Aren't You A Little Old To Watch Cartoons?

…Why, yes. Yes I am!

But considering the plethora of culturally and politically “controversial” (read: “contrived to be offensive for promotional notoriety”) ‘toons currently offered up for consumption like a plate of live centipedes in Interzone, the silly stuff is more than refreshing. It’s soul food.

[youtube xdfoQl51wvE Complete Opening Theme by Bowling For Soup with Fan Credits]

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Enjoyable as it is to see conservative and libertarian viewpoints deemed worthy of existence in “South Park,” and as side-splitting as the adult humor and pop cultural references, sans a blatant political agenda, may be in “The Venture Brothers,” there has long been a need in the human psyche for pure, unadulterated lunacy.

Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, creators of “Disney’s Phineas and Ferb,” meet that need better than anyone since Tex Avery unleashed Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Screwy Squirrel on the animated universe, while providing the more, ahem, mature viewer the kind of witty amusement associated with Rocky and Bullwinkle dodging the sinister antics of Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.

Pop references, literary allusions, and lightly satirical cultural commentary abound — and while these are likely to fly past little kids held fast in the spell of bright primary colors, stuff that blows up, and plots and sub-plots unfolding at light-speed — the laughs are for everybody. That’s right, laughs, and out loud, with no sudden gut-wrenching cruelty, mockery of innocence, or screaming heads blown off with shotguns. No cartoons are injured in the production of “Phineas and Ferb,” and neither are the sensibilities of viewers jangled.

It’s entertainment that, in the words of co-creator Jeff Marsh, “was created not just for kids, but simply did not exclude them as an audience.” That concept works as beautifully as ever in animated comedy, and Marsh’s pal Dan Povenmire’s previous contributions to “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” (with both guys’ work on “Rocko’s Modern Life”) make the results of their partnership and creativity fun and luminous indeed.

So what’s it about? Kids coming up with ways to have a good time and not get bored on summer vacation. The thin line between imagination and reality, as delineated in the classic “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strips. Having a good, non-dysfunctional family life, one that happens to be blended, and as normal as it can be when the stepbrothers are building a ski resort in the back yard. It’s about the absurdity and selfishness of “evil,” as embodied by Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, whose nefarious schemes are constantly thwarted by the boys’ pet platypus Perry, secret agent extraordinaire. There are teen crushes and puppy love, sci-fi space adventures, Mom’s jazz band (and her nostalgia for her days as a one-hit wonder pop singer), adventures hanging out at the shopping mall, working part time jobs, volunteering for community charities, and other wholesome, everyday things.

And what, pray tell, is wrong with that? For the benefit of those who might harbor the suspicion that life is not always fraught with anxiety and despair, not relentlessly burdened with crisis upon crisis and the existential horror of a pointless, meaningless existence, it’s clear that there’s nothing wrong with it. In fact, it’s the sort of thing that might point in a direction a bit more upbeat– and resonant– than that which can be found in a great deal of “entertainment,” children’s show though it essentially may be. That might be one reason why “Phineas and Ferb” is Disney’s number one animated series.

“Phineas and Ferb” may even actually be somewhat subversive in the sense that, although it’s a Disney production, it does occasionally hint, unlike the majority of Disney products, that there could be more to dealing with life than by merely “following your heart.” It might possibly be worthwhile to think, even if it’s only to figure out a way to do something fun on your summer vacation.

Nothing silly about that.