"Sidetracked" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of Phineas and Ferb.
Synopsis[]
Agent P teams up with a partner, a Canadian human agent named Lyla, to stop a hijacked train running along the US/Canadian border. In a past mission and their first meeting, they had a falling out, so Agent P must decide whether or not he can trust Lyla and her unique sense of logic to get them through the mission, defeat Doofenshmirtz and save the train's passengers and Canada's national treasure - a Moose named Albert.
Plot[]
In downtown Seattle, three criminals steal parts from a warehouse and leave in a doughnut truck. Perry immediately starts following them on a platy-cycle, dodging attempts to knock him off their tail. Shortly after the chase crosses the Canadian border, Perry is able to hook the truck with his grappling hook, but C.O.W.C.A. agent Lyla Lolliberry takes over the chase, as Perry does not have jurisdiction in Canada. Lyla climbs onto the truck but accidentally detaches the metal arm the hook is attached to, allowing the criminals to escape. Perry attempts to continue the chase, but Major Monogram and Carl immediately call him back to headquarters due to lacking jurisdiction. Perry begrudgingly leaves as Lyla apologizes.
Two months later, it's another normal day: Phineas and Ferb wake up; Candace makes a deal with Linda to clean the bathroom if she fails to bust the boys that day; and Buford, and Baljeet, and Isabella arrive to assist with the day's project. After walking past and being greeted by all of them, Perry enters his lair through a tree, accidentally crushing a car in the process, and receives his assignment: he must protect Albert the Moose, Canada's national symbol, in order to preserve the upcoming Canada Day ceremonies. However, Albert is riding a train on the U.S.-Canada border, and Perry only has jurisdiction on one side of the train, so Perry will be teaming up with Lyla again. Monogram trusts that Perry will be a professional despite his bad blood with her after the failed Seattle assignment, and wishes him luck.
Perry and Lyla arrive at the train at the same time, and they drop into a fine dining car, sharing a booth with Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Doofenshmirtz points out that they are currently trapped by societal convention - you can't make a scene in a fine dining establishment - and that he's participating in a U.S.-Canada evil exchange program, where he and a Canadian villain will trade evil schemes for a day. Doofenshmirtz promptly reveals his scheme: he has tied up the conductor and hijacked the train using his remote control Train Operator-inator, where he will hand over Albert to his exchange partner, ruining the Canada Day celebration. Lyla figures out that the exchange partner is her arch-nemesis, Professor Bannister, and Doofenshmirtz confirms this. However, Lyla has been trying to eat Doofenshmirtz's fries throughout their conversation, and he expresses how much this annoys him. Lyla gives Perry a wink, and they both begin messing with the fries, causing Doofenshmirtz to make a loud scene, disrupting the fine dining atmosphere.
Recognizing that his social convention trap has been foiled, Doofenshmirtz flees to the next car, but trips over the tied-up conductor. After a brief struggle, Perry ends up with the Train Operator-inator, but Lyla tries to take it from him and they both lose their grip, unintentionally returning it to Doofenshmirtz. They end up fighting again, but they somehow end up brawling with the conductor instead, and Doofenshmirtz escapes through the train's bathroom window, climbing onto the roof. Lyla and Perry follow him, but Lyla falls off after the train hits a bend in the track; Perry tries to pull her back off, but falls off too.
Lyla immediately notices a handcar next to the track, but Perry tries to operate it himself, slowing them down. Lyla teaches Perry how to operate it, and as they travel down the tracks, she metaphorically equates the handcar to teamwork: she and Perry have to work together to stop Doofenshmirtz.
After Doofenshmirtz boots a passenger off at his station (without stopping), another commuter notices Perry and Lyla operating the handcar on the adjacent track, and everyone starts taking video of it. Doofenshmirtz's cell phone alerts him to the trending video, and he starts watching it just as Perry kicks him in the face. Doofenshmirtz uses an installed platform to rise to the roof again, and while gloating to the two agents about how he cannot be stopped as long as he has the -inator, a tunnel entrance smashes the remote in his outraised hand. This causes the train to go completely out of control. Back in Danville, Phineas wonders where Perry is.
On the now-runaway train, Lyla immediately realizes there's an emergency break in the engine car, and Doofenshmirtz decides to join the two agents in their attempt to stop the train. While running to the engine car, Doofenshmirtz, after dodging three obstacles because he had to tie his shoes, falls into the toilet he'd escaped through earlier, so Lyla and Perry go ahead without him. They reach the engine car, but Lyla is only able to fix the hazard lights, the emergency brake being inoperational. Perry realizes they can save everyone by getting them all into the caboose, where Albert is, so Lyla uses the PA system to tell the passengers to gather in that car. She, Perry, and Doofenshmirtz join the passengers in the caboose, which slows down; Perry had separated that car on the way there. Everyone rejoices that they're saved, but a large claw grabs the caboose and lifts it into the air, which Doofenshmirtz stated to have no involvement with.
Lyla sees that it's Bannister in a helicopter who's grabbed the caboose, so she and Perry grapple their way into the chopper, Doofenshmirtz climbing up behind them. Bannister remarks that they're now trapped in the helicopter. Doofenshmirtz realizes that Bannister must have finished his scheme early, and Bannister remarks that it was easy; he had to flip one switch on Doof's -inator. After Doofenshmirtz confirms his success to Bannister's plan, Bannister now revels in the fact that he has Albert the Moose in his custody and that Canada Day will be ruined, and Lyla calls him out for not being a true Canadian. Bannister reveals that he's not actually Canadian: he's from Greenland. His goal is to remedy the lack of Greenlandic national pride by causing Canadians to forget their national identity, allowing him to annex Canada for Greenland and institute his own pride-producing changes to his homeland, such as a new national anthem. Doofenshmirtz argues over Bannister misrepresenting his origin country to L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. and that his plan is far too complex to actually work, but Bannister begins apparently arguing with his shoulders. Upon seeing Lyla's confusion, he reveals two magnetic Bannister robots, built using the stolen parts from the Seattle job, whose culprits are playing cards in the helicopter. Lyla reveals that she intentionally let them escape, knowing they'd lead her to Bannister.
During the ensuing Helicopter Fight, Perry and Lyla trick the robots into magnetically attracting each other through the chopper roof, defeating them. Bannister, realizing he's lost, throws his Greenland flag on the two agents and parachutes away, but is immediately captured by Peter the Panda in an O.W.C.A. plane; Perry had texted Monogram during the fight, and Monogram sent Peter over. The villains defeated, Lyla brings the caboose-carrying chopper to the Canada Day celebration.
At the celebration, the Canadians celebrate their country (and Albert), the villains are all arrested, and Lyla explains that she had a tracker on Bannister's goons' donut truck. Monogram and Carl arrive to congratulate Lyla and Perry, and Doofenshmirtz suggest they visit Niagara falls, which the five of them (and Peter) do. As they all leave, Doofenshmirtz ponders how his scheme - the Cloud Magnetiz-inator - turned out.
Back home, Candace runs to get Linda; Phineas wonders how a cloud could have carried away their metal superstructure; and Linda, upon seeing nothing there, hands Candace a toilet brush. Perry walks up to his owners, who greet him, remarking, "A platypus's life is a life of leisure." "Yes, yes it is.".
End credits[]
Monogram apologizes on behalf of the viewers that the show did not mean to make fun of Greenland and gives a short explanation of its flag.
Cast[]
- Vincent Martella as Phineas
- Ashley Tisdale as Candace
- Thomas Sangster as Ferb
- Alyson Stoner as Isabella
- Caroline Rhea as Mom
- Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz
- Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram
- Tyler Alexander Mann as Carl
- Dee Bradley Baker as Perry
- Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
- Bobby Gaylor as Buford
- Samantha Bee as Lyla Lolliberry
- Kevin McDonald as Bannister
Songs[]
- My Undead Mummy (instrumental)
- On a Handcar
- Greenland National Anthem
- Helicopter Fight
- Clair de Lune
Goofs[]
- When Lyla first appeared, she was wearing a motorcycle suit. But after the criminals escape, she wears her normal attire.
- Despite taking place the day before "The Bully Code", Doofenshmirtz's backstory is never mentioned or seen.
- In the picture that Perry texts to Major Monogram for back up, Professor Bannister is missing his glasses.
- The episode incorrectly states that the Canadian Constitution Act was passed in 1864, when it was actually passed in 1867.
- When Doofenshmirtz goes up to his Escape Platform, his hand with the Train Operator-inator passes through the edge.
- The first time the engine is shown, it has no rear truck (wheels), so it is floating.
- This episode takes place before "The Bully Code", which takes place on Canada Day. The celebrations were held in this episode. However, this episode could have taken place over two days.
- When Lyla and Perry fall off the roof the train, its whistle blows. However, the train's engine is very obviously a diesel locomotive, which could not possibly have a steam whistle. An air horn would have been more appropriate.
- A sign in Seattle at the beginning of the episode shows Interstate 13 North. The only interstate running north is Interstate 5. There are also no highways numbered 13 in Washington, let alone the US.
- During Helicopter Fight, when Lyla's jacket is on, she's wearing blue pants and black boots. But when it comes off, they suddenly change into blue and black striped leggings.
- As the screen pans down at the very beginning, the writing on the donut truck is reversed.
- Perry is absent from the initial wide shot at Niagara Falls.
- When the Royal Mountie is arresting the villain, the Mountie is wearing a dark blue suit rather than the traditional red suit.
Trivia[]
- This is the first two-part episode of Season 4.
- It is revealed that Perry has a smart-phone.
- This is the second time Perry's chatter is understandable. The first time one in Norm Unleashed".
- The moose is named Albert, which is also the name of Irving's "brother.
- This episode takes place sometime around "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo", since Phineas and Ferb are building the super-structure.
- Monogram breaks the fourth wall during the credits sequence by addressing the viewer, as does Doofenshmirtz when first climbing onto the train's roof.
- Both Samantha Bee and Kevin McDonald, who play the Canadian counterparts of Perry and Doof, are natives of that country (Bee was born in Toronto, while McDonald was raised in Montreal).
- The theme that plays during Agent P's pursuit of the thieves is in the style of (Don't Fear) The Reaper by Blue Öyster Cult.
- The scene taking place in front of Niagara Falls follows the ending of Ocean's Eleven. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is the last to leave, and as he does so, he walks past a group of ten men standing at the railing, watching the waterfall. The sizes, positions and appearance matches the scene where Danny's crew stands in front of the Bellagio to watch the fountains.
- The scene in which Perry is teamed up by Lyla is similar to the 1994 film, Felidae.
- While fighting Doofenshmirtz, Lyla says, "This is for William Hull and the War of 1812. Look it up, kids!" During the War of 1812, Hull invaded Canada.
International premieres[]
- May 1, 2013 (Disney Channel Spain and Portugal)
- May 15, 2013 (Disney Channel France)
- June 30, 2013 (Disney XD Netherlands)
- June 9, 2013 (Disney Channel Asia)
- June 15, 2013 (Disney XD Germany)
- July 1, 2013 (Family Channel Canada and Disney XD Canada)
- July 14, 2013 (Disney XD Poland)
- August 5, 2013 (Disney XD Poland)
- August 18, 2013 (Disney Channel Brazil and Latin America)
Gallery[]
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