A couple weeks ago, I had a crazy idea. Rather than take the bus, I
decided to walk to my job at the mall, a four-mile trek through several
busy intersections, construction and, on this particular day, a
torrential downpour. It wasn’t raining when I left, but the sky was
threatening enough that a logical person would have stayed home. I kept
going even though I tripped on the sidewalk and banged up my knees and
scratched up my hand within the first fifteen minutes of the walk. In
the end, it took me more than two hours to walk to work, and I got there
soaking wet and aching. To reward myself for my tenacity, I stopped in
the Christian bookstore and picked up the VeggieTales episode that had
just come out a few days before. Ironically, the theme of The Sumo of the Opera turned out to be perseverance.
The episode starts with Bob on the countertop, explaining that Larry
won’t be present because he is off helping kids at a toy drive. All too
soon, however, we get a phone call from Larry, who trots out a long list
of woes brought about by confusing bus schedules (am I ever with you
there, mate!) and announces that he’s giving up and coming home.
Appalled at this idea, Bob begs Larry to stay on the line while he tries
to convince him to go through with his mission.
The first
attempt comes courtesy of Lutfi, a sock puppet of indeterminate
nationality who is assisting Bob in Larry’s absence. He proudly presents
a short film about perseverance entitled Going Up!. This amusing
little interlude features Larry, Mr. Lunt and Jerry Gourd as the
bumbling employees of Mr. Nezzer. The three, decked out in Stoogesque
garb, must get a piano to the top of a very large staircase in order to
deliver it to the waiting recipient. As might be imagined, this is no
easy task, and before long Larry is on his own to finish the job. While
his friends fritter away the day at the foot of the stairs, he puts
forth the necessary effort and reaps the rewards of persistence.
Unfortunately, this little object lesson happens to be a silent film, so
it is of no help to Larry, who is still on the line but rapidly running
out of quarters.
As Bob searches for a more appropriate story, it’s a perfect time for Silly Songs With Larry. Except in this case, it’s Schoolhouse Polka With Larry,
whose contents can be guessed at rather easily. This particular lesson
involves homophones, and Larry boisterously rattles off pairs of
homophones with his accordion in hand and Buddy Holly glasses firmly
perched on his nose. After this schoolhouse rock parody, we get four
previews of the next installment instead of the usual one, and Larry is
quite exhausted by the time it’s all over. The announcer for the song
never shows his face but is some distinguished British personage other
than Archibald Asparagus, whom we do finally get to see in the main
story.
Next up is Lutfi’s Fanciful Flannelgraph, which
tells the story of St. Patrick in the traditional Sunday School format. I
knew about this portion of the show but not its subject, so I was
pleasantly surprised. The style is very different from typical Veggie
fare, but it is enjoyable nonetheless – though its depiction of the
Irish before their conversion as dimwits who bowed to twigs could be
mildly offensive to some. It has less to do with perseverance than Going Up! but does applaud St. Patrick’s willingness to go back and preach to those who captured him as a youth.
At last, Bob produces the title story. Narrated by a chorus of Japanese
wrestlers a la the Mikado, it follows the exploits of Larry in the role
of the Italian Scallion, a goofball wrestler who never finishes
anything he starts, including the repairs on his young friend Hadrian’s
bike. When he learns that wrestling the monstrous Apollo Gourd could win
him a state of the art Tiger bicycle to give Hadrian instead, he
decides to take on the challenge. But he isn’t prepared for the work
that accompanies such an undertaking.
The story is riddled with references to Rocky,
including a very funny appearance by Po Tato, a Mr. T. look-alike. “I
pity the clown!” he says of the Italian Scallion before succumbing to
his madcap charm. Most of the major Veggie players are here in one form
or another. Bob shows up as a local obsessed with collecting
recyclables. Pa is the Scallion’s ornery trainer. Jimmy and Jerry are a
sports commentator / cameraman team, and Archibald pops up now and then
with exposition festively displayed on silkscreen. Like Rocky, Larry
faces a formidable opponent and must train as hard as he possibly can if
he ever hopes to prevail. “I’ve gotta keep my eye on the tiger!” he
proclaims after Hadrian’s faith in him inspires him to continue. His
training includes making his way up the down escalator and crushing
recyclables with his hopping stomp. They also manage to sneak in
references to The Karate Kid and The Princess Bride. All in all, a very well-done parody with a worthwhile lesson to boot.
I’m not sure if I like Sumo of the Opera quite as much as A Snoodle’s Tale;
that one really knocked my socks off. But this latest Veggie
installment is a fine one and leaves me eagerly awaiting the next effort
by the most talented team of Christians around.
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