Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” is one special holiday special

Jim Hill

15 years ago

Given that Phineas & Ferb manage to make the most of all 104 days of summer vacation, is it such a surprise to learn that these step-brothers really step things up when it comes to their two-week long holiday break from school?

In “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” (which premieres this Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Disney XD with two consecutive telecasts on that cable channel), the holiday-themed fun gets started even before the boys get out of bed. Having turned their beds into rocket-power sleds, Phineas & Ferb whiz through a snow-filled Danville before parachuting back into their bedroom …

… Where — in order to pay tribute to one of their biggest heroes, Santa Claus (“And why is Santa Claus one of Phineas & Ferb’s biggest heroes?,” you ask. As Ferb puts it: “Talk about making the most of just one day. Imagine flying around the whole world delivering toys and gifts to everybody in just one night. Ferb and I have done some cool stuff in our time. But that — that’s something else.”) — …

… they decide to turn the top of their house into the ultimate rest stop for Santa. Complete with sauna, massage table, reindeer feeding station and big-screen satellite TV.

But given that Phineas & Ferb really want to show Santa how much they appreciate all of his hard work, they recruit their friends Isabella, Baljeet and Buford — not to mention all of the other residents of Danville — to turn the entire city into one big shimmering “Thank You” card for Jolly Old Saint Nick.

The pop culture related jokes come fast & thick in this part of Disney’s new holiday special. With Ferb — a la Spider-Man — swinging through the city’s concrete canyons. Only instead of webs shooting out of his hands, it’s strands of Christmas lights.

But even as the step-brothers are putting the finishing touches on their super-sized “Thank You” card for Santa, all is not Holly Jolly in Danville. Phineas & Ferb’s older sister, Candace, is trying to trick her boyfriend Jeremy into revealing what his perfect Christmas gift might be.

Meanwhile, over at Doofenschmirtz Evil Incorporated, Dr. Doofenschmirzt has trapped Agent P AKA Perry the Playtus inside of a Christmas tree stand. Where the Doctor then reveals that he’s built a Naughty-inator (i.e. an infernal device that could cover the entire Tri-state area in a cloud of naughtiness. Which would then ruin Christmas).

The only problem is that Dr. D is pretty indifferent when it comes to this particular holiday. As Doofenschmirtz explains in song in one of “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” ‘s real highlights:

You see Valentine’s is torture and my birthday is a mess, New Year’s is a lot of noise and Arbor Day’s a pest, Halloween’s a horror but I really must confess That I really don’t hate Christmas.

You see Flag Day is infernal, April Fools is just a bore, Mardi Gras’ a waste unless you own a candy store All these other holidays I can admit that I abhor But I really don’t hate Christmas …

At least Doofenschmirtz didn’t hate Christmas until some insistent carolers show up at his doorsteps and then wouldn’t leave his apartment (or stop singing for that matter) until Dr. D brings them some figgy pudding.

Finally finding a reason to really hate this holiday, Doctor Doofenschmirtz switches on the Naughty-inator. Which then shrouds the entire Tri-state area in naughtiness. Which is why Santa decides to bypass Danville this year.

Lucky for Phineas & Ferb, two British elves — Blay’n and Clewn’t — think that there’s something screwy with an entire city suddenly shifting to Santa’s Naughty List on Christmas Eve. Which is why they head on down to Danville to investigate.

So what happens next? Will Perry ultimately be able to escape that tree stand? Will Candace trick Jeremy into revealing what his perfect Christmas present might be? And what’s the deal with that rocket-powered sleigh in the picture below?

To get the answers to these and other questions, you’re just going to have to watch “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation.” Which has all the virtues of your usual “Phineas & Ferb” episode (i.e. strong characters, tight writing, jokes that play for both the parents & the kids). But what makes “Christmas Vacation” especially fun is that it also features all of these blink-and-you’ll-miss-it references to the classic holiday specials that came before it. Like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman.”

Now you’d better not cry, better not pout if you miss out on Sunday night’s double airing on Disney XD. Why For? Because “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” will be shown on multiple Disney-ABC TV platforms over the next two weeks. On Monday, December 7th, it becomes available via Disney Channel SVOD, Disney XD VOD, Disney XD Mobile, iTunes and Xbox Live. On Friday, December 11th, this new holiday special airs on the Disney Channel at 8 p.m. as the climax to a six-hour long “Phineas and Ferb” marathon. On Saturday, December 12th, “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation” then becomes available for viewing on DisneyChannel.com and DisneyXD.com. And then — to wrap this multi-media holiday funfest up — this new Disney Christmas special airs on ABC Family on Friday, December 18th at 6 p.m. as part of this cable channel’s “25 Days of Christmas” programming event. Whichever channel you can watch this on, do go out of your way to catch “Phineas and Ferb Christmas Vacation.” It’s really one special holiday special.

Amazon.com Widgets

And speaking of the holidays … If you plan on doing any Christmas shopping on Amazon.com this year, could you please click on the above link before you begin bargain hunting? If you do that … Well, then JHM gets a teeny tiny chunk of whatever you spend. Which would be a very nice way to show your appreciation for all the great stories that you’ve read on Jim Hill Media over the past year.

Happy Holidays!