On October 6th, the latest Veggie Tales DVD will be released. The title is “The Wonderful Wizard Of Ha’s” and retells the story of the Prodigal Son with a wizard of Oz theme. Here is the blurb:
The story of a prodigal son - VeggieTales style!
Meet Darby (Junior Asparagus), the son of a Kansas floss farmer who, more than anything else in the world, just wants to have fun. When he learns about the Wonderful Land Of Ha’s– an amusement park with all the fixin’s – and its mysterious Wizard who promises to make his dreams come true, Darby is determined to go. But when his father tells him he’s needed to help with the harvest, Darby decides that nothing is going to stop him and he makes a choice that will change his life forever.
With his pet dog Tutu by his side, Darby flees the farm and sets off to find the Wonderful Land Of Ha’s. Along the way he meets a bored scarecrow (Mr. Lunt), a tin man (Larry the Cucumber) who wants to ride roller coasters and a lion (Pa Grape) that craves cotton candy. Each with their own dreams, they set off to see the Wizard.
Will they find the Land Of Ha’s and the mysterious Wizard, and at what price? Will it be worth everything Darby has given up? His home back on the farm? His father’s love? Harvesting floss? Find out in an over-the-rainbow adventure that reminds kids everywhere that there’s no place like home.
You buy it here: Veggie Tales: The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s
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5 comments ↓
Tony,
What do you think of the criticism of VeggieTales that it seems to trivialize the Bible? Someone offered to give our (young) family a collection of these videos, but I graciously refused because it’s hard for me to see how it will encourage them to see the Bible as a serious reality. We did end up with Esther because of a family gift…”the island of perpetual tickling” vs. the gallows certainly illustrates my concern with turning the Bible into entertainment. Just curious as to what you think.
I agree with Doug. As a long-time teacher of fourth grade Sunday School, I can tell you that the kids will rise to the bar you set before them. Our Children Desiring God curriculum teaches 10-year-olds serious lessons about sanctification, to include the order of salvation! How many adults know anything about either?! I also have them learning about a dozen Greek words throughout the year. The cool thing is the kids eat all of it up…and we don’t even have dancing tomatoes!!!
To me, VeggieTales is a marketing genius and a Biblical nightmare. What is wrong with the stories as God originally prepared them in the Bible? What of the commands for dads to tell the next generation? Tell them what? A VeggieTales story? NOT!!!! They are to tell them of the wondrous works of our great God…the TRUE stories of those works; not some cartoon, dumbed-down, entertainment-oriented caricature.
Please, Tony, as a Children’s Pastor who has an internet presence encouraging others, don’t minimize the Gospel and the Word by endorsing tripe such as this.
Charley
HomeDiscipling Dad Blog
Get Serious Blog
Our family is counting down days until the new Veggie release. My boys (7, 5) have memorized “Over the Rainbow,” just from the trailers on the website. My 3 y.o. daughter was singing the parts SHE could on the way to co-op this morning… the excitement is building here.
I have to say that one time, my DH and I worried too about Doug Smith’s concerns, but we really got peace about it and now we own each and every one.
We limit our kids entertainment to Biblically-based media. Praise God there is so much of it available these days. Contrary to what Mr. Smith suggested, these videos have really reinforced our sharing of stories, so much so my eldest can recognize many of the stories that are portrayed in VeggieTales, “Mom, that is the story of Ruth, right!?” re: Duke and the Great Pie War.
The memory verses at the ends of the movies have all been hidden in our boys’ hearts, and we trust they will be in the girls (3, 1) soon, too.
And yes, we often have to talk about how silly the Veggies are and what the real WORD says about it. It is an excellent segway.
Thank you for this great blog!
I happened on it re: VBS for 2008. We do ours in Feb, so I’ve got to get a move on!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Stacy Butler
oops, spelled segue wrong… may have again too.
Doug, Charley, Stacy -
I posted a full response to the Veggie issue. Check it out.
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