Review: Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars

Some Spoilers Below

The Star Wars specials that work best for me are the ones that don’t require me to know a whole heck of a lot about Star Wars. The reason being is that I really haven’t sat through an entire watching of Star Wars without falling asleep, so if there is anyway I can get through an animated special without knowing too much, I’m good. Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and now Phineas and Ferb have all accomplished this, but the Disney special does this in a slightly different fashion.

While most animated Star Wars specials take on the popular mythos of the legendary film series head-on, the producers of Phineas and Ferb crafted a rather unique story line that rides right along side key scenes from A New Hope. The result is an hour-long special that certainly tries to pay homage to, but not redo what’s already in place. Instead, a fan like me can just sit back and relax while a good ol’ fashioned Phineas and Ferb episode unfolds. Phineas and Ferb team up with Isabella for an exciting adventure that sees the brothers Ferb-Fletcher duke it out in an epic as hell lightsaber scene, Candace teams up with Baljeet and Buford to take on the unenviable task of getting Darth Vader some new socks, and Perry goes on a mission to thwart the evil Dr. Darthenshmirtz from hatching an evil plan that revolves all around his ‘Sith-inator’.

Along the way, the producers of Phineas and Ferb do a rather fantastic job of putting together a gag-heavy special that proves to be some of the funniest stuff the show has ever done. For example, Candace’s story arc plays out more like a work-place comedy about a girl trying to rise through the ranks of a typical corporate hierarchy. Along the way, we get to see the Imperial Force drink coffee, get excited as hell for workplace donuts, and do everything they can to not piss off ‘the boss’ (in this case Darth Vader).

The result of all these ingredients leaves in place a Phineas and Ferb: Star Wars special of epic proportions, and in my opinion, raises the bar for future animated Star Wars crossovers. Some of the songs for the special felt a bit out of place, and I would’ve like to have seen a bit more interaction between Doof’s take on the Sith and Darth Vader in a similar manner that Isabella did with Han Solo, however these small gripes should do nothing to dissuade you from taking on the best animated crossover of all time.