FlamRatamacues

My son loves VeggieTales, and my wife and I have been gradually working through all the episodes. We started in the middle of the series, and we've been going back and watching some of the earlier ones. After watching the first and second entries, I find it incredible that this was only their third entry and that it was released in 1995, the same year "Toy Story" was released. The animation is markedly improved from the first two entries ("Where's God When I'm S-Scared?" and "God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?!"), and the writing is much sharper too.

As the title suggests, "Are You My Neighbor?" focuses on the message of what it means to be a good neighbor. It contains two stories and a silly song. The first story is a retelling of the parable of The Good Samaritan in a Dr. Seuss-style poem. It's so well told that viewers of all ages and religious backgrounds are sure to enjoy this story. The second story follows an adventure (a dream?) of Jr. Asparagus, Bob, and Larry in a loose parody of "Star Trek."

The songs are memorable and catchy (the silly song is now a VeggieTales classic), the animation looks good (especially for 1995), the stories are very well told, and the message of being a good neighbor is always a good reminder for young and old. In short, there's something to enjoy for everyone.

Inside someone's personal library, all of the characters from the books and magazines come to life. The witches from "MacBeth" (not "Hamlet", as another reviewer stated) are making their brew, and they realize they need a worm. The raven from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" is commissioned for the task. Fortunately for the story, a meek little worm just happens to be perusing the books at the time. The rest of the story is a long chase scene between the raven and the bookworm.

There's nothing here you haven't seen numerous times with Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote & the Road Runner, Tom & Jerry, Sylvester & Tweety, etc. But this cartoon still has a certain creative charm the way various characters from literature, pop fiction (for the time), and magazines are incorporated into the story's events.

An amusing way to spend eight minutes.