Customer Reviews

VeggieTales - Minnesota Cuke [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some Veggie Tales are safe to plop your kid in front of so you can fix dinner in peace, because you know it's just a fun break for them with encouraging themes and a much better alternative to programming on TV. This isn't one of them.

Not to state the obvious, but different parents are going to have different ways in which they want their kids dealing with situations. Parents should simply be aware that in this episode of Veggie Tales, "turning the other cheek" means telling kids that it's okay to get beat up by a bully as long as they show the bully they're not afraid. What?!

The second story segment with Minnesota Cuke simply talks about not using a position of ability or prominence to hurt others--even if they've earned it. No problem, and good idea--I'm all about the mercy thing.

However, it's the first segment, with Junior Asparagus dealing with a playground bully, that's more disturbing, and unfortunately, purposely made to be very realistic. I can see what the producers wanted to do, but there were so many problems with this first segment it just can't hold water. Your parental preference might be to tell your child to never fight back, but I think no matter what your bully policy is, all parents should be aware that this is the message before they purchase it. Additionally, Junior Asparagus' dad leaves him to deal with the bully without parental help--not something I'm crazy about since this involved Junior getting hurt in the first place. I understand that kids are not always able to get adult help, but at the same time, you better believe I'm not going to stand there over the grill and let my kid go walk off to get beat up at the neighborhood playground.

Further, Junior solves this by getting all of his friends to stand up to the bully and make the bully feel bad. While that could present problems in and of itself, it's been my experience that bullying involves one or two main players who pick on one kid for the benefit of a huge audience that won't step in to aid the victim. Perhaps the situations I've had to step into are worse than what the Veggie Tales producers were working toward, but I just cringed all of the way through this segment.

My first recommendation is to get the other Veggie Tales before purchasing this one--all of the Larry Boys are favorites in our house, for example. If you want this for Minnesota Cuke (not a bad piece!) then my second recommendation would be to make sure you're clear on what you want your children to do in the face of bullying and discuss this as you watch this one (i.e., "I know this is what Junior did, but what would *you* do?").

With two letters asking what to do about bullies, both Larry and a slightly bullied Bob decided it's the topic to cover in this episode.

"Bully Trouble" is up first. It finds Junior Asparagus faced with a bully that doesn't want to share the neighborhood playground. Will his daydreams help? Or will a talk with his father set him on the right path?

Our main feature is the title. Our hero, Minnesota Cuke, is on a quest to find Samson's hairbrush and gain its power to defeat all the bullies of the world before it falls into the wrong hands. Like the Canadians who want to control both sides of Niagara Falls. Or his old nemesis Professor Rattan. But will Minnesota turn into a bully himself? And does the hairbrush really have Samson's strength?

And of course, I can't forget the silly song. "Pizza Angel" reminded me of some song, I just can't place it. Either way, it's the tragic tale of Larry late at night waiting for the pizza he's ordered. As such, it's silly and likely to make you laugh out loud.

Overall, this is another fun release in the Veggie series. The puns, especially in the second video, are fast and funny. Maybe it's because I was expecting too much, but the plots seemed a little too contrived and the solutions a little too easy to me. Not that the theme was at all bad. The ideas of turning the other cheek and praying for our enemies is important. More adults could use the reminder in this day and age, myself included. The DVD itself is what I expected with sharp full frame picture, surround sound, commentaries (studio and a veggie one again), behind the scenes, Easter eggs, and activities for families to do together.

Despite my reservations, this is another outing worth owning if you or your kids love these Veggies.

I was able to attend a preview of this DVD on Sunday before it was released on Tuesday. The kids were all given stickers and activity books on their way into the showing and had snacks following. A puppet play with Veggie Tales characters preceeded the showing.

As with all the Veggie Tales series I thought it was cute, but a little silly. It is an obvious satire of Indiana Jones. The theme (stand up to bullys with kindness, strength, and a willingness to turn the other cheek) comes across very strongly.

The kids and their parents loved it. It makes a good addition to the Veggie Tale collection.

Ever since Jonah (it was good but fell a little flat) I have been a little dissapointed with VeggieTales. I love Lyle the Kindly Viking but so far none of the recent Veggies have been on par, not until now. At first I thought it was becuase I had gotten older (i am currently 19) but not so. I love Minnesota Cuke. Both stories are great and well written with captivating animation and a funny story. I am looking forward to Lord Of The Beans as well. That should be a barrol of laughs.

Minnesota Cuke was a great Veggietales episode! It was much better than the computer game, which I thought was quite boring.

Besides Minnesota Cuke, there is also the short "Bully Trouble." It's about Junior Asparagus, and a bully on the playground. In Minnesota Cuke, Minnesota (Larry) has to stop the Canadians from taking over both sides of Niagara Falls. So, he needs to find Samson's Hairbrush, a hairbrush with powers.

No matter how old you are (considering I'm 11), Minnesota Cuke is a great Veggietales adventure with lots of action. It has as much action as the Larryboy episodes!

I'm a veggie ambassador and have gotten a preview copy of the video in the mail today. Another top notch video. This video is great for kids and adult fans will appreciate the Minnesota Cuke short. The message about bullies and confidence in facing them is well done and children should relate to this well. I actually enjoyed this more than the previous two videos.

In the RECENT PAST (since Sumo and Duke) I have been completely disappointed and disillusioned with the writing and song quality of the Big Ideas/Veggie Tale releases.

I don't know why I tried again with this latest, but I am so pleased I did!!!! I'm not sure what has changed but the writing and songs were excellent. My children and myself were amazed and delighted.

Thanks Big Ideas! I'm so happy you have bounced back!!!!

Great movie for all ages! My husband and I love it as much as the children. Veggie Tales has been a hit in our home for quite sometime. I don't think they could make a movie that my children wouldn't love. I highly recommend Minnesota Cuke along with all the Veggie Tales movies.

I had been disappointed with the most recent Veggie releases, so this one was a pleasant surprise. This was much better than Sumo of the Opera or Duke and the Great Pie War.

It looks like alot of people here liked Cuke, and I'm glad they did. After a bunch of good reviews I bought it. I think I'll give it to Goodwill.

As many here have pointed out, Cuke is at least better than Sumo (Yuck). But it's nowhere near as fun as Lyle, Pickle, Josh, Little Joe, etc. It's terribly predictable, not very engaging, the humor is contrived, and once again there aren't even any songs my kids can sing along with in the car. (Are my young daughters supposed to be impressed with that Pizza song? They sure like alot of the Veggie songs that came out five or ten years ago!) On the plus side, the graphics are flawless.

If I read my news right, Mike and Phil sold to a bigger company that decided the Veggies need "less God." It shows. A young company that was in it for the fun and lessons has turned over the reigns to an outfit that's in it for the money. (This isn't one of those stupid "Big corporations are evil" rants. It's just that creative control of the Veggies is obviously going in a different direction. How astoundingly sad.) That's explains why Cuke could have been cranked out by any cartoon studio in the country that thinks kids will watch any fool thing you put in front of them as long as it's animated. Well, my kids have better taste than that.