bilbopooh's Full Review: VeggieTales - Lord of the Beans
Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie''s plot.
When two things you love converge, it’s a beautiful thing. So when I first heard about Big Ideas’s Lord of the Beans back in April, I could scarcely contain my anticipation. VeggieTales meets Lord of the Rings? How great is that? And how could I wait until November to see it? Well, I got cut a little break in that regard. As a Big Idea ambassador, I get to screen a preview copy of the latest Veggie offering a month or so in advance and, in turn, show it to eager churchgoing kids. Are those kiddies in for a treat!
Lord of the Beans is touted as an epic, clocking in at 45 minutes (typical of recent Veggie videos), all of which is devoted to the main story (atypical). Actually, there are breaks for the traditional counter-top bookend scenes and the silly song slightly beyond the mid-point. I was a bit surprised to see the intro and conclusion intact; previews had led me to believe it might be like Esther, which lacked all the normal Veggie conventions (and was something of a disappointment). Certainly they didn’t take away from the story - though that could’ve gone for an hour and a half and I would’ve been thrilled! Larry’s antics with his “ukelele” that set the stage for the story are amusing, and poor Bob doesn’t show up in Center Earth at all, so it’s nice that he gets to be included somehow.
Because of the subject matter, I regarded this video a bit differently than most Veggie offerings; I focused primarily on the degree to which it parodies Lord of the Rings. The first thing that jumps out is the amount of detail in these visuals. Although the reason for choosing Veggies as the subject of their series was their lack of limbs, making them easy to animate, the creators are no longer restrained by limitations in animation technology. Ever since The Star of Christmas, VeggieTales has peppered its offerings with artfully complex set pieces and costumes. The landscapes here are impressive; I especially love the outside shot of Billboy’s cozy flobbit hole. The Shire (incidentally, the only location or character whose name remains unchanged) is lush and green - though the grass seems a bit shorter than expected. Perhaps they have lawnmowers? Anyway, every location is deeply detailed, the costumes are beautifully realized, and every inch of animation is richly textured - except for the expository flashbacks, which are rendered more as storybook pages.
Also impressive is the musical score. Usually this aspect doesn’t stand out all that much, though it did in Minnesota Cuke as well. In both cases, the source material has a distinctive score, and its Veggie counterpart alludes to that. I love the flutey tones of the Shire and the spooky chorus that strikes up whenever the Bean is seen. Clearly, Howard Shore’s take on the book was an influence. In terms of plot points, director Phil Vischer draws largely from Peter Jackson. The scene in which we first meet Toto Baggypants and Randalf is almost identical to the one in the film, though the Veggies milk more silliness out of it. Indeed, up until the point when Toto agrees to undertake the quest – at which point we very quickly jump ahead to the formation of the Fellowship – it is extremely similar to the opening Shire scenes in the film – though more abbreviated and a bit sillier, of course.
The quest begins, and it turns out to be considerably less fraught with peril than that of Frodo and company. This isn’t too surprising, since Vischer’s tale is not one of good vs evil but rather of discovering the proper use for the gifts we are given. Like Bilbo, Billboy used the Bean for his own purposes for many years, and though it initially made him successful and happy, it gradually began to lose its luster. Billboy is more willing to give up his prize, recognizing that his use of it has contributed to his general sense of malaise, and although this object is not inherently evil, Toto remains nervous about accepting it. Nonetheless, once the decision is made, he is determined to follow through with his quest to discover its purpose. He and his intrepid companions face the stinging blizzards of the Mountains of Much Snowia and the wrath of the humorless Elders of the Razzberry Forest before drawing near to the Land of Woe, where Toto much finish the journey alone – at least until he meets a most unusual companion.
Given the focus of the story and the time constraints, I’m not surprised that quite a few characters did not make the cut; still, it was sad to see that Sam was excised entirely. Then again, given Junior’s past history, the most likely companion for his Toto would be a flobbit played by Laura Carrot, and I’m not sure how I would feel about a female Sam. At any rate, the character wouldn’t really fit into the story as Vischer decided to tell it. We do get quite a few characters though. Stubble-sporting Ear-o-Corn is more Larry than Aragorn, but if he’s far sillier than that stern ranger would ever be, he’s just as valiant. Jimmy Gourd hams it up as pointy-eared Leg-o-Lamb, sneaking around trees and rocks with his bow - complete with plunger arrows - taut. Pa Grape’s axe-wielding Grumpy is mostly modeled after Gimli, but he pulls triple duty, constantly craving food like Pippin and seeking to undermine Toto like Boromir. Mr. Nezzer is in a leadership role as usual as the wizened Randalf, but for a change he is competent and scrupulous. Completing the fellowship is Leg-o-Lamb’s unnamed brother. The reasons for his inclusion don’t become apparent until the conclusion, when his contribution supports the theme of everyone having gifts and needing to use them in the best way possible.
The aforementioned Billboy is played by Archibald Asparagus, that sophisticated, monocled Brit. His speech is one of my favorite moments in the video. In addition to performing a stirring song, he speaks what are probably the two most amusing lines in the whole adventure. The villainous leek who still lacks a name plays Lord Scaryman, whose army of Sporks engages the Fellowship in battle when they infiltrate the Land of Woe seeking to rescue Toto. Mr. Lunt plays Ahem, a Gollum-like character who used the Bean to enable his life of ease before it fell out of his possession. Other characters include the Elders, ent-like creatures whose deep-voiced leader engages in a long-winded set of greetings with Randalf, and a very random yet useful unicycle-riding chap who clearly is a reference to poor maligned Tom Bombadil.
One character I could have done without was Akmetha. She’s almost certainly the most annoying character in the Veggie canon, having made her first appearance in Esther singing a dreadful rendition of a song about puppies. Silly Songs With Elves gives us the nod to Aragorn and Arwen’s romance that I thought might occur, but I expected the Elven beauty to be portrayed by Petunia, who has been Larry’s romantic interest in the past two videos. Instead we have Akmetha, looking batty as ever and especially irate, spewing some high-pitched, quick form of speech that sounds nothing like Elvish and which translates as broken English. I thought Elves were supposed to be superior beings! So she got on my nerves a bit, but I loved Larry’s part of the song, in which he croons about his love in the style of Elvis (with regalia to match), so I can live with her brief appearances. The other songs are well done. All those performed by individuals are a capella style except one, which features the jarring instrumentals of an accordion. Randalf’s explanation of the Beans of Power is deep and resonant with just a touch of Gospel flavor, while Junior’s is typically soft and sweet and sounds a bit like his Robin Hood song from Minnesota Cuke. The latter is reprised later with the ensemble, sounding joyful instead of querulous.
There are dozens of little references to Lord of the Rings, and when it comes out for real on November 1, this is one DVD whose special features I will be examining closely. There seem to be a few tiny discrepancies, though Vischer probably just stuck them in there to add to the silliness. For instance, Randalf tells Billboy there are many Beans of Power and that they should not be used lightly. Obviously this is almost exactly what Gandalf said to Bilbo, so it makes sense, but later Randalf seems to tell Toto that his is the only remaining Bean. Well, maybe if he’d said there were many Beans; perhaps the intimation is that there would be Many beans if the previous owners had used them properly. In most instances where I saw something askew, another character mentioned it just after I questioned it. Larry rides a unicycle, and Bob and I wonder how he can accomplish it without legs. Randalf reads a small inscription over a door (referencing both the entrance to Moria and Riddles in the Dark) that encompasses several lines of poetry, and Leg-o-Lamb and I both question how so few runes can translate to so many words. So I suppose these are less discrepancies than poking gentle fun at certain aspects of Tolkien’s world.
Veggietales often puts special effort into the credits, and here they are graced with artistic renderings of scenes, much like those found at the conclusion of Return of the King. There’s also a new song by Wynonna entitled It’s About Love, which my mom really liked, though I couldn’t get into it – maybe because I was hoping for something with more of a Celtic flavor to it. Nonetheless, it goes well with the idea that we are given gifts that will help us to help others. So Toto may not be eradicating evil, but he’s spreading love one good deed at a time, and we’re left with the impression that if we each do the same, our small contributions can make the world a considerably better place. Like the Bean, which by all appearances is ordinary and insignificant, we may have gifts that are not obvious, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. We just may have to do some searching. Though Lord of the Rings fans will find this video funnier than those who are unfamiliar with the source material, its message is equally accessible to everyone, and it’s one well worth hearing. So three cheers for hobbits and flobbits!
Follow the journey of a young Flobbit named Toto Baggypants (Junior Asparagus), who inherits a bean with amazing powers from his Uncle Billboy (Archib...More at Christianbook.com
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Product DetailsOriginal Title:VeggieTales - Lord Of The BeansCondition: NEWFormat: DVDDirector: n/aRuntime: 52 minsLanguage: EnglishDiscs/Cass...More at iNetVideo.com
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