Posted by
Arik on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 9:32:17 PM
Alright, here I go again, being a little less than cranky, but I was reminded again yesterday of something I've been wanting to share with someone for quite some time.
About a year ago, the Disney Channel started airing a new cartoon about two kids on summer vacation, and what they do with each day of that vacation, called "Phineas and Ferb." I saw a couple episodes yesterday that I hadn't seen before, and it reminded me of how much I love the show. In fact, my whole family loves it.
The main characters are two stepbrothers named, obviously, Phineas and Ferb, and they appear to be about, maybe, ten or twelve years old, which is a little young to be doing the things they are doing, a fact which is a running gag throughout the series. They do things like build a rollercoaster, which ends up in orbit, adopt a star then build a rocket to go visit it, and soup up the family sedan and turn it into racecar. Of course, hilarious misadventures ensue.
Attempting to get the boys busted is their teenage sister, Candace, voiced by Ashley Tisdale, who most kids know from the "High School Musical" phenomenon. She is always "telling mom" (who is voiced by Caroline Rhea), but she can never provide proof, as it is almost invariably destroyed in the battle between the boys pet platypus (yes, I said platypus) Perry, and my favorite character, Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz, head, and apparently sole employee of, Doofenschmirtz Evil, Incorporated.
Perry the Platypus appears to be a mild-mannered family pet, but is actually a Semi-Aquatic, Egg-Laying Mammal of Action. He is the James Bond-type secret agent to Dr. Doofenschmirtz's evil scientist. Doofenschmirtz is really less evil than mildly maniacally malevolent. He hatches Rube Golberg-esque plots to wreak havoc on the Entire Tri-State Area, which are always foiled, usually by Agent P (Perry the Platypus). Some of the plots include wrapping the entire Tri-State are in aluminum foil in order to drag it away with a giant magnet (and yes, I know aluminum isn't magnetic. I said he was an evil scientist, not an evil genius), inventing a new gas, Doofelium, to turn everyone's voicy high and squeaky like his, and building a giant robot to rampage Godzilla-style through the city. Perry usually bursts in to foil the plot, gets captured, then listens while Doofenschmirtz explains his entire scheme before escaping and thwarting the plot, destroying the boys' project of the day in the process.
The show has a pattern that it follows in most shows, which is to take the normal sitcom "Everything is solved in a half hour," and taking it to the extreme. The boys build their grandiose projects in a single day, often remarking on how long it took. Perry and Doofenschmirtz do battle, Candace attempts to "bust" the boys for no reason in particular, and Mom usually shows up a few seconds after the whole thing has been destroyed. There are catchphrases for most of the characters, but they often get used by other characters. Somehow, the whole thing ends up fresh and amusing pretty much every time, and with the episode generally lasting only fifteen minutes, they move along at a quick pace.
Another strong point of the show is the music. There are spoofs of everything from classical to Broadway to pop and rock. Usually the lyrics fit in with the plot of the show, but on occasion they are just utter nonsense with the point of being utterly nonsensical. They are usually sopt-on parodies and very, very funny.
There are a few episodes that I would recommend, in particular, because they exemplify the spirit and humor of the show particularly well. The first is "Rollercoaster," which is also the first episode aired. I would watch this one first, because it sets up a lot of the running gags that permeate the series. Then, there is "Flop Starz," which includes a spoof of "American Idol," with the most inanely brilliant song I've heard in a long time. Watch it and try not to sing the song afterwards. It can't be done. Next is "Hail, Doofania!" which pretty much reverses the formula entirely and features the most hilarious national anthem in history, the title song, which keeps my family in stitches every time. If you like these, the longer episode "Dude, We're Getting the Band Back Together" is a note-perfect take on a number of forms of modern music, as well as the reunion tour concept.
The best thing about the show is that the whole family can watch it, without the need to feel offended, either by the material or a low level of intelligence. There are scenes where we all laugh, and scenes where my kids look at me like I'm crazy because I can't stop laughing, and the joke sailed right past them. There are so many types of humor here, wordplay, slapstick, parody, horrible puns, sight gags. The list goes on and on. For my money, this is the best animated series to premiere since "The Simpsons." I think it's one of the best shows on today, animated or live action. It is one of the few shows that everyone gathers around to watch, and everybody has a good time.
It is well worth checking out, whether you have young kids, older kids, or you are a big kid yourself.