PHINEAS AND FERB: A VERY PERRY CHRISTMAS
(not rated)
MOVIE: **** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Instead of summer vacation, Phineas and Ferb are facing winter break, and they have to find a way to save Christmas when Doofenshmirtz makes the whole town look naughty.
WHAT I LIKED
I love “Phineas and Ferb.” I freaking love “Phineas and Ferb.” As cartoons go, it’s one of the best animated series on television today. And everything I love about the show is reflected in this double-length Christmas special.
There’s an irreverence that you see in this show that isn’t present in many others. For example, when Santa shows up, he says, “I was just having a shvitz.” The kids aren’t going to get the irony of that, but it had me laughing out loud.
If there’s any word that describes “Phineas and Ferb,” it’s “imaginative.” “Fearless” will also do. This show goes for the joke and makes even a corny, trite story about kids trying to save Christmas as clever and silly as it comes.
In addition to the double-length Christmas episode, there are 40 minutes of additional episodes, all of them centering about Perry in some way.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Not much. This is such a great show. Everyone should watch it.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with the 80 minutes of “Phineas and Ferb” cartoons as well several cute bonus features. Many of these features are interactive, like “Dr. D’s Xmas Jukebox-inator” and “Christmas Perry-oki.” There’s a bonus episode titled “Doof Side of the Moon” as well as a look at how the writers come up with the songs of the show (and, like LensCrafters, how they do it in about an hour).
For more character insight, you can hear the letters that each of the characters write to Santa, but it’s the surprise gift found in the Easter eggs that is the real gem. Look for a special gift that shows what happens when the crew behind “Phineas and Ferb” decide to cover someone’s office in sticky notes.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Hopefully anyone… aside from Scrooges.