by Rating:
[rate 4.5]
Larry-Boy is back in this explosive new tale about fighting temptation. If you’re not familiar with the Larry-Boy series, the character was first shown in VeggieTales’ Dave and the Giant Pickle. Larry the Cucumber was dressing up as a superhero because he thought it made him special.
Fast forward a few episodes and Larry is staring in his own video– Larry-Boy and the Fib from Outer Space. Larry-Boy tends to battle with physical manifestations of a sinful activity. In this incarnation he is battling against temptation in the form of a Bad Apple.
The story basically is set in Bumblyburg waiting for the third centenial celebration. The Bad Apple has arrived on the scene to try to take over Bumblyburg by exploiting the temptations in the town’s three main pillars– organization in the form of Mayor Blueberry, communication in the form of Petunia Rhubarb, and protection in the form of Larry-Boy.
She then launches a plan spinning webs of temptation. Blueberry, preoccupied with her looks, it sent into a web trying to look glamorous. Petunia is tempted into a game that looks a lot like Tron. Larry-Boy is tempted into a place that looks like Wonka’s Chocolate Factory– complete with the Bad Apple wearing a Wonka-style hat. Alfred is tempted by his favorite TV show.
Alfred and Larry-Boy team up to get out of their respective temptations and discover than a sports drink kills the webs. Just as the Bad Apple is launching her plot, Larry-Boy frees the others and is able to defeat the Apple, flinging the whole thing out of town.
Larry-Boy and Alfred took over the counter top sequence, pushing Bob out of the way, and at the end Bob makes a return claiming that he now is a Super-hero, though he can’t decide on a name. When he goes to play his theme song, the “What We Have Learned” song plays.
Larry-Boy tells Bob that he will show him how to do a theme song, and this is the only part of this VeggieTales episode I find objectionable. They styled the latest incarnation of the Larry-Boy song on a rock band (Shucks– of corn). It is very hard on percussion. I could have done without this segment (just as I could have done without the other music videos Larry-Boy has had in the past).
Other music, like Bad Apple’s song, is very well done, and it was an enjoyable show on the whole. While it is certainly true that friends can help you avoid temptation, the part about God helping overcome temptation or providing the way of escape seems to be overlooked, or certainly a background story. This may have done to increase the Larry-Boy appeal outside fundamental Christian circles.
Those Big Idea guys should pay you for promoting their stuff! Honestly, I went to the Big Idea site via this one, and was excited to see that a Veggie Tales movie is planned for theaters in early 2008! We’re always on the look out for family friendly movies at the theater…and VT’s Jonah made $25 million…maybe one of these days family friendly movies will be the standard instead of the exception! Thanks for the review of the Bad Apple.
They definitely seem to be building up for the next movie. The next show, Gideon, will have the pirates taking over the counter top to tell the story. The throw-away line from the trailer was “And I thought that Gideon just put Bibles in hotel rooms!”
I asked Big Idea if they’d let me use the images on their site or be an affiliate, and they could not give me permission at this time. Perhaps after they see some reviews.
That’s a hilarious line!
They do have some good ones!