Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension

Albeit not being a real fan of the TV-Show, I must admit that I watch it (like many other adults, I presume) occasionally for the sole reason of Heinz Doofenshmirtz, who is targeted to older audiences and always manages to get a chuckle out of me.

Keeping in mind, that it is the film-feature based on a kids TV-show (with your mandatory song per episode), I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. The animation is slightly above that of the show, it is cleverly written and the tone more 'serious' than that of the show itself. Because of that it is enjoyable for children as well as their parents.

I can recommend this movie for all fans of the show and assure any parent, that it is a much better rental/buy than many Direct-To-DVD Disney movies.

Addendum: Watching the show prior to the movie is not required, but being familiar with some of the shows themes, might improve your experience of the movie. Due to the nature of the show it is not necessary to watch more than one or two episodes, since the plot is always roughly the same.

To be honest, I dislike most of the modern Disney Channel's shows. Especially the live-action shows. I never liked shows as "Hannah Montana", "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" or "Wizards of Waverly Place".

However, "Phineas and Ferb" was an honorable exception to this, being one of the very few modern cartoons that I actually like. While at first "Phineas and Ferb" seemed like a predictable show (Having the same basic premise played in most of the episodes) I was surprised of how good that show turned out to be, being witty and clever, with lots of likable characters and catchy songs.

So, when this movie was announced, I had very big expectations about it. And I wasn't disappointed. In some ways, "Across the 2nd Dimension" it's like a extended episode of the series, but that's a good thing: Despite the fact that the story is somewhat darker than the original show, this movie still has all the charm and fun of the original series, something that (Just to give an example) "The Simpsons" movie lacked, managing to keep the best elements from "Phineas and Ferb" (The humor, the good music, the interesting and hilarious relationships of the characters) "Across the 2nd Dimension" is a solid TV film, that delivers exactly what it promised and it never disappoints, being quite enjoyable without having to see the original series first. But I would recommend to watch the series too, because it is quite good.

Step-brothers Phineas and Ferb have had a lot of great adventures over the course of their summer (ex. Traveling through time (twice) Building a Roller Coaster and going around the world in a single day) but this one seems to take the cake. There's a good helping of action, and enough jokes to keep viewers young and old laughing. I was very impressed by this Disney Channel production, because, not only was it so much better than any of the other original movies but it was even better than a lot of the actual episodes of it's own TV series. Which is saying a lot because the TV series is groundbreaking entertainment with phenomenal writing and animation. I never thought I'd say this but: Bravo Disney Channel!

At age 50, and too cheap for cable, I have almost no knowledge of today's animated kids' shows. It wasn't all that long ago, though, that I was still watching cartoons on network TV on Saturday morning (of course, I watch cartoons on Sunday evenings on Fox, but that's a totally different matter since those should not be seen by children). Still, I had never seen "Phineas and Ferb" before this movie and knew next to nothing about them.

Still, this movie has enough intelligent writing to make it tolerable for adults, enjoyable characters, and a fun plot involving an alternate dimension. The main villain is enough of a bumbling idiot to be appealing, though his alternate-universe counterpart was plenty scary.

The music was certainly not my taste for the most part, but I don't think it was supposed to be. Actually, like many of the cartoons of my childhood, this movie's music doesn't seem particularly contemporary (Slash was popular 20 years ago, for example), but it's plenty loud.

The kids from our universe are geniuses, and we can be sure that no matter how bad things get, they'll figure out a solution. This sis good for kids to see because maybe it will make them want to study.

I do question the TV-G rating, given the amount of violence. ABC has a tendency to put a TV-PG on squeaky-clean content, so it's nice that they're recognizing this is a clean movie. But this movie has only the cartoon kind of violence, though, and most of it is against robots, and not really enough to justify a TV-PG rating when TV-PG can be given to content that is much worse.

I especially liked the nonsensical but humorous lines given to one of the robots. I don't recall him being given a name, but Irving's voice was Jack McBrayer of "30 Rock", so that was probably him.

It's certainly worth seeing if you're a kid.

Even though some of the later season episodes weren't as funny and imaginative as the earlier ones, 'Phineas and Ferb' became a favourite when first introduced to it in 2009 or so. Eight years on, despite being finished, 'Phineas and Ferb' airs regularly on the Disney Channel and it's still a pleasure and one of their best shows in a long time.

Although starting with an original concept, the stories in terms of structure are based around the same formula mainly. The ideas and situations however have enough variety to avoid it becoming too repetitive, while it looks good, has one of the catchiest theme tunes of any show in recent years, has wonderful, clever and funny writing, interesting and entertaining character relationships and characters that are easy to like. As likable as the two protagonists are and Candace is more than the stereotypical, tell-tale older sister that she seems, the scene stealers are adorable and funny Perry the Platypus (another example of mastery of actions and expressions registering hugely without uttering a word) and hilariously loony and incompetent Doofenschmirtz.

It was inevitable that 'Phineas and Ferb' would get its own feature film, and it richly deserved it with characters and writing strong enough to warrant one. 'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' more than does the show justice and as far as films based on Disney Channel shows not released in theatres it's one of the best there is, proof too that 'Phineas and Ferb' had not lost its mojo at this point.

Maybe the pacing is a little too fast on occasions, especially in the second half, and the finale is rather overblown and descends too much into silliness (something that the rest of the film avoided, so it was a shame). Flaws aside, 'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' is absolutely perfect for existing fans of the show and does a very good job in its attempt to attract a wider audience which shows that the film works on its own too. Children will love it and there is plenty for adults to enjoy, if anything adults or older fans will appreciate the story and humour more most likely.

The animation is good and true to the animation style of the show but with a little more visual invention thanks to having a premise that allows for that to happen. It's simple but never simplistic, it's all vibrant in colour and the attention to detail is often marvellous. The music is catchy with some clever lyric writing, despite loving the infectious music in the show there was the fear that the music wouldn't be to my taste here, having heard polarising opinions on it, but coming from someone raised on classical music and opera it was right up my street.

'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' is particularly good in the writing, characters and character relationships. The writing is remarkably intelligent, witty, inventive and clever with cracking puns and one-liners and references that will delight older audiences. All in the spirit of the show. The characters are both interesting and likable, it has been said that Phineas is out of character, and he is (showing a side to him that has never happened in the show), but one can understand why if anybody knows what its like for someone you love and trust is not who they seem while also understanding Perry's point of view.

The characterisations of Perry and Doofenschmirtz are on point and stay true to their original personalities, and Candace's subplot actually to me was crucial in her development while not being as interesting as the rest of the story. The interactions are a joy all round, especially Phineas/Ferb, Phineas/Perry and Perry/Doofenschmirtz.

Really liked the story. The fast paced energy of the show's story-lines are intact as are the inventiveness, the characterisations and relationships. Even better was how well 'Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension' did in opening things up with all the ingredients that made the show work so well intact while having the alternate dimension concept that gave the film a darker, bigger and edgier approach. This concept was intriguing and gave a suitable amount of tension and fun. The alternative universe versions of the characters are creepy and entertaining. It even has a touching moment with the reconciliation scene that warmed the heart too.

Voice acting is typically terrific, particularly from Vincent Martella (Phineas), Ashley Tisdale (Candace) and Dan Povenmire (Doofenschmirtz).

Overall, a real pleasure and complements 'Phineas and Ferb' perfectly. 9/10 Bethany Cox