bilbopooh's Full Review: VeggieTales - The Ballad of Little Joe
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
As soon as I first saw the preview for The Ballad of Little Joe, I couldn’t wait to see it. Rabid Veggie Tales fan that I am, that’s pretty much true of every video in the series, but this one particularly intrigued me as one of my favorite musicals is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I couldn’t wait to see what Veggie Tales did with the same story.
The video begins, as most do, on the counter top, where Bob and Larry receive a message from a boy who is upset that he has been placed in a different class at school than his friends. Bob feels that a Bible story is needed to aid this downcast youth, but Larry reminds him that he promised the next video could be a Western. After some muffled discussion behind a “We are experiencing technical difficulties” notice, the tomato and the cucumber compromise by agreeing to present a Western Bible story.
Little Joe (Joseph), played by Larry the Cucumber, is the youngest of the sons of Jacob (Pa Grape), other than little Benjamin (Junior Asparagus), who at the beginning of the story is still a baby. Little Joe, ironically enough, towers over his older brothers because he is a cucumber and they are peas. French peas, no less - my brother and I found it interesting that Joseph features both a Western song and a French song. Joe has a knack for organization (his sock drawer is spotless), and he is clearly his father’s favorite, as evidenced by the fact that during a rootin-tootin’ birthday song, Jacob presents Joe with a psychadelic vest. His brothers, meanwhile, all received mittens for their birthdays – a pretty pointless gift since they have no hands and are situated in the middle of the desert, and a pretty boring gift anyway. They hatch a plot to abandon him in a mineshaft, with the sinister Jude leading the way. (During the introductions, Jude comes out last; all the brothers face him and shout, “Hey, Jude!” – one of my favorite moments in the video.)
Poor Joe is pulled out, only discover his “rescuers” are a bunch of bandits, who carry him to the far-off Dodge Ball City, where he begins work at McPotiphar’s (Scooter) pizza place. After a year of working there, he becomes so popular (cue peppy song) that he replaces sultry singer Miss Kitty (Madame Blueberry) as Employee of the Month. Embittered, she frames Joe and lands him in jail, where he turns the joint around using his organizational skills, much to the marvel of the Sheriff (Bob). He also makes use of another talent, interpreting dreams. This talent eventually wins him the notice of the Mayor (Mr. Nezzer), who has been troubled by a dream of seven thin cows eating seven fat cows (and also of him standing in front of a crowd in his underwear). Joe reveals that seven years of great crops are coming, followed by seven years of famine. And, given the state of his sock drawer, he is awarded the job of preparing for the bad years, a job that eventually leaves him face to face with the brothers who betrayed him.
As far as strict adherence to the text goes, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is actually closer to the biblical account than this, not only because of the Western setting. Several details are changed and added, not that that’s a bad thing. These veggies sure know how to serve up an entertaining Bible story. In addition to the aforementioned Beatles nod, there are plenty of fun touches, such as the ridiculous cow hat Larry wears while working for McPotiphar, the dodge balls that come raining down upon the city whenever someone screams, and the fact that all of Joseph’s French pea brothers are able to fit through the bars in the town jail.
As in King George and the Ducky, the racier elements of the story are replaced; King David’s lust for Bathsheba becomes King George’s desire for Junior’s rubber duck, and the attempted seduction of Joseph by Potiphar’s wife becomes the planting of loot in Little Joe’s hat by Miss Kitty. Of course, one key element missing from Joseph is featured here in prominence: that is, God’s hand in Joseph’s life. While Tim Rice’s Joseph attributes his rise to power to dumb luck, Little Joe never loses sight of the idea that God has a plan for his life and that his unfortunate circumstances will work out for the best.
And, of course, there is the Silly Song with Larry, which actually isn’t. Well, not exactly. Archie’s not around at all to introduce the song. Rather, Larry explains that he is trying to diversify his act. Enter with Larry Mr. Lunt, Junior, and Jimmy Gourd – the Boyz in the Sink – each bearing a remarkable resemblance to a member of ‘NSync. Larry actually takes the backseat here for a music video headlined by Mr. Lunt, in which he divulges a deep dark secret to a nurse played by the loopy crooner of Esther’s Lost Puppies. The secret? He has no Belly Button, and though the doctor (Khalil from Jonah) advises him in a rap segment that it’s no big deal, the nurse seems to feel otherwise. This hilarious boy band spoof is certainly a change from the typical Silly Songs with Larry, and it may be a bit harder to sing along with, but it’s nonetheless a fine addition to the list.
Big Idea has done it again with the latest Veggie video, and I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
What do you get when you cross a cowboy and a classic biblical epic? You get the newest VeggieTales episode, The Ballad of Little Joe! The Ballad of L...More at Christianbook.com
(The Ballad of Little Joe) Now, y'all have heard the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors before, but I reckon you've never heard it told as a ...More at HotMovieSale.com
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