Monday, July 21, 2003
Its veggie vs. machine in the funny future.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
In terms of plot originality, "The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment!" VeggieTales (Big Idea, 30 minutes) this script deserves a D.
But for executing the story line and entertainment value, it's an A all the way.
Quick-witted banter between our vegetable hosts Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber is interspersed with goofy skits, not to mention memorable music by Larry, Pa Grape, the French peas (we'll call them Freedom peas) and the Asparaguses, both Jr. and Archibald.
The story begins with Larry inviting Bob to wake up and smell the future.
"It's veggie vs. machine, Bob, and the machine has the upper hand," says Larry.
Two fedora-wearing robots with red bow ties deliver jokes with nonsensical punch lines. The robots play a significant role in the future -- a world with randomly generated jokes, where shows must survive without theme songs.
Wheel of Veggies
The supporting cast is tied to a Wheel of Veggies. When the wheel stops on a veggie, he steps out and sings a tune. Pa Grape sings about biblical dwarves (poor Zacchaeus) and about a donkey named Sal.
"Sal, you're on my foot," he whines at the end.
The best segment features an aardvark named Binky who puts Luciano Pavarotti to shame. (Is anyone really surprised that aardvarks sing opera better than humans?)
In the end, Bob says he doesn't like what he's seen of the future.
"It's the worst day of my show business career," said the tomato, who's known to be overly dramatic. He wonders if anything has been learned from the exercise.
Best to grab a tissue here because Jr. sings a tearjerker tune about how good it is to know that God loves him. It's night and he's in bed, reflecting on his day. (How come he's always in bed when he croons emotional like Celine Dion?)
After that, there's only one thing Larry can say: Goodbye future.
Although the episode doesn't have the sophisticated wit that has kept adults glued to previous segments, children will thoroughly enjoy this new veggie offering, peas and all.