Customer Reviews

VeggieTales - Rack, Shack & Benny [VHS]

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Fans of "Toy Story," The Bible, or fresh salads (guess that covers everybody) will enjoy VeggieTales, half-hour videos telling faithful (ungarnished?), fun Bible story adaptations starring a tomato (Bob), cucumber (Larry), carrot (Laura) and asparagas (Junior) aimed to kids'(and adults')pressures and problems.

"Rack, Shack, and Benny," (aka Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) is one of the series' best. It retells the story of the Fiery Furnace as a parable about peer pressure with catchy songs ("The Bunny Song" is a favorite despite its intentionally inappropriate message, "Dance of the Cucumber" is a hilarious "silly song" and tension breaker), cute one-liners ("What does being a junior executive mean?" "It means you have to wear a tie.") and kid-friendly suspense leading to God's climactic rescue where the three ("Now there's four, and one looks real shiny") are saved. The lesson is summed at the end with a pinch of good humor.

Kudos (Bacos?) to Phil Vischer and his merry band at Big Idea for creating a series which, like its stars, are good and good for you. It's a series to relish, and HIGHLY recommended.

Rack Shack and Benny brings many fine moments to the Veggie Tale franchise. It boasts the first appearance of Mr. Lundt, Mr. Nezzer, Laura the Carrot and George,the security guard narrator who also narrates the Toy that Saved Christmas. With Dave and the Giant Pickle, which came out the same year, Rack Shack and Benny departed from the previous and current Veggie format of two stories regarding the episodes theme by telling a longer story interspersed with a silly song at intermission. And what a silly song at that: An Argentinean cucumber folk ballad sung in Spanish by Larry, translated in to English by Bob; often at the interpreters expense.

The story itself adapted from the book of Daniel takes Shadrach (Bob) Meeshach (Junior Asparagus) and Abednego (Larry) from captivity to cavity prone by making them workers at a chocolate factory. It capably tells the story of standing up to persecution for doing what you know is right. The boys are commanded to bow down to a chocolate bunny and sing the bunny song. They know that many of the words in the song are wrong and refuse to bow or sing. As a result they are sentenced to be thrown in the incinerator with the rest of the "bad" bunnies. I hate to leave you hanging on the plot line but you'll have to watch the video or read the bible to see how it comes out.

The only problem I have with my copy of Rack Shack and Benny is that Big Idea broke one of my favorite credos. That credo being is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

You see there are two versions of Rack Shack & Benny: the original and a re-release, with the only difference being lines of dialogue in the Bunny song. You would not think that switching lines in a song would make much of a difference but in this case it's like watching a video without actually putting in the VCR, it alters the entire presentation.

One of the lines I am referring to sung by Nebby K. Nezzer is:
I won't go to church and I won't go to school that stuff is for sissies but Bunnies are cool. In the re-release they change the first part of the line to: "I won't eat beans and I won't eat tofu". Another change is I don't love my Mom or my Dad just the bunny to something much more benign.

The problem with the line changes is that it undermines and all but obliterates the entire conflict of the plot. It makes Rack Shack and Benny seem to be willing to give their life over gastronomical differences.

Now I understand that the line change may well be in order not to have children singing such bad lines. But the point is that the kids in the story would not sing it. I thought the matter was resolved in the first sing a-long video when a reformed Nebby performs a new improved version of the song advising not to make the bunny an idol.

In all, I would still highly recommend Rack Shack and Benny to veggiephiles everywhere. And if at all possible try to get your hands on the original version and if you can, please send one to me!

Another wonderful video from the Veggietales gang! They are all here in this video based on Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the book of Daniel. What a great lesson. With God you always win, but you do have to stand up for what you believe in. Bob, Jr. and Larry are right on target with not bowing down to Mr. Nezzer's big chocolate bunny. My children had no problem figuring out that God was with them in the firey furnace and they got the concept of the video right away. I highly recommed it!

In our family's opinion, this is the best VeggieTales Video - and we love them all! VeggieTales is the best thing to happen to kid's entertainment [and adult entertainment!] ever. Our whole family enjoys watching these videos over and over, and we know the songs by heart - toddler and adults alike! VeggieTales truly has something for every age group and I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy these videos [even my non-Christian family members can't help but enjoy them!].

Rack, Shack, and Benny is the best in our opinion - even though they are all awesome. The music in this one is GREAT [all the songs stick in your brain and make you want to sing out loud]. We also like the characters in this one. As the mom of a small daughter, I really like the fact that Laura the Carrot [the only real recurring female character in the whole series] gets to do something brave to try to save Rack, Shack, and Benny. This a great tale and is redone marvelously in this video! I highly recommend this one to everyone!

Don't be fooled: Another VeggieTales video, "LarryBoy and the RumorWeed," was shown to an excited group of college freshman at Grace University and everyone danced to the music video! This is more than children's entertainment. Its funny, its clean, and those Silly Songs will stick in your head for ages. I've been known to sing "The Pirates that Don't Do Anything" at the top of my lungs while driving down the highway.

I grew up on Christian entertainment like "Psalty the Songbook" and "The Music Machine." This is FAR better. "Rack, Shack, and Benny" is my favorite of the series, but see them all! They are the BEST!

Veggie Tales' RACK, SHACK, AND BENNY is a retelling of the Biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You know, those three guys who were best friends of Daniel (the guy famous for being thrown into a lion's den and interpretting the handwriting on the wall) who were thrown into a fiery furnace for their refusal to worship anyone but God. Instead of Babylon, this Veggie version of the story takes place in a far-off candy factory where world famous Nezzer Chocolate Bunnies are made. Larry, Bob, and Junior Asparagus star as the title trio.

Like most Veggie Tales, this one is filled with humor and wit that appeals not only to kids, but to adults as well. The lesson in the film is not about proper nutrition (as some seem to think), but instead is about standing up when you think things are wrong and not compromising one's integrity by bowing down to peer pressure.

The Silly Songs with Larry in this episode is popular "Dance of the Cucumber". Look for the rip on Disney parody, if you're not observant it will pass you by.

In my humble opinion, this is the greatest Veggie Tale of all time. This in no way should be considered a denigration of the other videos. Big Idea hit their stride with this one. The humor is wity. The story is pertinent. The silly song is hilarious. The Bunny Song is catchy. The music is top-notch. It shows the brilliance of how well Big Idea does their craft. My non-Christian friends love this one, because of its high quality. The lesson is wonderful for adult and child. If one is committed, one will have problems and one must stand up. I would recommend it for any child who is suffering under peer pressure.

A very enjoyable video...one of the reviewers talked about the Bunny Song being objectionable. That's the point of the song...they don't want to sing the Bunny Song because it is disrespectful. I believe that's a slight flaw with the video, the producers made the Bunny Song too catchy. And the "New and Improved" lyrics aren't quite up to par with the first lyrics. However, overall Rack, Shack and Benny is a clever story, great music, and finally a great message. I'm so thankful for Big Idea and Veggie Tales!

I first saw Veggie Tales at a camp, and this is one of the best! The ebntire series is appealing to everyone, at our church the high school youth group and the nursery children watch right alongside each other. This video is full of bright colors and good lessons for the young ones, but if you look carefully there are a lot of messages for teens and adults as well. This is a lovely video with messages for all about peer pressure and a wonderful set of songs.

I thoroughly enjoyed this VeggieTales movie and can understand why it is a favorite for some of my Veggie-loving friends. The plot was good, the characters were lovable (except for Nezzer who of course isn't generally liked, though his singing is fun to imitate). I saw the video version, so I'm not aware of this line-changing business but it does seem kind of sad. I liked the story, liked the characters, liked the silly song too (Larry doing folk dance in spanish is pretty laughable). Highly recommended to any VeggieTales fan that hasn't seen it yet, and actually for those who have. It's one that you can rewatch again and again and still enjoy it.