Synopsis: A couple of summers ago in a galaxy far, far away, Phineas and Ferb are happily basking in the glow of Tatooine’s twin suns — until plans for the Death Star accidentally fall into their hands, thrusting them (and Agent P) into a galactic rebellion and an epic struggle of good versus evil in PHINEAS AND FERB: STAR WARS. Will Phineas and Ferb be able to resist the Dark Side? Will Stormtrooper Candace finally bust a Rebel? Can Agent P stop Darthenshmirtz from using his Force-powered “Sith-Inator”? Featuring five additional episodes for over two hours of action-packed fun, this mind-blowing, intergalactic adventure is a blast for all ages. May the Ferb be with you… always.

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Phineas and Ferb Star Wars 6.75

eyelights: it’s a peripheral spoof.
eyesores: the lame humour. the main characters weren’t interesting. the !@#$ grating musical numbers.

“Oh, Bantha droppings!”

I’ve never see ‘Phineas and Ferb’ before. In fact, I’m not even sure that I’d heard of it before I picked up this DVD from the local library, while I was trying to sort out TCE’s special ‘Star Wars’ programming in the run-up to ‘The Force Awakens’. But it was ‘Star Wars’-related, so I was curious and gave the episode a shot.

The 49-minute special, which was broadcast on the Disney Channel on July 26, 2014, is a parallel take on the original film, inserting the characters of ‘Phineas and Ferb’ around the events of ‘Star Wars‘. Unlike most spoofs, it doesn’t change or impact the source material; instead, characters interact in complementary ways.

For instance, Perry the Platypus is the rebel who steals the plans to the Death Star and gives them to Princess Leia, which she then inserts in R2-D2. Meanwhile, Candace Flynn and her companions (who are all Imperial Stormtroopers here), see her and report her to their Commander. However, they’re sent on an errand instead.

To… um… get Lord Vader a pair of socks. On Tatooine. At a shop called “Tall, Darth and Handsome”.

Ahem…

You get the picture.

Frankly, what I like about this special (which is over twice the length of an average ‘Phineas and Ferb’ episode!), is exactly the fact that it’s set on the periphery of the original film. Given all the ‘Star Wars’ spoofs over the years, this approach is fresh: it allows a lot more room to experiment and it provides a different angle.

I love that you could actually cut this cartoon together with the original film and it would still sort of make sense. I love that the characters from both franchises interact, but without affecting the original plot. Or you get the other side of a very familiar scene, such as when Han tries to stall in the detention level.

However, I didn’t really get the ‘Phineas and Ferb’ characters and I found the jokes lame. Perhaps I’m not the right demographic for this show, but it really didn’t do anything for me. I was, in fact, quite bored. And don’t even get me started on the half-dozen musical numbers that littered the show. I just loathe musical numbers.

But, thankfully, there are some really good gags along the way, such as a sign that says “Mos Eisley: Now with 14% more scum and villainy”, Boba Fett picking up a Han and Chewy “Wanted” poster, a “Han shot first” reference, Isabella’s Centennial Chiwawa, or discovering how and why Luke got pulled under in the trash compactor scene.

Having said this, it wasn’t enough for me to be entertained. By the time we got to the end, with the requisite lightsaber battle (between Phineas and Ferb, who has been turned to the Dark Side with a Sith-inator – don’t ask!), I was counting down the minutes. But I recognise that it’s likely due to me not getting it.

I suspect that fans of ‘Phineas and Ferb’ would dig this, however; it’s an otherwise well-conceived episode.

I’m probably just not the target audience, is all.

Date of viewing: November 9, 2015