Wednesday, October 1, 2008

When my id yanked my chain on Eid about...




What makes me gape in wonder at this show every time?? Its just an animation. A chimera. More insultingly, its just a silly cartoon.


But it’s much more than that.


Phineas & Ferb is a new cartoon released earlier this year that shows on Disney, it was nominated for the Emmys soon after its release. It is the first Disney Channel Original Series to premiere simultaneously worldwide and an army of creative people have dedicated their lives to make it happen.


The episodes are mathematical and voluptuous in its creative content. What is the formula? and how are the variables so amazing? in the context of the constants in the formula? How does it all click? I had to sit and think about all this because my id was constantly yanking my chain... yanking... yanking...yanking...yanking...yanking...yanking... (you get it)


There is a clear outline in every episode, like in a drawing. It captivates your interest, if you are someone/anyone who possesses the spirit to sit and observe with a manic curiosity.


Every episode has three parts:
A hyper-creative often unreal but plausible-to-the-imaginative, fantastic main scenario focusing on Phineas and Ferb- (the plot). The quality of the episode is set into the quality of the plot. A minor scenario involving a jealous, complaining teenage sister Candace and her friends – (the antiplot). The third section which is called - more pivotal than the plot even, is also the funniest section of the show in which the pet platypus (perry the platypus) pits himself against a funny but evil scientist, when the characters are too busy with the plot and the antiplot to notice, the platypus transforms into a secret agent (agent P) and disappears to his hideout to involve himself in my favourite section of the show, engaging with an unbearably hideously hilarious mad scientist to stop him from destroying the whole of the tri-state area with an always ingeniously wacky plan which always involves a cool ingenious machine named a something-inator, this section is more pivotal than the plot even, because the clash between the platypus and his nemesis (who are secretly in love with each other) is structured geniusfully to tie up all the loose ends on the plot and the anti-plot of the show by making that which is designed to destroy the tri-state trigger the destruction of the plot and antiplot, to make everything unbelievable and fantastic that has been created in the plot to magically disappear in a flash, everytime to the disbelief of Candace, before she can bust her brothers by revealing their cool insanity to her mother.


How neatly yet unobviously the characters just slip into their respective places, in a clearly defined and interesting blueprint of an appealing equation (cycle of events), which the architect has so carefully crafted and religiously preserved in each and every episode before retailing it into a neat package, and yet lent unlimited variety to all the constants of that package in countless episodes is a testimony to the work of a manipulative genius. The psychology behind each character is sound, detailed, tangible and appealingly applied. The plots are unbelievable, yet well thought out and no matter how out of hand the situation gets, there are never any questionable loose ends at the end of a show because of the sheer genius from the mind that is a bottomless pit of originality that designed the more pivotal than the plot even section.


The most beautiful part to it - Despite there being so much logic behind its making, at face value there is little or no scope for rationale because you would have to leave that outside the room to appreciate the show and this adds to the appeal of the cartoon architect’s equation because it brings out the child in you and it’s this good feeling that sells to any human being and discredits a big chunk of the critics most creditable tool.


What attracts me to this cartoon:
Childish sentimentality. It’s a cartoon of me.


Phineas Flynn - Phineas is an intelligent, creative boy inspired to make the summer as great as it can be by coming up with ideas for unusual, exciting, and sometimes impossible activities. He is very polite and is never selfish or rude to anyone. Phineas is also shown to have a wide array of musical abilities and can play many different instruments. His stepbrother Ferb is his best friend and partner in their activities. He loves his sister Candace, and often tries to please or help her, as in putting her face on Mount Rushmore for her birthday, making her treehouse better, or helping her learn how to drive. However, he usually and accidently upsets her with his schemes. He has a normal relationship with his mom and his step-dad. He often wonders about the whereabouts of his pet platypus Perry.


Tell me you are twenty!!!!! Grow up!!! And my id will gracefully show you his finger.

17 comments:

swampym said...

Wow! Thanks for that! So nice to know that we're reaching people for all the reasons we wanted to.

Cheers,

Swampy

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

Way to go, you deserve every bit of it and more.

Great stuff!!! Keep it coming!!

Cheers,
Taru

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

OMG! are you kidding me?? you are not the actual Jeff 'swampy' Marsh are you???? this is like a fairytale...or is it somebody else? How do you even have the time to go through blogs like mine? and if it is you and you have a feed from this comment page and you are reading this, here is some negative feedback too (its the only thing I could dig up): an over-alert critic can feel your show has racist overtones, call it nonsporting, but kids are smart today and its a feeling you shouldn't discount, work with baljeet a little more carefully. He comes from a country where pride runs high and wild.

You are one unbelievable individual. I am a undergraduate medical student and don't have a t.v where I stay and study, I have seen your work on youtube and it simply fascinated me and got me to give it a more detailed look. I hope you read this.

MM said...

YOU DID NOT SAY A THING ABOUT HOW I INTRODUCED YOU TO THE CARTOON.

About HOW MUCH I LOVE the cartoon and everything about it!

About how I forced you into watching it the damn thing.

About how I am the ultimate Phineas and Ferb fan. ME!

I am pained, insulted, hurt and what not, and if I had a blaggardifier-inator I would use it on you in a SECOND.

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

hehehe give me a minute while I am blaggardified....and i am thankful to every circumstance that has connected all the dots in this unfathomably interconnected universe. Thank you MM and thank you Major Monogram. Now two more dots have been connected :-)

S Raghunath said...

it is very heartening to know that you are spending time and attention in analyzing brilliant cartoons like Phineas and Ferb! I am sure you have been recently concentrating on forensic medicine!!!

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

Maybe you are right, forensic medicine does teach you to keep your eyes peeled and observe a situation with an impersonal view, but it is the personal connection I feel with the characters that appealed to me and drew my curiosity to Phineas and Ferb.

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

:0! -> :)

Gajendra said...

dont you think you are into too serious a profession to be watching cartoons....especially the new kind. hehe

Anonymous said...

this is such a preposterous comment.. how can one's profession have a bearing on hobbies and interests? .just because u r 20 and doing mbbs dosnt mean u can stop doing things u like.pubic hair is no measure of one's maturity...y that pretence? if u like doing something , just go ahead with it..only nincompoop's will say things like age and profession.Cartoons rock dude!!

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

@Gajee and Sudhu
Thanks for being open and critically frank with your ideas. Its admirable and unusual.Each one is entitled to his honest opinion.

@Gajee
Its a great escape! I agree that todays usual cartoon can deviate towards the uninspiring/violent but I found P&F to be different, there is a lot of thought and conceptual beauty behind its making.

Check it out for yourself:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=h0zDES36mkc

I will post more serious and controversial topics that will interest you soon,


@Sudhu
I admire your camaraderie and solidarity maga..thank you. It holds your character in high esteem! Your point is correct and reasonable but others may overlook your sound argument because of the strong language.

Dear other ppl who read and lurk around this blog:

Bless your twisted minds.

Gajendra said...

@taru: Was I not addressing you ?? or am I hallucinating ?? I take offense to what our great learned person, he must be addressed as 'SRI SRI SRI' sudharshan....seems to be a very learned person....what with his vocab and all!!! I mean....WOW.....!!! there is serious dearth of decency as I can observe......

Unknown said...

1. Did you creat this cartoon? Sure sounds like it.

2. Why the excitement over Jeff "swampy" Marsh? Hopefully, it has nothing to do with your, you know, orientation, in which case all the touching and hugging takes on a whole different meaning. :-O

3. Sudu, you crazy boy. :-) Always the temperamental tamilian. :-P

Unknown said...

I lyka da Perry.. Huzzaa!

swampym said...

Hey TT,

Sorry it took so long for me to comment on your comment on my comment, but cartoons don't produce themselves. Thanks for your feedback on Baljeet. I'm quite fond of him as he's named after a very good mate of mine in London. I fought to have an Asian character on the show and I try to be respectful but I also try to avoid being too reverential either. If he's not fun then I think I would also be doing him and Asians a great disservice. It's great to get honest feedback from viewers and I will take your words to heart. Thanks for watching, enjoying and commenting on the show.

Cheers,

Swampy

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

@Swampy

Thank you sir. I think a lot of us still find it unbelievable that you are here. You are the definition of the word dedication. I cant believe you actually came back here to follow up on my comments.

Vaccinated Tarantula - II said...

@ suraj

He is the writer, director and producer of the show dude... and he was nominated for the emmys this year.

After reading his comments arent you inspired to think humility is a great virtue to possess with greatness?