Though Halloween isn't for another three weeks, while working at the
mall today, I saw a little girl of three or four prancing down the
concourse in a sparkling blue and white checkered dress with matching
hair bows and a dazzling pair of red slippers. Completing the glittery
ensemble was a small basket clutched in her fist and containing a
stuffed Toto-sized dog. As she knelt by my kiosk and delightedly studied
the Wizard of Oz calendar, I couldn't help but wonder if this adorable young Dorothy would approve of The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's,
the latest VeggieTales feature from innovative Christian company Big
Idea. After all, there is no pig-tailed Gale singing wistfully and
clicking her heels together. Indeed, the hero has no heels to click together because he is an asparagus. But that doesn't make his journey any less magical...
Darby is the son of a poor farmer, and as the tale opens upon a dusty,
sepia-drenched Kansas landscape, he is disgusted by his father's
response to his plea to visit the Land of Ha's, a fantastic amusement
park a neighbor told him about. Determined to see this place for himself
immediately despite his dad's desperate financial straits, he snatches
up his college fund and takes off with his little pig Tutu for a grand
adventure that will look very familiar to anyone who has ever seen The Wizard of Oz or read the Biblical story of the prodigal son.
Several previous Veggie installments have put a new twist on a tale
from the Bible: Joseph and Moses in the Old West; Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego in a bunny factory; Naomi and Ruth in the Middle Ages. Others
have used classic literature and pop culture to illustrate
Judeo-Christian values: Don Quixote and Sherlock Holmes for being a good friend; Indiana Jones for turning the other cheek; Lord of the Rings
for using one's gifts wisely. But this is really the first time that
both things have happened at once, and the result is a surprisingly
seamless fusion of stories. I never realized how perfectly the
narratives lend themselves to one another, but it really works.
As in so many other Veggie adventures, little Junior Asparagus is the
protagonist, which makes the story extra accessible right off the bat,
since he is such an Everykid. His patient, affectionate dad comes into
the series often, always gently guiding his son along the right path,
though Junior, even in the guise of Darby, needs a little first-hand
experience before the message really sinks in. While Mom Asparagus
doesn't show up as the Auntie Em figure, nearly every other major
character from the 1939 film gets a nod, from the
farmhands/scarecrow-tin man-lion (Mr. Lunt, Larry and Pa Grape) and the
Munchkins (French Peas) to Glinda (Madame Blueberry), the Wicked Witch
(the bully from Minnesota Cuke) and the Wizard (Archibald).
Whenever an homage to the film is possible, this feature makes it,
while throwing in such silly jokes as a cameo from Mary Poppins in the
twister scene. Visually, it couldn't be more appealing, from Darby's
rickety farm and the dazzling pint-sized town in which he lands to the
mesmerizing field of puppies and the exhilarating Land of Ha's. There's
an abundance of music in this installment, with spoofs of Wizard of Oz tunes Somewhere Over the Rainbow, The Munchkin Land Song, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, We're Off to See the Wizard, Optimistic Voices and The Merry Old Land of Oz.
It's one of the funniest Veggie offerings in quite a while, with so
many Oz-related sight gags, puns and all manner of silliness. Speaking
of which, I adore the silly song, which is much simpler in terms of
lyrics, props and instrumentation than most recent efforts have been; in
this case, less is more as, with a jungle beat background, Larry, on
safari with Bob, explains the difference between a monkey and an ape,
while Bob doubts Larry's logic. The lively back-and-forth is reminiscent
of such back-and-forth bantering numbers as The Dance of the Cucumber and I Love My Duck, and it's the most likely song on this DVD to get stuck in your head all week.
Of course, in this midst of all this zaniness, there is the parable of
the prodigal son, which really has a two-fold message: not to squander
your parents' - and God's - blessings, and not to be afraid to return
and ask forgiveness. There's a not-so-subtle subtext involving healthy
eating habits that parents should appreciate; the crop that Darby's
father harvests is dental floss, while the tantalizing cotton candy the
lion craves gives him a stomachache after he overindulges.
This is probably the last Veggie video that fans will get before the
arrival of the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything movie on the big screen in
January. It's probably not an accident that the scarecrow, tin man and
lion are portrayed by that same lovably lazy trio; their charming roles
in The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's just whet my appetite for the main entree. If it's anywhere near as exceptional as this, we're in for quite a treat!
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