Last year, Indiana Jones fans got a big treat in the form of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This year, those fans who also happen to like VeggieTales got a golden nugget with Minnesota Cuke and the Search of Noah’s Umbrella, the second Veggie video in which Larry the Cucumber dons the famous fedora in order to go on an epic, cryptic quest.
While the first of these videos, Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson’s Hairbrush,
includes a shorter story to complement the main adventure, this outing
is all Minnesota, except for the countertop framework and the
intermission provided by the Silly Song, the somewhat operatic Sippy Cup,
which relates especially well to the theme of confidence in the face of
being teased by one’s peers. This theme also complements the first
installment well, since the focus that time was on bullies.
The issue that prompts Bob to share another Minnesota Cuke story is that
Larry is distraught because some strangers ridiculed him for praying
before eating lunch at Burger Bell. Like Larry, Minnesota (Minn for
short) often does things that result in his getting laughed at, and he’s
sick of it. So when an eccentric (read: “loony and rich”) entrepreneur
(Mr. Nezzer) comes to him with a task that will help him open a
Bible-themed goldfish pond, he wants no part of it… until he learns that
his former enemy but current friend, Professor Rattan (Mr. Lunt), has
already disappeared in the quest to find Noah’s Ark. Now it’s personal,
and with a stop off in Mexico to enlist the aid of his ladylove Julia
(Petunia), he sets off on a journey that will require ingenuity, bravery
and a willingness to look a little silly.
Like Samson’s Hairbrush,
which was also written by Tim Hodge, this is a beautifully detailed
mini-movie, a lovingly lavish ode to Indy and his ilk. There are secret
codes to crack, globe-trotting to do and perilous situations to narrowly
escape, and many of the funniest moments are aimed especially at those
familiar with those adventure films. At the same time, it’s a lesson in
the story of Noah’s Ark, and to the nostalgic delight or eye-rolling
annoyance to anyone who’s ever attended Sunday school, that means hefty
doses of the never-ending ballad best known as The Arky Arky Song.
Also, I wonder if the way this film’s antagonist, the wily Wicker,
ridiculously misreads a top-secret filmstrip is meant as a subtle dig at
The Da Vinci Code, or at least those who are obsessed with searching for hidden meanings where none likely exist.
Noah’s Umbrella
contains all of the elements important to a Veggie video, most notably a
solid message and heaps of humor. It’s slyly self-referential,
especially during one conversation about the legitimacy of cartoons as a
source of information, and the visual gags are fantastic, particularly
in the movie theater scene, which has all the slapsticky brilliance of a
British three-door farce. Wicker gets in some devious tongue twisters,
Minn’s assistant Martin (Bob) inspires a groan-worthy pun and Minn and
Julia share a catchy, albeit only semi-comprehensible, Spanish song
about ice cream.
If you love VeggieTales, if you love Indiana Jones, and especially if you love them both, you really must have a look at Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella as well as its predecessor. The two fit together as flawlessly as a fedora on the shiny bald head of a cucumber.
Showing posts with label Indiana Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indiana Jones. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Minnesota Gives Indiana a Run For His Money
I arrived home the other day to a delightful surprise: a VeggieTales
ambassador kit containing promotional materials and a preview copy of Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson’s Hairbrush.
I have to get busy distributing the activity packs and seeing about
showing the movie at church before its release date the end of next
month. But first I need to record my impressions of the latest offering
from my favorite brand of Christian entertainment.
The show begins, as most do, with a letter, though in this case it winds up being two letters, both addressing the same distressing topic: bullies. I recently saw an episode of Dr. Phil in which his battered young guests received a shot of encouragement from the exquisite Clay Aiken, who has never hidden the fact that before his rapid rise to stardom he was looked upon as a loser by many of his peers. By the time he left high school, he’d learned how to stand tall in the face of bullies, and I think he would heartily appreciate the episode’s message. I, meanwhile, would heartily appreciate the possibility of a guest appearance by him in a future video. If Rebecca St.-James can do it, why not Clay? A girl can dream.
Anyway, the topic at hand is bullies, and who better to demonstrate that affliction than juvenile goody-goody Junior Asparagus? Some folks don’t care much for Junior because of his preciousness, not to mention the self-righteousness he displays in several episodes. I, however, still think he’s darn cute, and his segment of this show is most enjoyable. It plays a bit like A Christmas Story as we are treated to visions of his wild imagination. In these daydreams, he fills the shoes of Robin Hood (accompanied by some marvelous minstrel music), a star quarterback and a starship captain. But his real-life problem is as daunting as any his overactive imagination can cook up. With a little help from his dad and his friends (among them, the adorable bespectacled Annie, who rather resembles me), he comes to a conclusion by the end of the tale about how to deal with a particularly ferocious bully so that he can get back to his merry-making on the playground. Keep an ear out for a soft echo of Little Guys Can Do Big Things Too from Dave and the Giant Pickle as Junior, inspired by something greater than Garrison Keillor’s famed powder milk biscuits, goes out and does what needs to be done. Incidentally – and I may have mentioned this in my review of Duke and the Great Pie War because I was so impressed with it just from the preview – Junior has a really cool tree house. It’s just your basic tree house, really, I suppose, but I envy him. I always wanted one but never had a tree big enough to support it. Oh, well, that’s a subject for another episode, I suppose…
For the astute observer, a scene near the beginning of Junior’s escapades provides us with a glimpse of the next segment, a Silly Song entitled Pizza Angel. It’s reminiscent of His Cheeseburger, in which Mr. Lunt croons passionately about Jerry Gourd’s unrequited love affair with a cheeseburger. Here, Larry is doing the singing for himself, moaning about the fact that his beloved pizza is taking far too long to arrive. The tragic ballad recalls such maudlin fare as Leader of the Pack, while I assume the title is a play on Johnny Angel. Larry sings with such gusto, you’re likely to catch your tummy rumbling just a bit by the end of the song. You may even be inspired to order a pizza yourself – or, given the outcome of the song, perhaps it’s more likely you will be dissuaded from your next attempt at a quick and yummy meal. Kudos to the ever-savvy lyricist for the reference to ordering pizza online.
Minnesota Cuke (Larry) is the main attraction, and he draws us in right from the outset, clutching a golden carrot while he frantically sleds away from the noseless snowman head relentlessly pursuing him. As if sudden near-avalanches aren’t enough, he has to deal with Professor Rattan (Mr. Lunt), who has undermined every mission he’s ever undertaken. In fact, their rivalry dates all the way back to early elementary school, when Rattan replaced the gummy worms in Minnesota’s lunch with real worms, fostering a lifelong hatred of the invertebrates akin to Indiana Jones’ ophidiophobia. (What a cumbersome word to describe “fear of snakes” I think I fear the word more!)
This is not Minnesota’s first appearance. He also starred in a video game, which I admired but never wound up buying. Maybe one of these days. I hope he becomes a recurring character like Larry-Boy. His posse includes his assistant Martin (Bob), a pair of barbers (of Seville) and the lovely Julia, apparently sliding into being typecast as Larry’s love interest, which is basically a new direction for VeggieTales. She was first seen as Petunia in Duke and the Great Pie War. I wouldn’t be shocked if she showed up in the next video as an elf maiden with a name suspiciously similar to Arwen. The two have great chemistry in this adventure, and we’re treated to several exciting feats of daring-do in which both are participants. The soundtrack is inspiring, with its swelling heroic backdrops, including a nod to the all-time most popular Silly Song.
I found it amusing that this adventure revolves around Niagara Falls. We just visited the falls last weekend with our exchange student, Cathi, who had to settle for the American side due to visa complications. Thanks to the Maid of the Mist, however, she managed to get a pretty up close and personal look at both majestic waterfalls. Every time I visit Niagara Falls, I am reminded of Superman II and that delightful scene in which he rescues a child who falls over the railing; as he flies her up to safety, an elderly woman in the crowd comments, “What a nice man!” One would think that such a national landmark – not to mention the honeymoon capitol of the world – would make an ideal location for many a movie, but the only other film reference we could come up with was Bruce Almighty. Now I have another movie to add to my flimsy arsenal. I have a feeling I’m missing a lot of movies…
VeggieTales is usually pretty good about rewarding those fans who are faithful enough to sit through the credits, and in this case those who persevere are rewarded with the Minnesota Cuke theme song, performed by bluegrass legend Charlie Daniels. It all adds up to a wildly entertaining ride, one of the best Veggie offerings yet, making me even more optimistic about their November release – one video to rule them all.
The show begins, as most do, with a letter, though in this case it winds up being two letters, both addressing the same distressing topic: bullies. I recently saw an episode of Dr. Phil in which his battered young guests received a shot of encouragement from the exquisite Clay Aiken, who has never hidden the fact that before his rapid rise to stardom he was looked upon as a loser by many of his peers. By the time he left high school, he’d learned how to stand tall in the face of bullies, and I think he would heartily appreciate the episode’s message. I, meanwhile, would heartily appreciate the possibility of a guest appearance by him in a future video. If Rebecca St.-James can do it, why not Clay? A girl can dream.
Anyway, the topic at hand is bullies, and who better to demonstrate that affliction than juvenile goody-goody Junior Asparagus? Some folks don’t care much for Junior because of his preciousness, not to mention the self-righteousness he displays in several episodes. I, however, still think he’s darn cute, and his segment of this show is most enjoyable. It plays a bit like A Christmas Story as we are treated to visions of his wild imagination. In these daydreams, he fills the shoes of Robin Hood (accompanied by some marvelous minstrel music), a star quarterback and a starship captain. But his real-life problem is as daunting as any his overactive imagination can cook up. With a little help from his dad and his friends (among them, the adorable bespectacled Annie, who rather resembles me), he comes to a conclusion by the end of the tale about how to deal with a particularly ferocious bully so that he can get back to his merry-making on the playground. Keep an ear out for a soft echo of Little Guys Can Do Big Things Too from Dave and the Giant Pickle as Junior, inspired by something greater than Garrison Keillor’s famed powder milk biscuits, goes out and does what needs to be done. Incidentally – and I may have mentioned this in my review of Duke and the Great Pie War because I was so impressed with it just from the preview – Junior has a really cool tree house. It’s just your basic tree house, really, I suppose, but I envy him. I always wanted one but never had a tree big enough to support it. Oh, well, that’s a subject for another episode, I suppose…
For the astute observer, a scene near the beginning of Junior’s escapades provides us with a glimpse of the next segment, a Silly Song entitled Pizza Angel. It’s reminiscent of His Cheeseburger, in which Mr. Lunt croons passionately about Jerry Gourd’s unrequited love affair with a cheeseburger. Here, Larry is doing the singing for himself, moaning about the fact that his beloved pizza is taking far too long to arrive. The tragic ballad recalls such maudlin fare as Leader of the Pack, while I assume the title is a play on Johnny Angel. Larry sings with such gusto, you’re likely to catch your tummy rumbling just a bit by the end of the song. You may even be inspired to order a pizza yourself – or, given the outcome of the song, perhaps it’s more likely you will be dissuaded from your next attempt at a quick and yummy meal. Kudos to the ever-savvy lyricist for the reference to ordering pizza online.
Minnesota Cuke (Larry) is the main attraction, and he draws us in right from the outset, clutching a golden carrot while he frantically sleds away from the noseless snowman head relentlessly pursuing him. As if sudden near-avalanches aren’t enough, he has to deal with Professor Rattan (Mr. Lunt), who has undermined every mission he’s ever undertaken. In fact, their rivalry dates all the way back to early elementary school, when Rattan replaced the gummy worms in Minnesota’s lunch with real worms, fostering a lifelong hatred of the invertebrates akin to Indiana Jones’ ophidiophobia. (What a cumbersome word to describe “fear of snakes” I think I fear the word more!)
This is not Minnesota’s first appearance. He also starred in a video game, which I admired but never wound up buying. Maybe one of these days. I hope he becomes a recurring character like Larry-Boy. His posse includes his assistant Martin (Bob), a pair of barbers (of Seville) and the lovely Julia, apparently sliding into being typecast as Larry’s love interest, which is basically a new direction for VeggieTales. She was first seen as Petunia in Duke and the Great Pie War. I wouldn’t be shocked if she showed up in the next video as an elf maiden with a name suspiciously similar to Arwen. The two have great chemistry in this adventure, and we’re treated to several exciting feats of daring-do in which both are participants. The soundtrack is inspiring, with its swelling heroic backdrops, including a nod to the all-time most popular Silly Song.
I found it amusing that this adventure revolves around Niagara Falls. We just visited the falls last weekend with our exchange student, Cathi, who had to settle for the American side due to visa complications. Thanks to the Maid of the Mist, however, she managed to get a pretty up close and personal look at both majestic waterfalls. Every time I visit Niagara Falls, I am reminded of Superman II and that delightful scene in which he rescues a child who falls over the railing; as he flies her up to safety, an elderly woman in the crowd comments, “What a nice man!” One would think that such a national landmark – not to mention the honeymoon capitol of the world – would make an ideal location for many a movie, but the only other film reference we could come up with was Bruce Almighty. Now I have another movie to add to my flimsy arsenal. I have a feeling I’m missing a lot of movies…
VeggieTales is usually pretty good about rewarding those fans who are faithful enough to sit through the credits, and in this case those who persevere are rewarded with the Minnesota Cuke theme song, performed by bluegrass legend Charlie Daniels. It all adds up to a wildly entertaining ride, one of the best Veggie offerings yet, making me even more optimistic about their November release – one video to rule them all.
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