Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across The 2nd Dimension

Hey guys,  I know that I normally don't do this but I have decided to review not a only a current movie but a Disney Channel film.  Join me as I take a look at Phineas and The Ferb The Movie: Across The 2nd Dimension In Fabulous 2D.

 

The Plot

This film is a follow-up film to one of my favorite cartoon series in recent memory. I'm not gonna lie if you have never seen an episode of Phineas and Ferb, you may be a bit lost when watching this film. As you see there are a lot of events that happen in the movie such as Phineas and Ferb finding out about Perry's secret that he is a secret agent that may not make much sense if you have never watched the show.   Now that is just one aspect of the plot in this film, the main characters cross into another dimension hence the title.  

Characters

Per standard form, I will be breaking this down into main, supporting and villain.  I apologize right now if  I don't cover your favorite character but I had to narrow it down to the characters that I thought were most essential to the story. 

   

Main Characters


Phineas voiced by Vincent Martella

Now Phineas is one of my favorite characters from the show because he always tries to have a positive outlook on life and that is seen here as it is in the show but this film also explores another side of Phineas that the show normally doesn't as we see him be frustrated and disappointed.  That is when he finds out about Perry's secret double life.  It is a bit odd to see Phineas act this way when in the show he is usually cheerful and happy.  Now at first, these emotions on Phineas just felt off and unnatural.  While it was a nice change of character, it just didn't feel realistic.   Though I do appreciate the fact that the film actually played around with this and made a joke about it when Perry gave Phineas a pamphlet. That was funny and in tune with the humor of the show.

Ferb voiced by Thomas Sangster

Now as much as I like Ferb it's hard to say what his role in this film was.  Though I have always had that problem with Ferb. In some aspects, he felt like a tag along character but he is one of the main characters and I still have a hard time figuring out what his role is in this film. Though I think part of that comes from the fact that I felt like the film put more emphasis on Phineas.   Yes, he is part of the adventure with Phineas and Perry but I think in the film, Ferb was actually underplayed.

Perry/Agent P voiced by Dee Bradley Baker

Now if I were to choose my favorite character, it would have to be Perry. Now while Perry does have a voice actor, his emotions are mostly shown through his body actions and I'm sucker for characters that show their feeling with body language.  One of the biggest elements of this film is the relationship between Perry and the boys after they learn about his secret double life. Well, okay Phineas reacts to it more than Ferb does but that is staying in character with Ferb. I think this was handled somewhat well and the reaction from Phineas was natural and to be expected but as I said above,  it felt unnatural to see Phineas act that way.  I actually think they Dr. Doof finding out that Perry and Agent P were one in the same better than they did with Phineas. Though that is just my feelings.

Candace voiced by Ashley Tisdale

Now if there is a character that comes close to being annoying, it would have to be Candace.  I say annoying but unlike unlikable and in some aspects, I find her annoying because her one big trait and characteristic is that she is always trying to bust her brothers and get them in trouble. That's no different in the film either and I was a bit disappointed because with her subplot, it felt a little bit like they were rehashing a story line form one of the episodes. Personally, I was hoping that by the end of the film that we would get some sort of resolution to this and that Candace wouldn't feel the need to bust her brothers ever. again. Though with new episodes on the way that wouldn't make sense but it would have been nice to see.

Supporting Characters

Now majority of the supporting characters are actually the 2nd Dimension counterparts of the show's regular characters and they are voiced by the same actors, therefore I won't be listing the voice actor's name again.

Candace (2nd Dimension)

The 2nd Dimension Candace is tough, strong-willed and wants to protect her brothers from the evil that she had to face while growing under the dictatorship of their dimension's Dr.  Doofenshmirtz.  She had to grow up fast so that they didn't have to.  I actually found the 2nd Dimension Candace to be very likable and it is easy to see why, she is very protective of her brothers.  Because things have gone horribly wrong in their dimension with Dr. D in charge. She is tough and thinks strategically. She is a nice balance to her regular show counterpart.

Phineas (2nd Dimension)

Now don't let that picture fool you, the 2nd Dimension Phineas starts pale and wimpy.  This Phineas doesn't know how to have fun and part of that comes from the fact that summer has been banned in their dimension.  Though I will say that this Phineas and the 2nd Dimension Ferb go through some nice character development as we see them grow from being scared and willing to help the regular Phineas and Ferb in their fight, even if the 2nd Dimension Candace doesn't want them to take part in the fight because she doesn't want them to get hurt.

Ferb (2nd Dimension)

Once again as I said about the 2nd Dimension Phineas, don't be fooled by this picture.  Now if you'll recall what I said about regular Ferb in this film, I have that same exact problem with the 2nd Dimension Ferb as well. I mean for almost every other character I could figure what purpose they served in the story but with both of the Ferb's I could not for the life of me figure what role other comic relief they served in the film. I truly think that is one big hindrances of this film. It's ashame too because this was a pretty decent film otherwise.

Music

Now just like the show, the film has some great music and they even got Slash from Guns N' Roses to preform the end credit song for the film.  Though I will not be covering that song as it is only played during the credits and I actually find it to be the worst song from the film. Don't worry all of these songs are fairly well done and I would expect nothing less from this show.  

Everything's Better With Perry

 

This is the first song in the film and it is really fun and  I don't if it is supposed to but it gives me a '70s vibe.   I would have to say that this is my favorite song from the film but I'm partial to songs about Perry. As I  think Perry is really awesome.  Also I really enjoy the sound of this song and find it rather soothing to listen to.  Now this  video does also include the Agent P theme but I'm okay with that.

A Brand New Best Friend (And It's Me)

I guess you could say that this is a villain song since it is sung by the bad guys.  This song showcases the humor of the show quite well.  I also love the fact that this song breaks the fourth wall but does it in semi subtle way. Though if you haven't seen the episode they are referring to, the joke may be lost on you. I have to ask would this count as a duet?  Just curious

Summer (Where Do We Begin?)

Now this is another fun song and I think this song captures the spirit of Phineas and Ferb quite well. In that the whole idea is about how to have fun during summer and do more and be creative. Perhaps I'm in thinking this but I feel as though Phineas and Ferb can be used as a show to show how to have fun during summer. I also love that they include part of the TV show theme song in this song as that helps to establish the idea of summer.  For as long as Phineas and Ferb is on, they will always have summer because the creators, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire have stated that they will never put Phineas and Ferb in a school setting. The closest we ever came to that was Phineas and Ferb: Christmas Vacation!

Robot Riot

This has to be one of the best songs in the film as it is just so much fun and  I love the lead in to this song with Phineas saying one of the first lines and then the band Love Handel asks if there is anything they can do to help and Phineas say something like Musical accompaniet  .  The band just starts playing and it just goes with the final battle of the town taking on all the evil robots.

Villains

Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz voiced by Dan Povenmire

The first bad guy, I wish to discuss is Dr. Doofenshmirtz.  Though to save myself from having to spell out that name again, I'll be referring to him as Dr. D from now on.  In the show, Dr. D is Agent P's main adversary.  He isn't the smartest villain in the world and all of his plans usually fail.  Though his luck changes in this film after Phineas and Ferb crash into his latest invention that he built to open up a gateway to other dimensions.  Now even though I have listed him as one of the bad guys, he actually ends out begrudgingly helping our heroes that is because his 2nd Dimension finds to be a bit of an annoyance.    Part of that comes from his stupidity which shines brightly as it always does but it was actually nice seeing team up with Phineas and Ferb because that is something that has never been explored before.

Perry The Plata-Borg

Perry The Plata-Borg is the 2nd Dimension Perry.  Unlike the regular Perry, he was easily defeated by the 2nd Dimension Dr. D and after the 2nd Dimension Dr. D defeats him, he turns him into an evil cyborg that leads his evil army.  Now maybe it's just me but I would have love to see how this happened.  Sure, it may have stretched out the film but I really think that would have been neat to see and I think it was a neat idea to have an evil Perry.   It also made for nice arc with the 2nd Dimension Phineas and Ferb missing their Perry.  Now I liked having an evil Perry if the way he was defeated was rather simple with the evil just being fried out of him.

Dr. D (2nd Dimension)

Now, we have come to the main villain,  the 2nd Dimension Dr. D and unlike the regular Dr. D, he is competent, smart and truly evil.  He was able to build an army of robots that function correctly and take over the Tri state area, quite easily and ruling with an iron fist. What caused him to turn so evil? He lost his toy train, when he was little. Seriously, that's it.  Him losing his toy train caused him turned evil. Although  that in sync with the regular Dr. D and it is a funny idea but I felt as though the 2nd Dimension Dr. D was supposed to be taken more seriously the regular Dr. D.  Which for the most part was easy to do save for his back story.

My Final Thoughts

Other than my gripe with not understanding Ferb's role in this film,  I actually enjoyed this film and I think part of that may come from the fact that I already liked the show and I was already accustomed to the show's type of humor.  I actually think this is one of the better movies based around a TV show to come out in recent memory but part of that is because the people that worked on the show also worked on the film.  I mean I would pay to go see this in theaters because it's better than some of the other children's films being put out in theaters such as starring little blue people .  Now I know it is being released to theaters in some countries and that's great but in the long run I'm okay with just watching it on my TV and especially with being able to watch it before it airs on Disney Channel thanks to On Demand.   I will say that the humor of the show is kept in tact and there are a lot of great references to the show. Which if you are a fan such as myself, you'll probably get a kick out if it such as the final battle where they use every single invention that Phineas and Ferb ever created to take down the bad guys.  Though if your not a fan, this may throw you off.  In the end, I would say that this film is worth giving a watch.  Now I would like to end this two cast interviews. The first one with Ashley Tisdale, who voices Candace and the other with the creators, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and Dan Povenmire who voice Major (who I didn't cover in this review) and Dr. D.