VeggieTales Review: The Toy that Saved Christmas

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Good moral surrounded in fun story.

Cons: Animation is obviously early 90's.

The Bottom Line:

Christmas reminder

It's not about all the toys!

And it's fun to boot

Christmas Must for Me

The VeggieTales gang presents their first Christmas episode with The Toy That Saved Christmas. While graphics are poor, it will entertain the kids and parents willing to admit that these animated veggies are fun.

Christmas is coming, but the residents of Dinkletown aren't happy. The children are greedy, demanding more toys then all their friends. Mr. Nezzer isn't helping. He's designed a toy, Buzz-Saw Louie, which will help feed the greed and make him rich. But one of the Louies is convinced there's more to Christmas. Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomatoe, and Junior Asperigus, join him in his search for the truth. But, even if they find it, can they get the word out to others?

I was a little surprised last night while re-watching to discover just how much I love this VeggieTales story. Sure, the animation could be better by today's standards. When you remember that this was released in 1996 on a small budget, it puts things in perspective. The story itself has the right combination of fun and surprises to be entertaining. The story does a good job of contrasting the commercialism of the season with the real meaning, Jesus' birth. Still, it isn't preachy and the climax will keep anyone on the edge of their seats.

And anything with "Oh, Santa," one of my favorite silly songs, can't be all bad. It finds Larry waiting for Santa to come but instead being visited by a bank robber, Viking, and IRS agent.

Big Idea continues to do their DVD releases right. Creators Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer do another interesting and entertaining commentary. There's also a behind the scenes feature that includes interviews from some of the other 10 staff members who worked on this. Just don't watch these two back to back as there are several stories that are repeated. I was also thrilled to get the extra animation they did for the showing on PAX. Unfortunately, the PAX version doesn't have chapter breaks, but I'm definitely glad to have the option of which way I want to watch this story each year.

I've been watching this video every Christmas for several years now. It's won me over and I intend to enjoy it for years to come. Get The Toy That Saved Christmas today and share the true meaning of Christmas with your family.