VeggieTales Review: A Snoodle's Tale

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Fun spoofs with a powerful and Biblical moral

Cons: Silly Song "Sport Utility Vehicle"

The Bottom Line:

The wonderful spoofs

Teach a Biblical moral

With plenty of fun

The Value of a Snoodle...and You

VeggieTales has become a household name in Christian circles thanks to its great Biblical messages delivered with loads of fun. The series features computer animated veggies who retell Bible stories or participates in spoofs of classic stories. All the while, they are teaching Biblical truths. But they aren't dry Sunday School lessons. There is plenty of laughs for kids of any age. This volume features the standard two segments, both literary spoofs, and a new Silly Song.

A Snoodle's Tale opens with host Bob the Tomato waiting anxiously for Larry the Cucumber to return from Danish immersion camp (a cool tie in to the last video, The Ballad of Little Joe). They have a story to tell that needs Larry's new skills. Unfortunately, he got lost the first day and wound up in " Overdone British Literary Adaptations Camp." All this leads us to the first segment.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jiggle and Mr. Sly," is a hilarious spoof of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I love the original, and this adaptation is great for kids. There's nothing scary here as we learn the truth about the mysterious new Mr. Sly, a wonderful disco dancer who has started appearing at night in the allies of London. They do try a few "scary" moments, usually involving the appearance of hands and feet (none of the characters have them). The lesson is about being true to ourselves, and their new spin on the classic story makes that lesson work.

We take a break for the newest Silly Song, "Sport Utility Vehicle." It's a lovely duet about how wonderful SUV's are for such things as driving across town to get donuts. It's not the funniest one they've done. Of course, as a small SUV owner, maybe I'm just finding the song hits a little too close to home to be funny? I don't know, but this isn't their best work. It is the only weak link in the video, and since it is only 3 minutes, it's not that big a deal.

Finally we come to the title story. In classic Dr. Seuss fashion, we get a wonderful parable surrounding the newest Snoodle who is trying to figure out where he fits in. When others make fun of his efforts to try things like art and flying, he begins to get discouraged. Can anyone help him see himself differently?

This last story is a powerful reminder that we all need to hear from time to time no matter how young or old we are. And it is incredibly done. It is in every way an homage to Dr. Seuss between the rhyming style and invented words in the text to the lush look of the animation. It features bright colors and images that would have fit in one of his books. The Snoodles are inventive creatures like nothing we've seen before. They've got the bodies of a gourd with wings and hands.

When I'd first heard that this episode would be about self-worth, I was a little concerned about what they would say. I shouldn't have been. The guys at Big Idea continue to study the Bible very closely to come up with their messages, and the reminder that our self-worth comes straight from our loving Creator because He loves us is Biblically sound. I would have picked a different verse for the wrap up at the end (which also features a hilarious joke about a camp that Bob previously visited), but I'm being nit picky at this point.

As usual, this DVD is packed with fun stuff for everyone. At the end of the feature is "Flibber-o-loo," the other Dr. Seuss inspired Veggie segment. For the adult fans, there is a behind the scenes documentary and an audio commentary. Kids will enjoy the trivia game, interactive storybook, write the rhyme game, and more. And you simply must look for the Easter Eggs. There is some truly funny stuff hidden in a couple of them. Picture looks sharp in full frame and the full surround is wonderful.

In case you haven't figured it out, I love A Snoodle's Tale. It's easily in the top five and fighting for first with An Easter Carol.