Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror
Encyclopedia
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" is the second broadcast episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb
. In it, stepbrothers Phineas
and Ferb
construct an elaborate beach complex in order to survive the intense heat wave
that has struck their city. Meanwhile, the boys' pet platypus
, Perry
, successfully halts the destruction of all the lawn gnomes in the tri-state area by his arch nemesis, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
.
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" was written by series co-founders Dan Povenmire
and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who collaborated with Bobby Gaylor
and Martin Olson
in order to pen their script, and directed by Povenmire. The episode originally aired in the United States
as the one of two previews for the series on September 28, 2007
, on Disney Channel
. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews, especially for the originality of its title. Fan reaction was also favorable, and the featured musical number "Backyard Beach" was voted the number 2 song in the series by viewers during the "Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown" event.
striking Danville, stepbrothers Phineas
and Ferb
are exhausted and do nothing but rest in their backyard. Eventually, they decide to build a beach in their backyard to spite a morning radio DJ. Their sister Candace wants to expose them to their mother for doing so, but she only sees their initial draft of a small sandbox with water and brushes it off. Some time later, they successfully construct a full-scale beach, to which everyone in the neighborhood, including Isabella and her Fireside Girls troop go to cool off and enjoy themselves. Candace sees this and once again is set to inform their mother. This mood soon changes, when she finds out that Jeremy, a boy for whom she has romantic feelings for, will be coming to the beach to surf
so she decides to stay. She finds pleasure in the beach after being crowned "Queen Wahine" following an accidentally flawless limbo
performance and catches the attention of Jeremy.
Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus
Perry
investigates the recent theft of lawn gnomes across the tri-state area
by his arch-nemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
. He enters Doofenshmirtz's underground lair and is immediately captured where Doofenshmirtz explains via video that his family fell to poverty
during his youth which results in the repossession of their lawn-gnome which protects them from black magic
. Believing his family to be unprotected, Doofenshmirtz's father forced his son to dress as a gnome and stand in front of their garden the entire day, unable to move. For his hardship, Doofenshmirtz seeks revenge and plans on destroying all of the lawn gnomes he has stolen. Perry soon breaks out of his trap, and begins to brawl with the doctor, which inadvertently cause the machine containing all of the gnomes to malfunction.
The machine releases all of the lawn gnomes and they erupt onto the beach. The beach goers flee in panic of "gnomeageddon
" and the beach is destroyed. Candace does not realize this as she is trying to convince her mother not to come in and ruin her good time, so when she tries to justify the beach's existence, she finds nothing but their normal backyard. Candace is depressed, but the boys find the day to be a successful one. Candace is helped inside by Isabella and Linda. At the end, the DJ from the beginning congratulates Phineas and Ferb and also says that tomorrow will be hot and sunny too, but then Ferb adds "with a slight chance of scattered lawn gnomes", to which Phineas (and probably a lot of viewers) laughs. Then there is a zoom-out and the gnomes that crashed into the Flynn-Fletcher household roof are seen.
co-founders Dan Povenmire
and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who collaborated with Bobby Gaylor
and Martin Olson
in order to pen their script. Povenmire would also continue to provide direction based on the teleplay. It was originally broadcast as the second of two special previews of the series on Disney Channel
on September 28, 2007
, at 10:45 p.m., Eastern
/Pacific time
.
Disney Channel released a press release for the episode on September 19, 2007. The announcement contained a summary of a B-Plot which did not appear in the episode's final broadcast. The plot detailed the boys' father, Lawrence, taking advantage of the recent inclusion of sand in his backyard to search for a rare bottle cap
. In doing so, Lawrence forms a bond with the boys' friend Baljeet, who is also a collector of such rare novelties.
Actor Vincent Martella
, who voices Phineas, cited "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" as a highlight of working on the series. In an article for Popstar! Magazine
, Martella detailed an experience on New Years Eve, where while watching a repeat of the episode with his family members, he noticed both his ten-year-old brother and his adult relatives laughing. He opted that the experience "the greatest thing in the world."
The episode was among four Phineas and Ferb episodes that were adapted for the 2008 Disney Channel special event "Spot the Diff." The event featured Doofenshmirtz using his "Change-inator-inator" to alter scenes from selected episodes of the series, which the viewer was urged to notice in order to participate in an online quiz. When aired in the marathon, the episode was unaltered, but was proceeded by a changed episode entitled "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Error."
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" became available on the DVD
compilation Phineas and Ferb: The Fast and the Phineas in 2008, along with fellow first season episodes "One Good Scare Ought to Do It!"(which hadn't been seen yet in the US) "The Fast and the Phineas," "Are You My Mummy?
" "Flop Starz
," "Raging Bully
," "Lights! Candace! Action!" and "It's About Time!" A bonus feature on the DVD consisted of a game based on the episode entitled "Whack-A-Gnome," in which the player hits gnomes as they pop up from a machine in the style of whack-a-mole. The official Phineas and Ferb soundtrack
, released in 2009, featured the song "Backyard Beach" from the episode. In 2009, the online retailer Zazzle
released several pieces of merchandising materiel based on the episode.
reviewer David Cornelius wrote that it "wins major awesomeness points." Similarly, Jim Thomas of DVD Verdict observed that no "description could possibly do justice" to it. Writing for DVD Town, reviewer James Plath considered the flashback to Doofenshmirtz's youth as a lawn gnome an example of "the deliciously twisted humor of Povenmire and Marsh." In contrast, however, Ed Liu of Toon Zone was critical of the episode and other early episodes available on The Fast and the Phineas, calling them "way too manic for their own good, never giving a gag enough time to develop a proper laugh before ripping off to the next one, and refusing to sit still for any length of time."
Fan reaction for the episode was considerably positive and the song "Backyard Beach" has been considered a "popular number" from the series wide variety of musical pieces. In the 2009 television event "Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown," voters ranked it the series' second best musical feature.
Phineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
. In it, stepbrothers Phineas
Phineas Flynn
Phineas Flynn is the main protagonist of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. Voiced by Vincent Martella and created and designed by Dan Povenmire, Phineas first appeared along with the rest of the series' main characters in the pilot episode "Rollercoaster." Phineas, along with his...
and Ferb
Ferb Fletcher
Ferb Fletcher is the deuteragonist from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The character, voiced by British actor Thomas Sangster, was created by Phineas and Ferb co-founders Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and first appeared in the show's pilot episode, "Rollercoaster."Ferb and...
construct an elaborate beach complex in order to survive the intense heat wave
Heat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
that has struck their city. Meanwhile, the boys' pet platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
, Perry
Perry the Platypus
Perry the Platypus, also known as Agent P or simply Perry is an anthropomorphic platypus from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. Perry is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and created by the series' co-founders, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh...
, successfully halts the destruction of all the lawn gnomes in the tri-state area by his arch nemesis, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz is the main antagonist of the show Phineas and Ferb. Doofenshmirtz is voiced by Dan Povenmire and created by Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Doofenshmirtz first appeared in the pilot episode of the series and since then has appeared in every episode to date except...
.
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" was written by series co-founders Dan Povenmire
Dan Povenmire
Daniel Kingsley "Dan" Povenmire is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz...
and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who collaborated with Bobby Gaylor
Bobby Gaylor
Robert "Bobby" Gaylor is a writer, actor, voice actor, producer, director, spoken word artist & former stand-up comic. He was raised in Boston and moved to L.A.to write for Roseanne Barr's television show "Roseanne"...
and Martin Olson
Martin Olson
Martin Olson is a comedy writer, television producer, stage director and composer. He is also a playwright and poet known for comedic and unusual subject matter and known as an original member of the notorious "Boston Comedy Scene."...
in order to pen their script, and directed by Povenmire. The episode originally aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the one of two previews for the series on September 28, 2007
2007 in television
2007 in television may refer to:*2007 in American television*2007 in Australian television*2007 in British television*2007 in Canadian television*2007 in Japanese television...
, on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. Since airing, the episode has received generally positive reviews, especially for the originality of its title. Fan reaction was also favorable, and the featured musical number "Backyard Beach" was voted the number 2 song in the series by viewers during the "Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown" event.
Plot summary
Due to an intense heat waveHeat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
striking Danville, stepbrothers Phineas
Phineas Flynn
Phineas Flynn is the main protagonist of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. Voiced by Vincent Martella and created and designed by Dan Povenmire, Phineas first appeared along with the rest of the series' main characters in the pilot episode "Rollercoaster." Phineas, along with his...
and Ferb
Ferb Fletcher
Ferb Fletcher is the deuteragonist from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The character, voiced by British actor Thomas Sangster, was created by Phineas and Ferb co-founders Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh and first appeared in the show's pilot episode, "Rollercoaster."Ferb and...
are exhausted and do nothing but rest in their backyard. Eventually, they decide to build a beach in their backyard to spite a morning radio DJ. Their sister Candace wants to expose them to their mother for doing so, but she only sees their initial draft of a small sandbox with water and brushes it off. Some time later, they successfully construct a full-scale beach, to which everyone in the neighborhood, including Isabella and her Fireside Girls troop go to cool off and enjoy themselves. Candace sees this and once again is set to inform their mother. This mood soon changes, when she finds out that Jeremy, a boy for whom she has romantic feelings for, will be coming to the beach to surf
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
so she decides to stay. She finds pleasure in the beach after being crowned "Queen Wahine" following an accidentally flawless limbo
Limbo
In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other...
performance and catches the attention of Jeremy.
Meanwhile, Phineas and Ferb's pet platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
Perry
Perry the Platypus
Perry the Platypus, also known as Agent P or simply Perry is an anthropomorphic platypus from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. Perry is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker and created by the series' co-founders, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh...
investigates the recent theft of lawn gnomes across the tri-state area
Tri-state area
There are a number of areas in the 48 contiguous United States known as tri-state areas where three states either meet at one point or are in proximity to each other. The best known of the latter type is the New York metropolitan area...
by his arch-nemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz is the main antagonist of the show Phineas and Ferb. Doofenshmirtz is voiced by Dan Povenmire and created by Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. Doofenshmirtz first appeared in the pilot episode of the series and since then has appeared in every episode to date except...
. He enters Doofenshmirtz's underground lair and is immediately captured where Doofenshmirtz explains via video that his family fell to poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
during his youth which results in the repossession of their lawn-gnome which protects them from black magic
Black magic
Black magic is the type of magic that draws on assumed malevolent powers or is used with the intention to kill, steal, injure, cause misfortune or destruction, or for personal gain without regard to harmful consequences. As a term, "black magic" is normally used by those that do not approve of its...
. Believing his family to be unprotected, Doofenshmirtz's father forced his son to dress as a gnome and stand in front of their garden the entire day, unable to move. For his hardship, Doofenshmirtz seeks revenge and plans on destroying all of the lawn gnomes he has stolen. Perry soon breaks out of his trap, and begins to brawl with the doctor, which inadvertently cause the machine containing all of the gnomes to malfunction.
The machine releases all of the lawn gnomes and they erupt onto the beach. The beach goers flee in panic of "gnomeageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
" and the beach is destroyed. Candace does not realize this as she is trying to convince her mother not to come in and ruin her good time, so when she tries to justify the beach's existence, she finds nothing but their normal backyard. Candace is depressed, but the boys find the day to be a successful one. Candace is helped inside by Isabella and Linda. At the end, the DJ from the beginning congratulates Phineas and Ferb and also says that tomorrow will be hot and sunny too, but then Ferb adds "with a slight chance of scattered lawn gnomes", to which Phineas (and probably a lot of viewers) laughs. Then there is a zoom-out and the gnomes that crashed into the Flynn-Fletcher household roof are seen.
Production
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" was written by Phineas and FerbPhineas and Ferb
Phineas and Ferb is an American animated television comedy series. Originally broadcast as a preview on August 17, 2007, on Disney Channel, the series follows Phineas Flynn and his English stepbrother Ferb Fletcher on summer vacation. Every day the boys embark on some grand new project, which...
co-founders Dan Povenmire
Dan Povenmire
Daniel Kingsley "Dan" Povenmire is an American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor associated with several animated television series, best known as the co-creator of the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb in which he also voices the show's villain, Heinz...
and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, who collaborated with Bobby Gaylor
Bobby Gaylor
Robert "Bobby" Gaylor is a writer, actor, voice actor, producer, director, spoken word artist & former stand-up comic. He was raised in Boston and moved to L.A.to write for Roseanne Barr's television show "Roseanne"...
and Martin Olson
Martin Olson
Martin Olson is a comedy writer, television producer, stage director and composer. He is also a playwright and poet known for comedic and unusual subject matter and known as an original member of the notorious "Boston Comedy Scene."...
in order to pen their script. Povenmire would also continue to provide direction based on the teleplay. It was originally broadcast as the second of two special previews of the series on Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
on September 28, 2007
2007 in television
2007 in television may refer to:*2007 in American television*2007 in Australian television*2007 in British television*2007 in Canadian television*2007 in Japanese television...
, at 10:45 p.m., Eastern
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
/Pacific time
Pacific Time
Pacific Time may refer to:* Pacific Time Zone , a time zone on the west coast of the United States, Canada and Mexico* Pacific Time , a radio program produced by KQED and carried on several other NPR stations...
.
Disney Channel released a press release for the episode on September 19, 2007. The announcement contained a summary of a B-Plot which did not appear in the episode's final broadcast. The plot detailed the boys' father, Lawrence, taking advantage of the recent inclusion of sand in his backyard to search for a rare bottle cap
Bottle cap
Bottle caps are a type of closure used to seal the openings of bottles of many types. They can be small circular pieces of metal, usually steel, with plastic backings, and for plastic bottles a plastic cap is used instead. A bottle cap is typically colorfully decorated with the logo of the brand...
. In doing so, Lawrence forms a bond with the boys' friend Baljeet, who is also a collector of such rare novelties.
Actor Vincent Martella
Vincent Martella
Vincent Michael Martella is an American teen actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Greg Wuliger on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, and for the voice of Phineas Flynn in Disney Channel's original animated show Phineas and Ferb...
, who voices Phineas, cited "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" as a highlight of working on the series. In an article for Popstar! Magazine
Popstar! Magazine
Popstar! Magazine is a worldwide released teen magazine featuring news stories on celebrities.-History:Popstar! Magazine is a nationally recognized teen-entertainment magazine for kids ages 10 to 16. It was founded by editor in chief Matthew Rettenmund and was first published on October 15, 1998,...
, Martella detailed an experience on New Years Eve, where while watching a repeat of the episode with his family members, he noticed both his ten-year-old brother and his adult relatives laughing. He opted that the experience "the greatest thing in the world."
The episode was among four Phineas and Ferb episodes that were adapted for the 2008 Disney Channel special event "Spot the Diff." The event featured Doofenshmirtz using his "Change-inator-inator" to alter scenes from selected episodes of the series, which the viewer was urged to notice in order to participate in an online quiz. When aired in the marathon, the episode was unaltered, but was proceeded by a changed episode entitled "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Error."
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" became available on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
compilation Phineas and Ferb: The Fast and the Phineas in 2008, along with fellow first season episodes "One Good Scare Ought to Do It!"(which hadn't been seen yet in the US) "The Fast and the Phineas," "Are You My Mummy?
Are You My Mummy?
"Are You My Mummy?" is the twelfth broadcast episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The episode sees stepbrothers Phineas and Ferb going to an Egyptian-themed theater where they become inspired to befriend a mummy they believe is being kept in the theater basement. They confuse...
" "Flop Starz
Flop Starz
"Flop Starz" is the first segment for the first official aired episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. The episode was originally broadcast on Disney Channel on February 1, 2008. In the episode, Phineas and Ferb become one-hit wonders in the matter of a morning...
," "Raging Bully
Raging Bully
"Raging Bully" is the sixth broadcast episode of the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. In the episode, Phineas Flynn is challenged to a thumb wrestling competition at the mall with the local bully, Buford, after he accidentally embarrasses him in the food court. Meanwhile, the evil Dr...
," "Lights! Candace! Action!" and "It's About Time!" A bonus feature on the DVD consisted of a game based on the episode entitled "Whack-A-Gnome," in which the player hits gnomes as they pop up from a machine in the style of whack-a-mole. The official Phineas and Ferb soundtrack
Phineas and Ferb (soundtrack)
-Charts:-Release dates:-Other Releases:Several other soundtracks for the series have been released.*Phineas and Ferb's Christmas Vacation: A soundtrack for the Christmas special, only released digitally in December 2009....
, released in 2009, featured the song "Backyard Beach" from the episode. In 2009, the online retailer Zazzle
Zazzle
Zazzle is an online retailer that allows users to upload images and create their own merchandise , or buy merchandise created by other users, as well as use images from participating companies...
released several pieces of merchandising materiel based on the episode.
Reception
"Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" received generally positive reviews from television critics. Several critics praised the unique and obscure title; DVD TalkDVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
reviewer David Cornelius wrote that it "wins major awesomeness points." Similarly, Jim Thomas of DVD Verdict observed that no "description could possibly do justice" to it. Writing for DVD Town, reviewer James Plath considered the flashback to Doofenshmirtz's youth as a lawn gnome an example of "the deliciously twisted humor of Povenmire and Marsh." In contrast, however, Ed Liu of Toon Zone was critical of the episode and other early episodes available on The Fast and the Phineas, calling them "way too manic for their own good, never giving a gag enough time to develop a proper laugh before ripping off to the next one, and refusing to sit still for any length of time."
Fan reaction for the episode was considerably positive and the song "Backyard Beach" has been considered a "popular number" from the series wide variety of musical pieces. In the 2009 television event "Phineas and Ferb's Musical Cliptastic Countdown," voters ranked it the series' second best musical feature.
External links
- "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...
- "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror" at the Phineas and Ferb WikiWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...