554. Phineas And Ferb The Movie: Across The 2nd Dimension (2011)

Starring: Vincent Martella, Ashley Tisdale, Thomas Brodie-Sangster

Director: Robert Hughes, Dan Povenmire

Running Time: 76 mins

Phineas And Ferb The Movie: Across The 2nd Dimension is an American film, based on the hit TV series, about the day when Phineas and Ferb finally discover Perry is a secret agent, and together, they get stuck in an alternate reality where Doofenshmirtz rules the tri-state area.

Well, before I say anything, you’ll never get anything in this film if you haven’t seen the TV show. There are so many in-jokes and repetitions of what you see in the series, and without that knowledge, it will seem like one of the most idiotic things ever.

However, I wouldn’t say that this film is idiotic, I think that it’s still a good bit of fun with a whole lot of imagination thrown into it, even though I think that it’s nowhere near as funny or creative as the TV show.

For starters, you’ve got to love how over the top everything goes. Moving from an innocent game of platypult badminton, the story turns into an inter-dimensional battle of wits, strength and friendship, which turns it into a hugely fun story to watch.

What I really didn’t enjoy about this film, though, was the fact that it was feature-length. Basically, each TV episode is 10 or so minutes long, which means you’ve only got time, while watching that, to enjoy the story, and get sucked into the whole concept of two boys being able to build anything.

But in a 76 minute-long film, there’s a point where that idea gets a little bit preposterous, even for a cartoon, and you begin to lose faith in the story, as you’ve got more time to pick holes in the film’s plot, in terms of what wouldn’t happen in real life, or even in the TV world of Phineas And Ferb, which becomes incredibly annoying.

Also, it’s just not as funny as it is on the telly. Again, its feature-length running time means a whole lot of the jokes get recycled again and again, however the new jokes that are brought in just never make you laugh out loud as you would while watching it on TV.

Finally, it just doesn’t fit within the story of the programme. Although the film tries to wriggle its way out of paradoxes with the show, it’s far too obvious, and creates a huge conflict with the TV series that could have ruined them both.

Overall, then, this gets a 6.5, simply because it was a film that didn’t really need making and never lived up to the TV show.