Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence! (Phineas and Ferb)

Member Name: Teena2003

Product:	Phineas and Ferb
Date:	23/07/09 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: innocent animated fun on the Disney Channel, fun story lines, animation and voices

Disadvantages: guilty pleasure for adults, only available on the Disney Channel at the moment

The Disney Channel is known to come up with a lot of interesting cartoon ideas. One of the latest and better ones is most certainly 'Phineas and Ferb'

Shown on a daily basis on the Disney Channel, it tells the story of two step brothers, Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher. They have an elder sister (probably sister of Phineas) by the name of Candace who is trying to spoil the two boys' fun by 'busting' them and their inventions by constantly calling their mother to rat the boys out.


=== Whatcha doin'? ===

The stories are based around the long summer holidays that you find the USA, or as the theme song points out '104 days of summer vacation'. Both, Phineas and Ferb, are not 'normal' boys. They are full of ideas and imagination and are using the summer vacation to invent a large number of crazy contraption to pass the time, not only for themselves but also their friends.

Every morning the boys are in their back yard trying to figure out what they could do that day to pass the boredom when a chance encounter or throw away phrase will get the ball rolling and they come up with the idea of the day, in most cases the bigger the better.

=== I know what we're going to do today ===

Often aided by their friend Isabella and her troupe of scout girls (Fireside Girls), the boys are coming up with time machines, roller coasters, winter fun in the middle of summer (Swinter), giant ice cream machines and new toys to name but a few. Naming them all would be a little over the top, after all, we are talking about '104 days of summer vacation' so you can expect at least that many crazy ideas.

As a lot of the ideas require a lot of tools, a recurring quote by delivery people is 'Aren't you too young to ...' indicating that the boys really shouldn't be dabbling with whatever they are doing that day. The answer to that is generally 'Yes, yes, we are' but nobody seems to care or asks who is paying for the deliveries.

=== You guys are so busted .... ===

Of course, big sister Candace, who feels so much more superior to her brothers does everything in her power to bust the boys and their inventions, trying to get them into trouble with their mother. After all Candace 'convinced' her mother that she can be in charge when a satellite crashes to Earth unexpectedly....

It is not quite clear if Candace is power hungry or just jealous, after all, she has her own circle of friends and one best friend Stacy, an all mighty crush on a boy called Jeremy (who is quite fond of her) but she has problems expressing her feelings for him.

On more than one occasion will we find Candace being helped by one of her bothers' inventions, for example teaching her to parallel park or become an unlikely star in a cartoon.

Candace's biggest desire is for her mother to get back home before Phineas and Ferb's inventions get sucked out of their back yard and into oblivion which is a regular occurrence that happens seconds before their mother enters the back yard to find it back to normal.

=== Where's Perry? ===

The family pet in this cartoon is Perry the Platypus. Perry only growls and doesn't really do anything which is something often pointed out by one or more characters in the show. "He's a platypus, they don't do much". There was a whole episode dedicated to the fact that a platypus does not do anything when the boys invented the 'in-action figure' where the toy did not do anything unlike other action figures.

Unbeknownst to the family and friends, Perry is no ordinary platypus. He is a secret agent in an all animal agency. He often disappears during the episodes to be debriefed by his superior and sent on secret missions, leading one or more of the regular characters to remark "Where's Perry?" and upon his return at the end of the episode "There you are Perry"

=== Curse you Perry the Platypus... ===

Perry's arch nemesis is Heinz Doofenshmirtz, an evil inventor who's inventions always end in ..inator, a contraption that had limited ability, does not work at all or ends up destroying Phineas and Ferb's daily inventions seconds before their mother enters the back yard and sister Candace can bust them. Of course he blames Perry who is sent to destroy his inventions but on more than one occasion he is the cause of his own destruction.

Doofenshmirtz lives in either a high rise building or has access to a gigantic blimp with his name written on the side. He has a daughter and ex-wife and in a number of episodes the mothers as well as the daughters meet without realising that their paths are inexplicably linked.

=== Gitchee, Gitchee Goo * ===

One of my favourite aspects of the programme is the music. There a original songs in most episodes, not necessarily performed by the main characters unless it advances the story ('Flop Starz' or 'Dude, we're getting the band back together'). The songs are very catchy and you will find yourself humming, if not singing them for the rest of the day.

=== Main characters and those who voice them ===

Phineas, the red haired brother, is voiced by Vincent Martella, a young US actor who has done a fair bit of acting and voice over work.

Ferb, the tall lanky green boy, is voiced by Thomas Sangster, not that he has a lot to say. In most episodes you are lucky to get one sentence out of him towards the end, if that.

Candace is voiced by Ashley Tisdale, known to many as Sharpay in the 'High School Musical' trilogy or as Maddy in 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' series. She plays the highly strung teen very well although you can't get away from seeing just Ashley whenever she speaks.

Phineas andFerb's mother "Mom" is voiced by Caroline Rhea, who for years was 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch's' aunt Hilda. She has the right amount of authority and patience and is prepared to put up with her highly strung daughter's constant calls to her mobile phone. She is not easily phased and takes everything in her stride.

The boys' father "Dad" is voiced by Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O'Brien. He doesn't say much, like Ferb, but comes over as a little dim but with the heart in the right place. Like Mom, nothing seem to phase him and he is happy to everything in his stride.

Recurring characters are the children's friends. There is Candace's best friend Stacy and her secret crush Jeremy (voice by Hannah Montana's Mitchel Musso). Phineas and Ferb have their circle of friends, mainly Isabella and her girls, Buford the bully and Baljeet, a cowardly but very studious boy who's bullied by Buford on a regular basis.

=== Animation Nation ===

This is a typical Disney cartoon and therefore you can expect lovely animation and great storylines. The colours are great, the animation itself leaves nothing to be desired and it is certainly worth checking it out and spending between 15 and 30 minutes just enjoying what's happening on screen.

Creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh previously worked on The Simpsons, Rocky's Modern Life as well as Family Guy so with a pedigree and CV like this, you can expect great things.

All in all I can say that this programme is certainly worth checking out. The stories are short and easy to understand and the imagination gone into it is extraordinary. The jokes are coming thick and fast and while the stories are simple enough for children to understand, they will not disappoint adults watching them. There are plenty of in-jokes, running jokes, catchy tunes.

Allow yourself half an hour to turn back time and become a child again. Or just pretend you have to watch it with your children to make sure it is 'suitable' for them. Of course, if you have the time, try and catch a Phineas and Ferb marathon and watch episodes back to back all day.
Shown daily at various times on the Disney Channel.

* from the episode Flop Starz where the boys decide to become One Hit Wonders.


© Tempus_Fugit/Teena2003

Summary: Disney Cartoon for all the family, fun with one of the latest original Disney cartoons