Tuesday, November 10, 2009

In Case You Want to Try Some Veggies

We've been watching Veggie Tales: Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving and it's fine. Nothing too amazing, but not too bad. Here on the Range, we are firm fans of Veggies. First Son himself has pre-bought a few of the recent videos. We simply must own them all. I've resigned myself to the fact.

Not every family is a Veggie family, of course. I'm sure there are some families that just want to own one or two Veggie videos. If so, you might be wondering which are worthwhile. Here's a list of our picks:

Lyle the Kindly Viking is Kansas Dad's favorite. It's a fun little story of sharing. The first half, Omelet, is hilarious if you know Shakespeare's play Hamlet at all. The Lyle story is designed around the music of Gilbert & Sullivan and is a delight. Even the silly song is full of references that will bring joy to any adult watching.

Gideon Tuba Warrior is my favorite. The story of George Mueller, a man who trusted God for everything is amazing. The silly song is hilarious. Gideon's story is told with a marching band, slushies and flashlights. Believe me, it works. Kurt Heinecke is amazing.

Sumo Of The Opera may be First Son's favorite, though he would never pick just one. This story is particularly good at helping First Son deal with his frustration when he can't get something perfect the first time. Even he will spout, "Perseverance is when you keep on keeping on." The telling of the story of St. Patrick is truly one of the finest moments in VeggieTales. You can watch it for yourself here.

Madame Blueberry is a classic. Every family can learn a little about real contentment and happiness from Madame Blueberry's trip to the Stuff-Mart. We even love listening to the song until the credits end.

We can't forget LarryBoy, of course, everyone's favorite plunger-headed hero. The best of the bunch is LarryBoy and the Bad Apple. In it, LarryBoy actually saves the day and everyone learns about temptation as well as some tactics for fighting it.

Josh and the Big Wall and Rack, Shack and Benny are also wonderful. They are classic VeggieTales.

We enjoyed both Veggie movies, especially First Son. Honestly, the Pirate Movie soundtrack is one of the best Veggie products. (I'm not alone on this. Recently, the Big Idea Store had all CDs and DVDs half price and this CD sold out first. I know. I tried to buy extras to give as gifts.)

Another great CD is A Very Veggie Christmas. Kansas Dad and I have enjoyed this one for years, long before we had children. We've always planned to host a Christmas party and serve every Polish dish named in this song. Someday we'll get around to it. Maybe when the kids are older and ready to help make some of the recipes.

There are so many other wonderful Veggie movies, but I have to draw the line somewhere. Please feel free to comment if your family likes something else the best.

If you are interested in buying any Veggie DVDs or CDs, watch the advertisements for local Christian stores. Ours often has at least one in every "doorbuster" sale for $5.

While it's true Kansas Dad and I have eventually tired of watching most of the videos, we are continually thankful our kids have chosen Veggies as their characters of choice. Most of the other ones out there (and we're familiar with most of them) are quite grating on adult ears. The Veggies are always including little jokes and asides purely for the parents in the room.