Phineas and Ferb, Pleasantly Not What Adults May Be Expecting

       For anyone who hasn't yet heard of Phineas and Ferb, it is a Disney television show that has gotten rave reviews over the past few years since it has burst on to the children's television scene.  I almost hesitate to call it a children's television show because I, as a thirty year old man, enjoy it myself and I don't even have kids to watch it with. Certainly an adult must be in the right frame of mind to enjoy it as it is a cartoon catered to young children, but as we have become accustomed to when it comes to Disney entertainment, the writers always keep the parents or guardians in mind when creating their story. 

      Obviously content created with the intent of entertaining the younger generations is not always going to appeal to the more mature audiences, but I implore any adult with a sense of humor and a decent taste for storytelling to argue against the enjoyment and entertainment value of Disney movies such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc., and The Incredibles. These are just a few of the recent films that Disney and Pixar have pumped out, but I would be remiss to not mention some of the Disney classics such as Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid.

      Say what you will about Disney and the major media corporation that they are, but they know how to entertain people and they have been successfully doing it for decades. I grew up with a Disney influence and I have watched Disney programming from as far back as a time that I can't exactly recall, to a time when I remember looking forward to watching Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck and Tale Spin shortly after arriving home from grade school. While those movies are great and the shows that I can remember watching were entertaining to me at the time, Phineas and Ferb impresses me on a whole new level. I am sure that there are and have been other Disney shows that focus more on education and the teaching of morals and values, but this show struck me as the best of all worlds from the moment I first passively watched a clip of it while flipping through the channels.

     It was refreshing in the sense that I knew I was clearly watching a show made for kids, but in only a matter of moments I was laughing at some of the dialog because of how much it seemed to be aimed at my age group rather than towards a child. Though with that being said, Phineas and Ferb stays far away from the line that some cartoons cross which make the innocence and nostalgia of a cartoon disappear as the show dives deep into the realm of adulthood. The best example of this is without question, Comedy Central's South Park or even Family Guy or The Simpsons.

      While Phineas and Ferb makes the viewing experience an enjoyable and relevant one for any adults that may be watching, it is far from a show whose primary intention is to entertain mature audiences. One of the recent examples of adult humor that I saw on display in this show, was a subtle dig at how almost everything has at least a day or sometimes a week or month devoted to the awareness of an illness, movement or event. When the young boys (whom are far more advanced than their physical ages) discover that the name for the little plastic casing that surrounds the tip of a shoelace is called an aglet, they decide that the whole world needs to be made aware of this since it is such a relatively unknown and unused word. In their pursuit of raising awareness for this word, they organize a benefit concert and distribute on onslaught of promotional items, including  'I (heart) Aglets' promotional t-shirts, promotional hats, custom awareness bracelets and more! Most children wouldn't understand the underlying and subtle commentary on the oversaturation of awareness events in our society, nor would they realize the implications of what goes into organizing such a large scale event, but it all spells fun for the kids while the adults can be amused by the logistics and references that go over childrens' heads.

      So for parents, this show can be genuinely enjoyed while watching it with your kids, but even as someone who is not yet a parent and merely someone who cares for the education and proper influence of the young, up and coming members of our society, it still gives me piece of mind knowing that productions like this are not only considering the fact that many parents will be watching along with their children, but more importantly, they are also making certain to send a positive message and/or teach something to the young and impressionable viewing audience.  So adults and children alike, take my (and countless others') word for it, Phineas and Ferb is a  quality, well done, funny and intelligent television show for viewers of all ages.