Pistachio – The Little Boy That Woodn't -- 2010

Pistachio – The Little Boy That Woodn't

VeggieTales
(2010)

Rated G
My Rating: 5 Stars

Lisa Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Phil Vischer
Tim Hodge
Trevor Devall
Lee Tockar
Megan Murphy

“Moralizing runs very deep in my family.”

Summary:
Gelato was an kindly old man who lived in the small town Italian town of Balogna Salami.  He never married so he had no wife or children and his three brothers disappeared mysteriously one day while delivering meatballs to the island of Boyardee. But Gelato wasn't lonely because he loved carving things out of wood. He had also adopted three little ducklings and a caterpillar named Cricket. He took them everywhere with him and since they were his 'children', he taught them everything there was to know about life.

One day, Parcheesi, a fellow woodcarver, stopped him on the street and asked if he would like a piece of wood. Of course he would, Gelato replied.. only, he didn't have very much money and he didn't like to spend all he had. But Parcheesi said he could have it for free, so joyfully, Gelato took the wood home with him and spent the night carving.

There was something strange about this piece of wood. It had come from a pistachio tree and even when it wasn't carved, it moved... by itself. Gelato thought it a little strange but didn't give it's behavior another thought. Cricket, on the other hand, had a bad feeling in his legs about it. But he didn't even imagine what was going to happen when Gelato had finished carving his new son, Pistachio.

What came next was not only a learning experience for Pistachio and the ducks, but also for Gelato and Cricket.

“High fives!”
“No hands, numbskull.”

What I Liked:
1: The twist on the fairytale.
2: The humor. Wonderful as always.
3: The corniness of it is mixed with everything else so you don't mind it. ;-)
4: The moral.
5: The music.
6: The ducks.
7: Cricket, alias Khalil.
8: The Extreme Re-do was really clever. It made me laugh more than once. :-)

Jonah -- VeggieTales Movie -- 2002

Jonah
a VeggieTales Movie
(2002)

Rated G
My Rating: 4 Stars

Phil Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Tim Hodge
Lisa Vischer
Shelby Vischer
Dan Anderson
Kristin Blegen
Jim Poole
Ron Smith

“Compassion runs very deep in my family. But not that deep.”

Summary:
Bob the Tomato and his crew were on their way to a Twippo concert. Everyone in the back seats of the van were singing their hearts about “Billy McGruffrey” (a Twippo song) but the Bob isn't doing so well. He keeps getting almost hit with the guitar his 'navigator' is playing. When they finish the song, everyone exclaims how much they love Twippo songs and Laura Carrot pipes up about how she does too and not only that, she's the only one out of the entire group who gets to meet him because she won the Twippo Sweepstakes. She holds up her ticket gleefully and a sudden gust of air causes it to flutter from her grasp and out the window.

Just at this catastrophic moment, the guitar gets stuck in the steering wheel and a frantic Bob loses control of the vehicle. They end up with flat tires from a mama porcupine, get stuck in a clothesline and when that snaps, they smash into a stump. Everyone is fine (due to seatbelts and airbags) so they get out and look around. Just down the road is a restaurant and with hopes of finding a telephone and another ride, they all rush over.

While the grownups use the telephone, Laura starts bemoaning the loss of her ticket again. But Junior Asparagus tells her it's her own fault for flaunting it and she's only getting what she deserves. That's when the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything arrive on the screen... once again.

“We are the pirates who don't do anything

We just stay home and lie around...”

“You know, we call ourselves the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything but that's not entirely accurate.”
“Yeah, remember when we did that one thing with that one guy?”

It's from this one guy that The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything had learned a valuable lesson from and they were about to share that lesson with Junior... and anyone else who happened to show up... that compassion and mercy are for everyone.

“...our God is a God of second chances.”

What I Liked:
1: This is a Bible story told in a way that will appeal to many audiences.
2: The lesson was told in such a way that I was given a new perspective on a story I've known forever.
3: The humor.
4: The music... very cute.
5: Make sure and watch the bloopers on the Bonus Features... oh! And the Countertop extras.
6: How they ended on a sad note, just like the Bible story does.
7: Khalil. :-D “I'm a caterpillar. Well, that's only half the truth. My mother was a caterpillar and my father was a worm so that makes me...”

I do recommend this movie. :-) :-) :-) VeggieTales are so much fun.