Lizards

‘Phineas and Ferb’ offer trippy, escapist animated fun

MOVIE REVIEW
“PHINEAS AND FERB THE MOVIE: CANDACE AGAINST THE UNIVERSE”
Rated G. On Disney+.
Grade: B+
Disney+ just made your lockdown world a little bit brighter — and more hallucinatory — with “Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the World.” After 103 TV episodes and a 2011 TV movie, “Phineas and Ferb” have finally gotten the feature film they deserve.
The conventionally animated, semi-musical film brings together a talented voice cast, including Ashley Tisdale as Candace, a young woman having an identity crisis, who is convinced the universe is against her. Candace also believes that her little brothers Phineas (Vincent Martella, channeling Pee-wee Herman) and Ferb (David Errigo Jr.), who build inventions in the backyard such as a giant, juggling clown robot, are no fun either. Somehow, the kids’ mother (Caroline Rhea) never notices the boys’ wild behavior or the things they make, which have a tendency to turn to dust and blow away. Also in the kids’ backyard is Perry the Platypus (Dee Bradley Baker), a resourceful teal-colored secret agent, who lives in the yard’s only tree.
Candace and her friend Vanessa (Olivia Olson) are abducted by aliens and taken to the planet Feebla-oot, where Candace is declared the Chosen One by the green-skinned, humanoid, lizard-like Super Super Big Doctor (Ali Wong), the planet’s regal ruler. Vanessa’s father, Dr. Doofenshmertz (Dan Povenmire), provides the spaceship for him, Phineas and Ferb and friends to travel to Feebla-oot and rescue Candace and Vanessa. Notably, when the green-skinned soldiers of Super Super Big Doctor get too excited, they explode from the waist up, emitting a sound that sounds like the name Candace.
‘Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe’Super Super Big Doctor treasures Candace because she emits a substance that revives her Evil Plant of Doom aka Mama. Phineas and Ferb’s friend Baljeet (Maulik Pancholy) thinks he knows all about space travel and technology because he is an avid fan of the canceled TV show “Space Adventures.”
At any moment, someone may break into a full-fledged production number. In one such example, Dr. Doofenshmertz sings a song about “adulting” (i.e., behaving like an adult) while Vanessa reminds him repeatedly that “adulting” is not a verb. Another friend, Isabella, is a Girl Scout with enough badges to choke a platypus. There’s also a “Game of Thrones” reference or two.
If the psychedelic trappings of much of “Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe” are not evident to you, please note the giant mushroom forest covering the alien planet. The finale will feature a T-shirt cannon, mind-controlling spores, a filled baseball stadium, a giant monster on a rampage and Dr. Doofenshmertz’s trusty “chicken replacinator” gun.
Directed by Bob Bowen (“Family Guy”) with music by “Phineas and Ferb” veteran Danny Jacob, “Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe” once again reminds us that there’s no place like home with Phineas and Ferb.
(“Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the World” contains no objectionable material.)

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