 77 minutes, and the expansion shows some twist at times. The story is smart, with intelligent Phineas (Vincent Martella) and his reserved-but-capable brother Ferb (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) finally finding out that Perry (Dee Bradley Baker) is a secret agent at the same time all three of them are transported to a different dimension where Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Dan Povenmire) has finally figured out his goal of taking over “the tri-state area.” Murray said, “After all the opposite-world particulars are established, Across The 2nd Dimension turns more action-oriented, in ways that deviate from what the series does best.” However, there’s so much here to satisfy “Phineas and Ferb” fans, from the way the movie hinds to the heroes’ past inventions to the way both Doofenshmirtzes collects coins “in case vending machines become the dominant race.” It’s hard not to be entertained by any film that has lines like, “If I had a nickel for every time I was doomed by a puppet, I’d have two nickels…which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice, right?”

One of the enjoyments of “Phineas and Ferb” is its lack of sarcasm. The show makes fun of its own principles sometimes, but never sarcastically or jokily. Nevertheless, it’s an important part of growing up for young people to enjoy entertainment that’s rude, weird and/or smart-alecky.

I was very familiar with this show when it was airing on TV. I never saw it, but I did have a feeling there was a huge audience behind it and that it was actually one of the good, entertaining shows for the whole family to sit and watch. Since I know there are a large number of people who saw this show, check this movie out if you haven’t. As a person who never saw the show but did see this movie, I actually found myself, not surprisingly, thoroughly enjoying this film and would recommend everyone to watch it, if you have or haven’t seen the show. Maybe after watching this you will want to go and watch the show. Maybe I will, but I don’t know yet.

Look out tomorrow when I start looking at a franchise that revolves around the Disney characters I grew up watching in “Disney Channel Original Movie Month.”