Network: Disney Channel
Running Time: 30 minutes (2, 15 minute episodes in each block)
Episode Name: Attack of the 50 Foot Sister
Targeted Age Group/General Show Overview: Phineas and Ferb are step-brothers who are trying to step-up how they spend their summer vacation. They are helped by their eclectic group of friends and an apparently infinite budget, access to NASA level technology and equipment, and imaginations that are literally out of this world. Their inventions are always built for the good of all and are neatly put away by the end of the day, much to the chagrin of their boy-crazy sister Candace, who is always trying to “bust her brothers.” Each 15 minute episode has a sub-plot introduced by the question “Hey, where’s Perry?” the brothers’ pet platypus. Little do they know that their beloved pet is doubling as Agent P, out to stop the Evil Doctor Doofenshmirtz at every turn. The foiling of the evil doctor usually ends up destroying the brothers’ work just before Candace manages to find their mother and bust her brothers. Don’t worry Candace, “there’s 104 days of summer vacation.” Maybe tomorrow!
Plot: Candace wants to become the next “Flawless Girl,” the face of Flawless Girl Cosmetics, but discovers she is too short. Phineas and Ferb “know what they’re going to do today,” and are trying to help Baljeet save his family name by using there super-grow solution to plump up his puny-watermelon before the Midsummer’s Festival. Candace uses some of the solution on herself with disastrous results. Luckily for her, the entire Universe grows to match her now 50-foot stature when Perry the Platypus, AKA-Agent P, foils Evil Doctor Doofenshmirtz’s plan to cover the Universe in stinky diaper scent by replacing it with the boys’ super-grow solution. Unfortunately, this also means she must go one more day without “busting her brothers!”
Personal Thoughts: This is a great show for the younger tween set and hits on the sadly-abandoned male half. It takes the “geeky” world of science and invention and turns it into a cool way to rev-up the world around you. While we all might not have the means to build a gyroscope-controlled, ride-in bowling ball, there’s no reason kids can’t build a real world adaptation for their own backyard exploits. It teaches responsible exploration without supervision. Despite the fact that parents are only present in the fringes, Phineas and Ferb never partake in activities that are inappropriate or questionable. Okay, so maybe they should have asked before they went to Mars…
Educational Tie Ins/Learning Activity: This would be a great show for libraries or classrooms to use, especially during summer reading programs. They could have an entire summer section (or a lead up/follow up devoted to Rube Goldberg machines, crazy inventors and inventions, and a competition to see who could come up with the best “Phineas and Ferb” contraption!
