The everyday situations of Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher and their 104 days of summer are almost too entertaining to watch in just one short episode, so Disney Channel created an original movie, PHINEAS AND FERB: ACROSS THE 2ND DIMENSION, premiering August 5th on Family Channel!
The film is all about the brothers discovering the truth about Perry and his alter-ego Agent P! They team up with the platypus and enter a parallel universe where they have to fight their own evil doppelgangers and defeat an extra-evil version of the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz! (Lots of evil going on here!)
To elaborate more on the upcoming film, THE MAG got the chance to chat with actor Alyson Stoner, the voice behind Isabella!
How would you describe Isabella?
Well, Isabella, to the naked eye, is the most adorable, cute and innocent, weird youngster. But, once you learn more about her, she’s actually quite capable and competent. She’s organized, she leads the Fireside girl troop, and she takes action. She has quite the crush on Phineas in the beginning, but he seems to remain oblivious and I think that’s part of the charm, his innocence towards her. And then in the movie, ACROSS THE SECOND DIMENSION, we each have doppelgangers, so “Isabella 2” is actually quite the opposite. She’s authoritative and the commanding officer of the resistance movement, and forceful and rough around the edges! It’s funny to see her in something other than a pink dress and a smile on her face.
How does your voice sort of change for that? Is it difficult to do her alter ego?
We wanted to keep consistency and fluidity between each dimension, so my voice didn’t change all that much. But in the inflection and intonation you’ll hear a big difference. Even my catch phrase “Watcha dooooin’?” doesn’t have the same ring to it. It’s more harsh.
Is it true that you came up with that ‘Watcha Doooin’” thing?
I did not come up with it, but I did try the inflection, and they kept how I said it. You’d think by now they’d just keep the line, but we re-record it every episode!
So you mentioned that she sort of has this alter ego, but the character herself, just the regular Isabella, does she develop any more in the movie ? Does Phineas ever pick up on her crush?
I think that the difference for Isabella in the movie is that she and Candace are actually more intertwined in their storylines because they’re both out to protect the good in the second dimension because Doofenshmirtz has now begun ruling and spreading evil everywhere. So she’s more affiliated with Candace than Phineas and Ferb. I'm not even entirely sure if she likes Phineas in the second dimension! It’s sort of up for interpretation.
Do you ever get to improvise or ad lib within the script or do you just stick to it?
Most of the time, we record the material that’s on the sheet of paper but we have [times] where you’ll have a crowd of people cheering someone on, and in that case, they’ll say this is take 25 and they’ll leave the take just rolling. Its open ended, so you have the freedom to shout out any different phrases that could be considered cheering. So that’s the way I get to improvise, and once you tap into your character, you find phrases that are appropriate for them, that they’re very cute and funny and specific, and you know when you hear that that its Isabella saying that.
If you could voice any other character, who would it be?
Baljeet! Therese something about not only his accent, but his character is adorable and the stages between Baljeet and Buford I find quite charming. You would think that it would be a bully and victim situation, but really you can tell that there’s some sort of bond and some kind of love and respect for the other person. So I’d like to step up to Buford as Baljeet.
Movie aside, what’s your favourite situation Isabella has gotten herself into within the Phineas and Ferb series?
I think by far the most precious moment was when Phineas left for the Paris episode. You know, she’s in the city of love, and she’s already fallen for Phineas believing with such great expectations that this trip will open his eyes. And he still remains oblivious, and she has this entire song where she’s going through the streets of Paris, and imagining all the romantic moments they could share together, but he’s not there. And it caused the writer to cry when he heard my voice singing it because it’s so sweet! Isabella is the cutest thing. You’d think he’d be goo goo ga ga, but he’s got plans of his own. So that’s my favourite situation…just spend a minute and a half of your time watching it because it’s adorable!
http://youtu.be/nlWEVPx6R0g
You used to be a dancer before you started on Phineas and Ferb, which one do you prefer to do more?
Well, what’s interesting about dancing and animation specifically is you’re always given one medium to convey the animation through. Obviously in animation you have your voice, and in dancing you have your body, but with acting you have all this freedom to express through facials, body language and you know, dancing and animation are quite limited and they’re both challenging in their own ways. Dancing for me is a beautiful art form for expressing emotions, but animation I feel is almost limitless because there is no choreography. If you have lines, but within those lines, but those lines can be relayed in multiple ways, so animation is probably my preference, but dancing was my first love so it will always be a part of me.
Is there anything else you want to say about PHINEAS AND FERB: ACROSS THE 2ND DIMENSION?
I will comment on the music. The score behind the footage, as well as just the catchy tunes that are sung throughout are truly incredible. So if you don’t usually enjoy cartoons, I think you’ll be impressed by the music, and if you don’t usually like music, you’ll be impressed by the animation, so there’s something for everyone!
Thank you, Alyson Stoner!
Don’t miss PHINEAS AND FERB: ACROSS THE 2ND DIMENSION at 8pm ET/PT on Family Channel! You can also watch it on August 23rd on DISNEY XD and August 26th on FAMILY OnDemand!
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