VeggieTales Review: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Some laughs and great puns

Cons: Problems solved a little too easily

The Bottom Line:

Facing down bullies

Not a hat but fedora

Bit simple still fun

"Worms!  Why Does It Have to be Worms!"

Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush is a 2005 entry in the popular VeggieTales series. This series uses computer animated vegetables to teach kids (and adults who enjoy the silly humor) Biblical lessons about every day life.

As this particular episode opens, series hosts Larry the Cucumber and a slightly bullied Bob the Tomato are trying to decide who gets to read a letter from a viewer. It turns out not to matter because both letters deal with the problem of bullies. And Bob is ready with two stories for us.

"Bully Trouble" is up first. It finds Junior Asparagus is faced with a bully that doesn't want to share the neighborhood playground. Will his daydreams help? Or will a talk with his father set him on the right path?

Our main feature is the title. Our hero, Minnesota Cuke (Larry), is on a quest to find Samson's hairbrush and gain its power to defeat all the bullies of the world before it falls into the wrong hands. Like the Canadians who want to control both sides of Niagara Falls. ("They have the best side already anyway.") Or his old nemesis Professor Rattan (Mr. Lunt). But will Minnesota turn into a bully himself? And does the hairbrush really have Samson's strength?

And of course, I can't forget the silly song. Sandwiched in between the two stories, "Pizza Angel" is the tragic tale of Larry late at night waiting for the pizza that he ordered hours ago to arrive. Yes, it's silly and likely to make you laugh. But it seems to me to be a poor imitation of the superior (and classic) "His Cheeseburger" only with an 80's pop feel this time. It's fun, but not that best silly song they've done.

Overall, this is another fun release in the Veggie series. The first story is aimed more at the kids, but there are still some great puns that tickled my funny bone. The puns came much faster in the second video. And fans of the Indiana Jones series will love the many spoofs from that franchise. In fact, having just rewatched that trilogy recently, I caught so many more then I did back in 2005.

However, the climaxes of both stories seem too easy to me. Don't get me wrong, I think the moral of the video is wonderful. Taken from the Sermon on the Mount, it is a reminder to turn the other cheek and pray for our enemies. There is even some talk about the strength to be meek. All of it is great stuff that kids and adults (or at least this one) need to be reminded about. But when our heroes practice that on the bullies, the bully immediately backs down. I've found it never works that quickly in real life. Okay, so they don't have the time in a 45 minute video to fully show that some people take meekness as a license to walk all over you. But a less then happy ending to one of the stories would have been nice.

The DVD itself is what I expected with sharp full frame picture, surround sound, commentaries (studio and a veggie one again), behind the scenes, Easter eggs, and activities for families to do together.

I think I'm just expecting too much from a video aimed at the pre-school and early elementary set. If your kids like the Veggies, they'll enjoy this offering. And chances are most adults will get a kick out of watching the main story/spoof in Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush.