I’m always happy to see that a new VeggieTales video is about to be released. I got wind of Sweetpea Beauty
early in the summer, so I knew that I would have another helping of
computer-animated Veggie goodness to look forward to. This particular
installment, like Esther of several years ago, specifically
targets a female audience, though the kitchentop sequence largely
concerns Larry the Cucumber’s self-image issues, which evens things out a
bit. Nonetheless, both stories in Sweetpea Beauty are very much in the tradition of Disney’s princess tales, and most of the major characters are female.
Petunia and Annie, two of the series’ most sedate characters, take the
lead in running the show after they find Larry bemoaning his silly
appearance. Of all the Veggies, I probably relate most to Annie, a quiet
youngster with glasses and short brown hair, and she is one of the most
little-used characters in the series, so I was pleased to see her here.
Petunia, meanwhile, has become increasingly prominent since her first
appearance in Duke and the Great Pie War, usually appearing as a
level-headed foil for goofball Larry. There also tends to be a hint of
romance in their interaction with each other, though this is generally
underplayed. At this point, she has probably become the main female
character in the series, eclipsing even Laura Carrot, young Junior
Asparagus’s best friend, and vain Madame Blueberry.
Snoodlerella, the first of two stories presented in this video, is a companion piece to A Snoodle’s Tale,
which came out in 2004. Both are set in the same whimsical world
populated by strange beings who look a bit like gourds with wings, and
both are narrated by an unseen Bob the Tomato in a style strongly
influenced by Dr. Seuss.
Snoodlerella is a pretty straightforward retelling of the story of Cinderella,
but in this case, the young Snoodle for whom the tale is named does not
escape the ball at the stroke of midnight. Instead, though the homely
girl’s clothes are reduced to rags and her glasses and braces return,
she receives a special audience with the wise King, who informs her that
she is beautiful just the way she is. Although this story is populated
with unfamiliar characters, most children watching will be able to
connect them with the Cinderella tale, and longtime Veggie fans will
enjoy this trip back into the world of Snoodles, complete with the voice
of Tim Hodge, who brings a regal warmth to a character who was
previously only heard.
The Silly Song is a rather dizzying ditty called Pants
that calls for Larry, a salesman on the Veggie Shopping Network, to
sing a song convincing home viewers to buy pants from him. This is an
especially silly concept because Veggies, lacking legs, do not wear
traditional two-legged pants. It goes with the theme of the video well
because it has to do with society trying to push a certain brand of
beauty upon people. It’s also the only part of the episode primarily
featuring male characters. It’s a fun song, but it’s also rather
annoying; while that emphasizes the point that such sales pitches
probably are best ignored, it also makes for a Silly Song that probably
isn’t going to attain Classic status.
The title segment, Sweetpea Beauty, is an homage to any number of fairy tales. While it borrows most heavily from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and, to a lesser extent, Sleeping Beauty, fairy tale fans will also recognize references to such stories as The Princess and the Pea, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Rapunzel, along with what I took to be a nod to the Danny Kaye comedy The Court Jester. Additionally, much of the story is narrated by a pair of singing minstrels played by Jerry Gourd and Mr. Lunt.
Petunia plays Sweetpea Beauty, the kind-hearted commoner whose best
friend is Prince Larry. Little does she or the prince realize that the
misguided queen (Madame Blueberry), under the advisement of a sinister
magic mirror, plans to give her an everlasting sleeping potion so that
she will never be a threat to her sovereignty in this kingdom where the
crown can only be worn by the fairest woman in the land. While Sweetpea
is as lovely as any fairy tale princess, it’s her inner beauty - and her
ability to see the beauty in all things, from mud puddles to skunks -
that is celebrated throughout the story, and that’s what the insecure
queen must struggle to understand as she decides whether or not to take
the mirror’s advice.
As with the rest of the Veggie videos, Sweetpea Beauty
features excellent animation, upbeat music, zany humor, memorable
characters and an important lesson. In this case, the message is that
God made each person beautiful in his or her own way and that traits
like kindness and faithfulness are more important than physical
appearances. While I do think that this particular video might appeal
less to boys than most, Larry’s antics throughout the video, along with
Sweetpea’s tomboyish tendencies, make this a Veggie outing likely to
entertain anyone who isn’t turned off by all the princess talk.
No comments:
Post a Comment