The film's premiere averaged 7.6 million viewers, making it one of the highest-rated animated programs on cable in more than three years. It later gained over 3 million viewers to become the second most watched animated basic cable telecast ever among kids 6–11 and teens 9–14, and cable's fifth highest viewership movie ever in total viewers.[4] A standalone sequel, Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, was released on August 28, 2020, on Disney+.
Plot
To celebrate the anniversary of Perry becoming their pet, Phineas and Ferb create an enormous shuttlecock to play giant badminton. When Perry's hovercraft accidentally collides with their shuttlecock, the boys crash into Dr. Doofenshmirtz's lab and destroy his "Other-Dimension-inator", which creates portals to parallel dimensions. Intrigued, the two help Doofenshmirtz rebuild the machine. Perry arrives to stop Doofenshmirtz, but unwilling to reveal his secret identity to the boys, reverts to pet mode and is unable to stop them from helping Doofenshmirtz.
The group travels to an alternate dimension where an evil Doofenshmirtz rules the Tri-State Area with his army of Norm-Bots. The second Perry (known as Platyborg) was converted into an evil cyborg by Doofenshmirtz-2 and programmed to serve as his second-in-command. Doofenshmirtz-2 orders Platyborg to attack the boys, forcing Perry to reveal his secret identity, much to the boys' shock. Perry and the boys escape, but Phineas is angry with Perry for his long term deception.
With the remote for their portal broken, the boys seek out their alternate selves, who have grown up without knowing about summer. Doofenshmirtz-2 decides to use the Other-Dimension-inator to invade the original Tri-State Area. In order to keep Perry off track, Doofenshmirtz-2 announces he will spare Phineas and Ferb if Perry surrenders. Perry agrees to the deal, but before he leaves he is told by an angry Phineas he is no longer their pet. When Doofenshmirtz-2 learns that only the boys can fix the Other-Dimension-inator, he backs down on the deal.
Phineas and Ferb ask the alternate Isabella for help and find that she and alternate versions of Baljeet, Buford, and the Fireside Girls are part of the resistance movement, led by the alternate Candace. Baljeet-2 is able to open the portal to the original dimension, but upon learning about Perry's capture, Phineas and Ferb decide to rescue Perry before they can leave. In the original dimension, Candace spots the portal and jumps through, causing it to close.
The kids set off to rescue Perry, but are trapped by Doofenshmirtz-2 and his forces. They escape with Perry when he provides a distraction, but during the chase, Platyborg disables one of the mine carts, slowing them down. Unwilling to endanger her brothers, Candace-2 abandons Phineas, Ferb, Candace, and Perry. The boys refuse to fix the machine, but inadvertently remind Doofenshmirtz how they fixed his machine by removing the self-destruct button. After Doofenshmirtz powers up the machine, Doofenshmirtz-2 orders Phineas, Ferb, Candace, and Perry to be fed to a monster called the Goozim; when Doofenshmirtz annoys him again, Doofenshmirtz-2 orders him to be fed as well.
Before the five can be eaten, Candace-2 rescues them and gives them the remote, allowing Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Perry, and Doofenshmirtz to travel through other dimensions until they reach their home dimension. Despite this, Candace-2 is captured by the Norm-Bots. Doofenshmirtz-2 arrives at the first dimension and releases the Norm-Bots into Danville. Perry gives Phineas and Ferb the locket off his collar, which leads them to Perry's lair. Inside, they find replicas of all their previous inventions. With the help of their friends, the children of Danville, and the O.W.C.A. agents, Phineas and Ferb use the inventions to defeat the Norm-Bots, while Candace-2 is freed by Phineas-2, Ferb-2, and Jeremy-2, and Perry defeats Platyborg. Doofenshmirtz arrives and gives Doofenshmirtz-2 a toy train that he lost when he was a kid, which was the reason for his turn to evil. With his tragic backstory resolved, Doofenshmirtz-2 self-destructs his Norm-Bots and returns to his own dimension, where he is arrested upon arrival.
Platyborg, freed from his evil programming, reverts to his normal self, and Phineas-2 and Ferb-2 take him home. The kids are distraught to learn that Perry will be relocated since his cover is blown, but Carl proposes using Doofenshmirtz's Amnesia-inator to erase the kids and their friends' memories so they can keep Perry. Before they forget, Phineas and Ferb say their goodbyes to Perry, and Isabella seizes the opportunity to kiss Phineas. Perry enters his lair and uploads photos from the day onto his computer.
The soundtrack album for Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension, including eight songs heard in the film and 14 songs from the series, was released on August 4, 2011. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash co-wrote and performed a song for the soundtrack titled "Kick It Up a Notch", while the song "I Walk Away", which is heard in the film, is not included in the soundtrack. A song cut from the film, "Mysterious Force", is included.
Walmart sells a version of the soundtrack with 10 extra songs.[5]
"Takin' Care of Things" – Dan Povenmire and Danny Jacob
"Kick It Up a Notch" – Vincent Martella, Dan Povenmire and Slash
Deleted scenes
The DVD release includes eight scenes that were completed but cut out due to timing issues. The deleted scenes include:
"Mysterious Force": Extended scene and included a song that was also cut from the final movie.
"Pretendy the Practicepus (Extended)": Extended scene where Doofenshmirtz practices his speech with a toy Perry. Vanessa also appears in this scene.
"2nd Dimension Vanessa": Vanessa-2 argues with her father over him constantly banishing any boy that talks to her.
"2nd Dimension Flyover": The main characters ride in a blimp to the doom temple.
"News Report": A news report detailing the incoming Doofenshmirtz-2 invasion.
"Perry's Lair (Extended)": Extended scene from when the boys find Perry's lair.
"Kick It Up a Notch (Extended)": Extended version of the final fight scene.
"Ending Scene (Extended)": Extended scene of the characters getting their memory wiped. Has a gag where they need to redo the memory wipe after they see Perry in his agent persona.
Release
Disney Channel
The film premiered on August 5, 2011 in Canada[6] and Hong Kong, on August 27, 2011 in Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia,[7] on September 25, 2011 in India,[8] on September 30, 2011 in the United Kingdom, Ireland,[9]Australia, and New Zealand, and on November 5, 2011 in South Africa. In Spain, the movie premiered on December 2, 2011, as the film already had a theatrical release in this country on August 31, making Spain the only country with a theatrical release of the movie.
The film premiered in Spanish theatres on August 31, 2011,[11] making a total of €3.3 million in the box office.
Home media
The film was released on DVD on August 23, 2011. It includes eight deleted scenes, interactive menus with easter eggs, an "Animation" music video, a "Perry-oke" sing along feature, "Dr. D's Jukebox-inator", "Prance Askance Execution", and the episode "Attack of the 50 Foot Sister" with character and creator commentary. The digital copy also bundled includes the film and 8 digital music tracks.[12] For a limited time, a free In-Pack Platypult Kit was included with the set. Toys R Us sells a version of the DVD with a bonus disc containing the season three episodes "Ask a Foolish Question" and "Misperceived Monotreme".
A change is made to the credits of the film: the full version of "Takin' Care of Things" is heard, replacing "Kick It Up a Notch", and instead of the background being black, it features a dark blue background with several triangles. This edit was also in the television premieres of the film in some countries. [citation needed]
The film was released in the UK on March 5, 2012, with the same bonus features, as well as the bonus episode "Attack of the 50 Foot Sister". As of November 12, 2019, the film, along with the series, has been available to stream on Disney+ in its original broadcast version instead of the edited version on DVD.
A video game based on the film was released. In it, players assume the role of Phineas and Ferb alongside their second dimension selves, as well as Agent P and a character exclusive to the game, Agent T, as they travel through worlds. The characters use gadgets such as baseball launchers and Carbonators (soda blasters) to defeat enemies. Scenes from the movie are present in the game. The game was released on August 2, 2011 for PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS. The PS3 version also has four episodes of the show in Blu-ray format as a bonus feature.
Online game
A separate online game titled Phineas and Ferb The Movie Game: The Dimension of Doooom! was released when the website for Across the 2nd Dimension was launched. The game is similar to its predecessor, Transport-inators of Doooom!, of which it shares its name with. In the game, the player plays as Phineas, Ferb, Agent P, or Candace-2 (and after the game is beaten, Phineas-2 and Ferb-2 as well), while Isabella-2, Baljeet-2, and Doofenshmirtz-2 also appear. Most levels have fully-voiced cutscenes, however, they do not follow the storyline of the film.
Reception
Critical reception
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10.[13]
Matt Blum of the Wired.com website claims that "this is truly an instant classic, right up there with some of the best cartoons ever made".[14]
Los Angeles Times television critic Robert Lloyd enjoyed Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension as well, noting "a hint of emotional depth, regarding the love between animals and the people who live with them".[15] Both reviewers highlighted the film's employment of adult-oriented humor that makes it equally enjoyable for viewers of all ages.
Noel Murray of The A.V. Club gave it a B+. Murray said that the action theme of the movie was a deviation of what the series does best, but that the movie still had enough to satisfy its fans, including a charming dialogue.[16]
Ratings
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension averaged 7.6 million viewers,[17] the film soared to become TV's #1 scripted telecast of 2011 to date among Kids 6–11 (3.4 million/13.8 rating), TV's #1 movie among 'Tweens' 9–14 (2.6 million/10.8 rating) and cable's #1 movie of the year in Total Viewers.[17]
Moreover, the film ranked as cable's #1 animated telecast in more than 3 years among Kids 6–11 and 'Tweens' 9–14 (since 2/18/08 – "Fairly OddBaby" from The Fairly OddParents), and ranks #4 among all animated cable telecasts in the 'Tween' demo.[17]
Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension was released theatrically in Spain, being the third Disney Channel series to be released in theaters after Hannah Montana and Lizzie McGuire. On its opening weekend, the film grossed $1,259,632 with an average of $4,467 from 282 theaters, earning the #4 spot in the country. The film lost 49% of its gross on its second weekend, earning $646,145. The movie has grossed $5,689,121 in Spain as of December 11.[21]
Post-release
Television follow-up
A 22-minute episode titled "Tales from the Resistance: Back to the 2nd Dimension" was produced for the fourth season of the television series. It aired in November 25, 2014 on Disney XD and January 9, 2015 on Disney Channel. Olivia Olson voices Vanessa-2 in the episode, while recurring guest star Allison Janney voices Charlene-2, the 'ex-wife' of Doofenshmirtz-2.[22]
Sequel
On April 11, 2019, it was announced that a standalone sequel titled Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe, would be released on Disney+ within a year of its launch. Most of the series' cast reprised their roles, with the exception of Thomas Sangster as Ferb, who was replaced by David Errigo Jr., who previously voiced the character in Milo Murphy's Law. It was released on August 28, 2020.