Video Review: Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension

Bibliographic Information:
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension (In Fabulous 2D). Dir. Dan Povenmire & Robert F. Hughes. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2011. DVD.

Summary:

Stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb, together with their pet platypus Perry and friends, are in the middle of the best summer ever.  What they don't know is that Perry is secretly Agent P, an operative with the OWCA (Organization Without a Cool Acronym) who constantly fights to keep evil scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz from taking over the entire Tri-State Area.  However, when Phineas and Ferb unknowingly find themselves in Dr. Doofenshmirtz's lab, they help him finish building his Other-Dimension-inator and end up stuck in an alternate dimension where Dr. Doofenshmirtz has succeeded in his goal of city-wide domination.  The boys, their alternate dimension selves and all their other friends will have to use every trick, invention, and good idea up their sleeves to get home safely and save the 2nd Dimension - and their own.

Audience:

Rated G, 6+

Strengths:

Lots of catchy musical numbers
Cleverly written enough that parents won't mind watching with their kids
Good lesson about not trying to grow up too fast and enjoying being a kid
Excellent sound quality, animation and voice-acting

Weaknesses:

May be too scary for some
Might be a little confusing for kids who haven't seen the series, as there are a lot of call-backs to previous episodes

Uses:

One of the major themes of Phineas and Ferb is using your imagination to come up with something awesome - have kids think up some inventions of their own and what kind of adventures they might have with them.
Have kids brainstorm about what their second dimension counterparts might be like.
How would you react if your pet turned out to be a secret agent?  Have kids talk about how it would make them feel, and if they would react like Phineas did.

Watch-alikes:
Phineas & Ferb [the series]
Gravity Falls
Wander Over Yonder
Adventure Time (for older kids)
Spy Kids
Shark Boy & Lava Girl

Awards:

Emmy - Outstanding Writing in Animation 2010 [series as a whole]
Nominated five years running in the Kids Choice Awards for best cartoon [series as a whole]