A Plastic Monument to a Perpetually Mixed Up Cucumber
Written: Mar 18 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: great for fans of Larry the Cucumber
Cons: doesn't include very many of his costumes
The Bottom Line: A fun alternative (or addition) to the iconic spud.
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| bilbopooh's Full Review: Veggie Tales Dress-Up Mix-Up Larry |
My brother has a strange obsession with potatoes. One year in art class, most of his projects centered on them. A movie poster proclaiming “Paul Schaffer is… Potato.” An ad featuring a herd of potatoes running gracefully over a rolling plain, accompanied by the words “Free the Potatoes.” That little venture had the teacher questioning Nathan’s sanity. It’s no surprise with this predilection for promoting potatoes that my brother is a fan of Mr. Potato Head. He has a couple different versions of the classic spud and has gotten a kick out of rearranging the parts into both logical and dubiously artistic combinations. When Nathan saw an advertisement for VeggieTales Dress-Up Mix-Up Larry, a toy based on the same premise but instead featuring our favorite ludicrous cucumber, he expressed an interest in that as well. I promptly gave it to him for his birthday. Somehow, Larry found his way into my room, and there he has stayed. But if Nathan is ever looking for a friend for that cynical spud, he knows where to find one.
The reason that the creators of VeggieTales settled on using fruits and vegetables as the stars of their series was simple. Computer animation was only beginning to emerge as a distinct form of animation, and Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer wanted to work with images of the least complexity possible. As a result, all their main characters lack limbs. Suspension of disbelief is required to accept the idea of them maneuvering objects while so unappendaged, but then suspension of disbelief is required for every aspect of a series revolving around singing vegetables.
Because of this, Larry has fewer parts than Mr. Potatohead, though the parts he does have are more interesting. No hands for him. No pairs of shoes – though he does come with a single brown shoe that can be placed on his head. All of his attire is a nod at one video or another. Most of the articles can be seen on the video Very Silly Songs! The pirate bandana, beard and eye patch are a reference to The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, the silly song created especially for that video. The aforementioned shoe stems from Larry’s time as a resident of Flibber-o-loo in the Seussian retelling of the story of the Good Samaritan. The bath towel and brush are taken from Oh Where is My Hairbrush?, generally agreed to be the most popular silly song even all these videos later. Larry has a Gilligan-style hat from the parody of that show featured in God Wants Me to Forgive Them?! and a Gourd’s Gym shirt/towel, a headband, a tool belt and a hard hat, all from Larry’s failed attempts to discern the purpose of the Very Silly Songs! video. And, just for good measure, Larry has an extra silly set of extra eyes, because silliness and Larry go together like tomatoes and cucumbers.
Throughout the series of videos, Larry has donned a wide variety of costumes. Recently, some of them have been rather complex, most notably his Dickensian get-up in The Star of Christmas and An Easter Carol. It’s a shame more of his guises could not have been incorporated; maybe they’ll eventually come out with an expansion set. I’m surprised that there were no Larryboy accessories, considering that this Batman-style superhero is one of Larry’s most popular incarnations, spawning a video series all his own.
Unlike Mr. Potatohead, Larry does not have a little hole in the back in which to store his attachments. They would be too large to fit in there anyway. He does come with a plastic display base, but it would be nice if there were some sort of storage for Larry’s parts. Additionally, he is larger and more cumbersome than his starchy counterpart, and he can’t stand on his own without the plastic base. Still, he’s oodles of fun, especially for those who are particularly fond of VeggieTales’ goofiest character. My brother can have his potatoes. I’ll stick with Larry any day.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 12
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Epinions.com ID:
bilbopooh
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 in Movies, Books |
 - Top 500 |
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Member: Erin McCarty
Location: Erie, PA
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About Me:Viggo Mortensen anchors John Hillcoat's powerful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
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