REVIEW: Phineas and Ferb “The OWCA Files”

Spoilers Below

After going through a bunch of training, Agent P and his new team of recruits (including Doof) have to deal with a robot flea infestation set forth by a new villain named Professor Parenthesis. The Professor sends a bunch of fleas with flea collars now worn by all of the agents whom have Mono and Carl captured. Not one to give up, Agent P takes the recruits back to his old house, which doubles as a secret hideout. Agent P tries to take off on his own, but Doof convinces him to build a ship that can transport everyone to the Professor’s secret lair which is in the Grand Canyon.

The trip isn’t easy, because Agent P and crew are chased through the Canyon by a bunch of robotic fleas. The crew crash lands and makes plans to break into Parenthesis’ secret hideout, but the OWCA agents opt to leave Doof behind. Unfortunately, the animal agents get caught, and it’s up to Doof to make the save and help destroy the Professor’s hideout.

Despite making the save, Agent P takes off without his new recruits whom decide to band together and build a stronger team. Back at OWCA, Carl and Mono head to a getaway, but are stopped by Parenthesis before they can leave.

Meanwhile, Napoleon, Wendell, and Floyd are on a mission to be the first insects to join OWCA they eventually build a paper airplane that flies out to where Agent P, his recruits, and OWCA are fighting Parenthesis and his robot fleas. We actually find out that Parenthesis is in fact a flea controlling a robot body, and just as it seems as though evil will prevail, the insects inadvertently put a stop and get rewarded by being blown to smithereens by Dr. Doof. We’re then treated to a quick Ferb-Fletcher cameo at the dinner table.

Our Take

Not only did we really not see the Ferb-Fletcher family anywhere, there was NO ONE, and I mean, NO ONE in the tri-state area around tonight. Almost as if the entire area was completely deserted. So, if you’re expecting to see your favorite non-OWCA character, chances are you are going to have to do with the ending. Other than that, this hour-long special was ALL about OWCA .

While I liked the idea of new OWCA trainees, I couldn’t help but wonder why fan favorite OWCA agents weren’t used instead. You know this is the last episode, so unless if we were to get more down the road, introducing new characters seemed rather brave. In any case, the new characters were great! Harry the Hyena is a slugger, while Karen the cat absolutely destroys. As a matter of fact, if you were a big fan of Phineas and Ferb’s big fight scenes, this episode is for you because you get a bunch, with the Karen fight being my favorite by a mile.

In terms of guest stars, this was another plus. Paul Reubens came in and knocked it out of the park as Parenthesis, and while they seemed to do more harm than good when it came to by patience, Stephen Root as Floyd, Josh Gad as Wendel, and JK Simmons as Wendell were nice deviations whenever the plot seemed to be coarse.

I could’ve used no songs this episode, and I think the OWCA agents have been taken over one few too many times. But, overall, this is a solid spin-off that I think deserves serious consideration for a full series.