Escape from Phineas Tower

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, my brother and I are here today to give you a thrilling display of escapement arts as we attempt to extract ourselves from this: The most complicated trap ever devised by man or child, a computer controlled tower, so fiendishly clever, that its blueprints had to be viewed in a smoked mirror to avoid driving its creators insane!

When Phineas and Ferb are inspired by an antique escape chamber that Dad acquires, they decide to build a computer-controlled tower that will trap them inside and allow them to explore the world of escapement. They have fun breaking out of all the traps until the tower becomes hit with one of Doofenshmirtz's inventions and goes beyond what it was programmed to do. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz invents a "Rude-Inator" to ruin Roger's meeting with a visiting dignitary from England.

Episode Summary
Lawrence takes Phineas and Ferb to his shop, Flynn-Fletcher Antiques, and shows them an old escape chamber. He locks himself inside to give a demonstration, becoming momentarily trapped until Ferb rescues him from the inside, to the confusion of Phineas who thought that Ferb was on the outside with him. After thanking Ferb, Lawrence goes to polish some bottle caps and Phineas declares to Ferb that he knows what they are going to do today. At home, Candace is sleeping outside in a hammock, so Linda leaves a note on her forehead saying "Back soon! Love, mom." before leaving for a lecture about ice sculptures. The boys begin to build around Candace as she mutters "Where's Perry?" in her sleep.

Inside the house, Perry enters his lair by putting a colored box through a hoop, then jumping into the box as it opens. On screen, Major Monogram is testing Carl on all the specific types of cutlery he can name. He then turns to Agent P and tells him that it is International Good Manners Day, and that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has chosen this week to make a device that causes rudeness.

Meanwhile in the backyard, Phineas, dressed in a red and white striped suit and hat, is introducing the giant computer-controlled escape tower he and Ferb built to Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet, explaining that it is the most complicated trap ever devised by man or child, and that the tower itself learns as it goes, so the boys could conceivably be trapped inside forever. He asks if anyone else wants to come. When they refuse, he tells them they can stay outside and cheer with Candace (who is still sleeping). Baljeet asks what will happen if they cannot escape, and Phineas tells him that if they aren't out in fifteen minutes, those outside can smash the machine and rescue them. Phineas and Ferb enter a pulley mechanism which pulls them up to the top of the tower, where they enter. The tower then locks them inside.

At Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, Perry enters and sees a mat under a sign that says "Please... Wipe Feet!", to which he obeys. The mat then drops under the floor trapping Perry in a cat suit on a wheeled cart. Doofenshmirtz comes in and puts a leash on the cat collar. He then explains that his brother Roger had always been better at being polite than him, flashing back to a day in their youth when Roger had earned some money by complimenting his aunt, to whom Doofenshmirtz could only insult for the mole on her nose, earning him the punishment of cleaning out a chicken coop with a spoon. Doofenshmirtz then explains that since it is International Good Manners Day, Danville has a visiting dignitary; the ambassador from England, which Doofenshmirtz dubs "the most etiquette-y country in the whole world." While Roger, as mayor, will be introducing her, Doofenshmirtz plans to shoot him with his Rude-inator, causing an international incident during which time Doofenshmirtz will come in and take over. He also explains that the reason he has Perry in a cat suit is because he plans to watch the fireworks at City Hall with him, and that a cat would draw less attention than a platypus in a fedora.

Inside the tower, the computer ties Phineas and Ferb in straitjackets, to which they escape with ease. They are then tied in chains and pulled into a dungeon-themed room with a skeleton on the floor. The boys calmly use files to break the chains and escape through a vent.

At City Hall, Doofenshmirtz wheels Perry to the front row and puts him in the chair beside him. Onstage, Roger begins the announcement while Perry begins to control the cat's tail from inside the costume, bringing it to the collar, which is tied around his chest.

Phineas and Ferb enter another room and observe there are several keys on the floor which unlock the various doors on the wall, all of which being to small to squeeze through. Phineas locates a door that is large enough to get through on the ceiling. Ferb sticks the keys into the locks on the wall, using them as steps to climb up to the door on the ceiling, with Phineas behind him. As they climb the steps on the wall in the next room, the computer congratulates them on their warm-up, questioning if they will escape the "pull of gravity". The room then switches the force of gravity, causing the boys to fall in the direction they were climbing, into a bottomless pit trap.

Outside, the timer reads "11:27". While stacking a tower of cards on the sleeping Candace, Baljeet casually comments that it would be terrible if they did not come out. Isabella agrees as she puts whipped cream on Candace's head. Buford stars to sharpen his mallet.

At City Hall, Roger introduces the ambassador, and Doofenshmirtz presses the remote for his Rude-inator, located on the balcony of Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. Roger begins to insult the ambassador, while Doofenshmirtz turns to notice that Perry is missing. Believing that Perry went to the washroom, Doofenshmirtz continues to watch. The crowd then starts demanding a recall, to Doofenshmirtz's delight.

Phineas and Ferb continue to fall in the bottomless pit. Getting an idea, Phineas asks for Ferb's hands. Holding hands, they each press their heels to their side of the wall causing them to stop in place next to a door. Phineas asks the tower if that's the best it can do, whereas the tower replies in a rude manner. In the next room, the tower ties the boys to logs on a log splitting machine. Phineas, noticing the sudden aggression, says there may be something wrong with the tower. Ferb kicks off his shoes and unties himself with his feet, and then unties Phineas with his feet. The boys continue to struggle through different rooms, which have become more dangerous due to the tower being hit by Doofenshmirtz' Rude-Inator.

The timer outside begins counting down seconds. Baljeet, Isabella, and Buford casually acknowledge that time is almost out as Baljeet puts a bowl of water on Candace's left hand, Isabella puts a piece of cheese, a corkscrew, a pencil, a feather and an American flag in between Candace's toes and Buford draws an eye on the yellow sticky note on Candace's head. Phineas and Ferb finally dig their way out of the tower, arriving in the backyard. Baljeet, Buford, and Isabella run over to them and ask them how their experience inside was. The tower declares that it isn't done with the boys yet, trapping them in a dome which encases them with the tower.

Perry takes a taxi to Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. and puts a cork in the Rude-inator. He then jumps from the building and flies off in his para-glider.

Back at City Hall, Roger announces that his rudeness was simply a show he and the ambassador put on for the audience. Doofenshmirtz hastily presses the remote for his Rude-inator, causing it to backup and explode due to the cork. The crowd declares four more years for Roger as mayor. Realizing that the Rude-inator didn't hit Roger, Doofenshmirtz wonders what it did hit.

In the backyard, Buford tries to free Phineas and Ferb by hitting the dome with his mallet, unsuccessfully. Realizing the other children are Phineas and Ferb's friends, the tower encases them too. Remembering that the tower was programmed to trap them and their friends, Phineas cheekily informs the tower they have friends all over Danville. The tower retracts the dome and creates a bigger dome, trapping all of Danville inside it. Phineas then says they have friends all over the Tri-State area, and Ferb reminds him they have friends all over the world. The tower then encases the whole planet in the dome. Phineas tells the tower about Meap, commenting they have friends all over the galaxy. The tower shoots off into the sky, encasing the entire Milky Way Galaxy in the dome. Satisfied with the fact that the dome is far enough away to be relatively unnoticeable, the children then leave the tower alone. Unbeknownst to them, the galaxy-encasing dome has ironically prevented an alien invasion.

Songs

 * Quirky Worky Song (Lullaby Version)
 * Breaking Out

End Credits
First and last verse of Breaking Out

The "Too Young" Line
None.

What'cha doin'?
None.

Perry's entrance to his lair
Perry grabs a hoop and a box and throws the hoop in the air and enters the box which disappears.

Background Information

 * First time that Flynn-Fletcher Antique store was seen since "Phineas and Ferb's Quantum Boogaloo".
 * Candace was deeply asleep for the entire episode.
 * First time in the series that the other members of the gang turn down an offer from Phineas and Ferb to try out their invention.
 * While it is not seen, it is implied that Doofenshmirtz's Rude-Inator hit Phineas and Ferb's Tower, seeing as how Roger was only acting rude and the tower, according to Phineas, was programmed to be much nicer than it was being to them.
 * While entering the tower, Phineas says "auf Wiedersehen", the German word for "Goodbye".
 * When the tower puts its barrier around the Milky Way Galaxy, it did so in a matter of seconds, whereas light, the fastest-traveling known entity in the universe, would take 120,000 years simply to travel across the galaxy. This indicates that Phineas and Ferb have created technology capable of propelling objects far past the speed of light. Although, perhaps it should have been obvious this was in their capability as their Mars portal put them there in seconds when the planet is several light minutes away
 * The invaders' spaceships resemble paper airplanes. Furthermore, their physical behavior resembled that of paper airplanes as soon as they hit the barrier.
 * This episode marks the first time Roger talked in one of Doofenshmirtz's flashbacks.
 * Ferb is good with his feet when he untied the ropes he and Phineas were wrapped in.
 * This is the first time Phineas doesn't want Ferb to show off when he untied Phineas with his feet.
 * This is second time Phineas and Ferb escape from their own invention ("We Call it Maze").
 * Fourth time the boys build a tall tower ("Thaddeus and Thor", "The Doof Side of the Moon", "Candace Disconnected").
 * Third time the boys are chained ("Phineas and Ferb Get Busted!", "Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension").
 * Fourth episode with the name of Phineas in it ("The Fast and the Phineas", "Swiss Family Phineas", "Phineas' Birthday Clip-O-Rama!").
 * Second time Phineas and Ferb built a computer generated/controlled invention ("We Call it Maze").
 * The picture that Ferb holds when Phineas tells the tower about Meap is the same picture that Doofenshmirtz holds during the song "Brand New Best Friend" ("Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension")
 * When Phineas and Ferb get trapped under the dome, Phineas says "I'm feeling such an odd mixture of pride and mortal terror." This is what Doofenshmirtz said in "Phineas and Ferb-Busters!".
 * Candace mumbles to bust Phineas and Ferb while sleeping again ("Road Trip").
 * Third time someone plays with the ball in the "jail" ("Robot Rodeo", "Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension").
 * The Giant floating baby head makes another appearance.
 * Phineas and Ferb's invention comes to life thanks to Doofenshmirtz ("Day of the Living Gelatin")
 * The Teen Preen magazine was seen again ("Don't Even Blink", "Invasion of the Ferb Snatchers").
 * Second time that Doofenshmirtz built a machine for changing his brother's acts ("Misperceived Monotreme")
 * This is the third episode that Candace doesn't see Phineas and Ferb's Big idea ("Hail Doofania!", "Bullseye!").
 * Perry uses a magic trick to enter his lair again. ("Traffic Cam Caper")
 * Nostradamus is mentioned again ("Ain't No Kiddie Ride")

Production Information

 * This episode was aired on Disney Channel on Demand on October 14, 2011.
 * This is the second-longest an episode (along with "The Remains of the Platypus") has had its episodes air separatly.

International Premieres

 * February 12, 2012 (Disney XD Netherlands)
 * March 3, 2012 (Disney XD Canada)
 * March 9, 2012 (Family Channel)
 * April 7, 2012 (Disney Channel India)
 * April 23, 2012 (Disney Channel Brazil and Latin America)
 * May 1, 2012 (Disney Channel Portugal)
 * May 18, 2012 (Disney Channel Scandinavia)
 * December 2, 2012 (Disney XD Latin America)

Errors

 * Phineas pulls down the timer, but when he enters, the timer is in the "up" position.
 * When Phineas and Ferb were tied to the log, Ferb takes off his shoes and they fall, but he has them for the rest of the episode.
 * Buford's mallet suddenly appears in his hand. You can see this clearly right before he says "This sounds ill advised."
 * When the tower was covering the Milky Way, it would have taken a very long time to do so because there was no direct indication that it could surpass the speed of light.
 * After Phineas goes in the tower he has different clothes on then when he is seen the next time.
 * When Doofenshmirtz thinks Rodger has been hit by the inator, it is not possible that he could hit by the inator because no green flash zapped him.

Continuity

 * This is the second time Meap is mentioned in Season 3, also second time Meap is pictured. ("Phineas and Ferb: The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension")
 * The boys refer to their many friends and the many places they've been, including Meap and their trip around the world ("The Chronicles of Meap", "Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You!").

Allusions

 * 2001: A Space Odyssey- The sentient tower is inspired by the HAL 9000.
 * Star Wars- One of the traps is nearly identical to the trash compactor scene in A New Hope, right down to using a pole to stop it. Also, the alien ships at the end look similar to Imperial Star Destroyers.
 * The Great Escape - Phineas and Ferb are shown using small carts to squeeze through a small tunnel. This method is used in the movie as the means of escape. The boys are also shown bouncing a ball against the wall of a cell to pass time, which was also seen in "Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension".
 * The scenes in which Phineas and Ferb are tied to railroad tracks and a log about to be sawed parody popular concepts of the stereotypical damsel in distress as popularized by the cliffhanger melodramas of the early 20th century.
 * Indiana Jones - When Phineas and Ferb were trying to escape a hall with walls that have holes that shoot darts out of them. This is similar to a scene in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
 * Race To Witch Mountain - The scene where Phineas and Ferb where falling down the bottomless pit trap is similar to a scene in the 2009 movie.
 * Portal (Video Game) - The voice of the tower is a nod to the infamous GLaDOS.
 * Nostradamus - The name of history's greatest prognosticator is invoked.
 * 20th Century Boys - The eye symbol Buford draws on the note on Candace's face looks a lot like the logo of the cult leader "friend" (Tomodachi), the main antagonist of the manga 20th Century Boys

Cast

 * Vincent Martella as Phineas
 * Ashley Tisdale as Candace
 * Thomas Sangster as Ferb
 * Caroline Rhea as Mom
 * Alyson Stoner as Isabella
 * Bobby Gaylor as Buford
 * Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
 * Mitchel Musso as Jeremy
 * Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz
 * Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram
 * Richard O'Brien as Dad
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Perry
 * John O'Hurley as Roger Doofenshmirtz
 * Uncredited: Malcolm McDowell as the Tower
 * Additional voices: April Stewart, Beth Littleford, Eric Bauza, Jane Carr, Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, Madison Pettis, Todd Stashwick