Movie Review: MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle

The first time I ever intentionally placed one of my children in front of a television, it was for an episode of Veggie Tales. Like most all moms looking for an opportunity to accomplish a task toddler-free, I inserted the VHS tape (it was the year 2000) and waited to see if my tiny Rebekah would care about television long enough to allow me to leave the room to do laundry.

The intro started, “Hey Larry, it’s time for the theme song.” And I stood at the edge of the room to watch Rebekah.

Except that I also watched Veggie Tales.

The entire episode.

Because, what I didn’t know at the time, is that Veggie Tales is as entertaining for Mom and Dad as it is for children. So, I watched the 30-minute episode from beginning to end, totally blew my toddler-free window of opportunity, and headed out to buy every Veggie Tale movie ever made for the next 10 years.

I later became best friends with Phil Vischer, the creator of Veggie Tales.

(I also decided for future toddler-free opportunities, Elmo served me much better. As nothing can send me from a room faster–or cause me to carve out my ears with a sharp object–than the Elmo’s World theme song.)

Fast forward thirteen years and three kids, and television-watching in the Cooper home has evolved dramatically. For one, our VHS player bit the dust years ago. For two, kid shows are available 24-hours a day on a variety of channels. For three, my older kids control the television, meaning (sadly) that my youngest has been more immersed in Cartoon Network and TLC than in the sweet, funny and Biblically-based Veggie Tales.

So, last month, when Veggies Tales contacted me to review the latest Veggie Tale release, in exchange for a free copy of the DVD I jumped at the chance. The challenge was finding a time when the entire family would sit in front of the same television for a Family Movie Night.  I especially wanted my Veggie Tale Veteran–now HIGH SCHOOLER–to join us for the review.

Teens are hard to pin down for a movie night.  Just FYI.

After repeated attempts, I ditched my Movie Night ideal, and grabbed the two family members immediately available–Elijah, age 11 and Elliana, age 6.

 

 

MacLarry and The Stinky Cheese Battle teaches kids to value their God-given talents, even when it means they don’t fit in. And it drives the point home in classic Veggie Tale-style, reminiscent of How to Train Your Dragon.  Not to disappoint, the latest Veggie Tale release is immersed in humor, wit, and catchy music. I was especially thrilled to see Larry the Cucumber still has his mid-episode gig, Silly Songs with Larry.  Here’s the trailer…

The kids loved it. Elijah–who is about to start middle school and has graduated to animation involving battles and weapons–was excited to see a stinky cheese explosion. Elliana loved it from beginning to end, but enjoyed the music most of all. The following night, she invited her daddy to watch it with her a second time.

And if you are wondering if it holds a child’s attention long enough for mom to complete a kid-free task, Elliana is watching it now, as I write this post.

 

For more information about the movie, along with fun games and activities for the kids, click here.

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Q4U: Did/do your kids watch Veggie Tales? What’s your favorite episode or Silly Song? I think I would have to go with Esther. And for song, probably Cheeseburger.

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On another note: This summer has completely gotten away from me. I have probably five half-written blog posts that I intended to publish, that remain half-finished. I have so much I want to tell you, not the least of which is an update on our house renovations and how the whole Dress Fiasco turned out. School starts for my kids next week (!) (seriously, I’m in a freaking time warp!), so hold tight until I wade through the mountains of paper work, uniform shopping and school orientations. I miss you and can’t wait to settle myself down long enough to sit at this keyboard and write.

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Disclosure: As stated, I received a free copy of the DVD in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own. I will not receive any additional compensation if you click on the links or purchase the DVD.