Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

We all know the classic tale of a little girl’s journey to see the Wizard of Oz, meeting strange friends with their own desires that they all feel the wizard can fill…or at very least most of us have seen the Hollywood rendition of the story with Judy Garland as Dorothy. Yes, that’s all well and good…but the tornado and that Wicked Witch of the West can be pretty scary to little kids (and I thought some of those Munchkins were rather creepy)…and where’s the Christian moral embedded in the story? Obviously The Wizard of Oz was not made with the idea of teaching Christian boys and girls important lessons, but the veggies are out to change that!

VeggieTales is well-known for creating fun, witty shows with a definite Christian moral for their young audiences…but don’t be fooled, it may be aimed at young audiences but all ages can sure enjoy these movies! Now in The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s we see the story of Darby being played out. Darby is a young boy in Kansas working his father’s floss farm whose keenest wish is to go away and find out what the rest of the world holds for him - a wish becoming less likely by the day as the farm’s harvesting equipment breaks down and all must be done by hand. Darby is extremely disappointed that he won’t be able to go see The Land of Ha’s, an amusement park purported to be the funnest place on earth.

Fed up, Darby takes all his money and his pig Tutu and heads down the road to go where he wants. Not far along on their journey and a tornado crosses their path…they duck into an old trailer and are lifted into the funnel to be set down in a strange place called Munchie Land where Darby is hailed as a hero for landing on the Munchie Muncher and destroying it. Now he and Tutu must follow Old Yellow McToad who will lead them to the Land of Ha’s, along with any strange people they may meet on the way…but when all is said and done, can Darby go home to his father when he’s so blatantly disobeyed him and thrown away his life savings on a day at the amusement park?

Junior the Asparagus plays Darby in this totally Veggie retelling of the story of the prodigal son set within that of The Wizard of Oz. Unlike many VeggieTales this DVD contains only one story, most have two or even three with one main story and a shorter one or two after that. The moral of the story, obviously, is that God loves us no matter what we do (and so do our parents!).

I’ve seen all the VeggieTales movies except some of the very newest ones and was pretty excited when my other mother sent The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s to my son for his Easter present because I enjoy the movies too and was anxious to see this very new addition to the collection. I have to say that this movie lacks something of what the older VeggieTales had but a lot of that could be that there’s not so much feel of originality now that so many have been done and they seem to be gearing it even more toward little children which has taken away a fraction of the appeal they held for older viewers.

My son at two years old loves VeggieTales more than anything else in music or movies…he dances wildly to the introductory tune and sits watching intently and laughing at regular intervals. I’ve noticed that Junior Asparagus is his favorite by far; possibly for that higher, somewhat whiny voice. Any story or song in which Junior takes part is automatically the absolute best thing going on anywhere in the house and my son will throw a fit if it gets shut off.

Overall I love this VeggieTales because its colorful scenery and interesting voices keep my son entertained now and its moralistic stories and witty banter will (hopefully) catch his interest as he gets older. My sisters and I first got hooked on VeggieTales when we were helping babysit in my other mother’s daycare and had the kids watching them…and then we’d want to watch them some more…and eventually those kids were begging for something different but we were still enjoying the stories. These truly are great movies for the entire family and make great supplements to Sunday School lessons.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8