Les Végétaloufs dans la place

A wonderously generic and juvenile place, that is. I may be biased towards the original characters to a large degree since I grew up with the show, but speaking from the point of view of a lifelong animation fan who watches kids shows on a regular basis, this is abysmal.

Of course the most glaring problem with the new series is the character design, it's the big thing that everyone complains about. To put it simply, they're creepy. Hyper-realistic eyes may look good on more complex and humanoid characters, but on the minimalist veggie bodies, they're oversized and dead looking. The old characters had large eyes as well, but they were more cartoony and simple, and despite the creator's claims, they were about ten times more expressive than the eyes of the new ones.

While the animation is the most obvious problem, the biggest one by far would be the complete lack of original writing. Every single episode so far has a story that you've seen a hundred times before, and nothing is done to make it more interesting, it's just the same, generic junk you see in every cheap cartoon ever.

In addition to the plots, the way certain characters are written bother me as well, particularly Larry. His iconic obliviousness has been replaced by what I can only describe as severe mental degradation. Larry is obviously still an "adult" cucumber, but he acts in a way more fitting to a small child. There is a way to make characters relatable to kids without them turning into childish morons. Need proof? Watch any classic VT movie and see how the silly, kid appeal character is supposed to be done.

The rest of the characters are as bland as streamed vegetables. The writers have tried to give some of the older characters with little personality to speak of from the classics (the female ones specifically) and in doing so either made them somehow even more one- dimensional (Petunias) or extremely annoying (Laura). Mr. Nezzer's new personality also really bothers me. They renamed him for absolutely no reason and turned him into a complete jerk. It was quite shocking to see the affable Nezzer cheer on a fight or give Larry and Laura an angry glare when they ask to pet his dog thing.

VeggieTales started out as the Christian answer to the mindless cartoons of the era and the cheesy Christian kids shows that were out at the time. The originals were full of wit and charm, and despite the primitive animation, people loved the series for its humor and utilization of classic stories from the Bible to give moral lessons to kids rather than just entertainment.

This show is the complete antithesis of that.

This show is annoying and obnoxious, it gets up in your face with its annoyance and obnoxiousness and doesn't let up until the credits roll. The jokes are dull and stupid, and you've seen them all before. The characters are unrecognizable and irritating. This show is like the equivalent to that one really annoying little cousin who tells you the same jokes you've heard a million times every time you meet and can never seem to shut up or sit still.

If, for some horrible reason, Phil Vischer had passed away after the release of Jonah, (not wishing death, I love you, Phil) he would be spinning his grave. This show fails on every single level, and I really do have a sneaking suspicion that he and Mike regret their involvement in it, because it goes against everything they worked so hard to create. Phil was once quoted as saying he felt as though VeggieTales was a failure at teaching what he wanted it to teach, (The Bible) so I wouldn't be surprised if his biggest motivation to help create this series was money rather than love and devotion

This show is terrible at everything it tries to do, and if I worked at Netflix I'd order it to be cancelled, but since I can't do that I'll just say this: don't watch this if you love the original series. You will be disappointed and angry. But if you want something for your kid to watch to keep him quiet for 22 minutes, be my guest. Just don't be surprised if he keeps having nightmares about giant, hyper-realistic cartoon produce coming to get him.

DISCLAIMER:Following review is from the view point of someone who watched the original when I was a child.

If you were a big fan of the original series and you've come here to get a nostalgic re imagining of the beloved show. TURN BACK! I tried to watch all four of the episodes but could not suffer through all of them. I made it through 1 and a half before I had to stop. This version does not live up in any aspect. SONGS, terrible; not memorable in the slightest and seems completely arbitrary. MESSAGE, of the 3 stories I watched I'm not even entirely sure what the faith based lessons they were supposed to be teaching were. Or how they would apply to a child's life! The bible verses they give seem like an after-thought to the each of the central stories. HUMOR, this point really kills it. I may have smirked a few times throughout but mostly it was from the sheer incredulous plot lines. A Mustache cream? Could be funny but handled horribly in this case.

The entire show seems dumbed down. Most of the characters are there but they are hollow unfunny shells. I think the writes serious underestimated what they have. If they'd have taken us who watched it as children into account and made a few nods to the old show or at least kept its best parts, they could have really capitalized on the older generation. But instead they've completely isolated us with this water down stuff. I mean I'm all for making changes but...The new "theme song"? I use that term lightly because it is perhaps the worst theme song in the existence of theme songs. I watched it not 4 minutes ago but the only impact it left was how terrible and bland it was. Silly Songs with Larry? Nowhere to be seen. In the original Larry was indeed silly, and some what scatter brained but I always thought he seemed like a goofy adult. Now he seems like a mentally handicapped adolescent. A true insult to what the show used to be.

The original had sketches based on the bible some were stories right of the bible. When I study now I still remember them! They truly taught me things and helped me learn. I don't see how this could help anyone. Sure it may be leaps and bounds better than the rest of TV programing for kids, but it is still SEVERELY lacking. To parents; stick with the original. To my fellows who enjoyed the show in the past. Say away from this, insulting, boring mess. To the writes of this show. Get your act together. This is just....Awful. How could you.

I have to disagree with what the previous reviewer wrote. This show is really fun, goofy, silly, all the things the old show was. I'm only disappointed that there are so few episodes because I know my kids will watch them to an annoying extent.

Devo106 kept comparing it to the original shows. This wasn't meant to be a reboot. We can't always have Silly Songs With Larry. But this show is like the older ones. Maybe they hadn't watched the older ones in a long time, but my kids watch them ALL THE TIME. This new series has all the same silly humor, and the same silly Larry that the old "series" had.

The show looks like an anime rip-off. Here are some things: 1. Bob and Larry has eyebrows and tongue. 2. Larry looks like a pickle. 3. Petunia sounded like a teenager. 4. Madame Blueberry sounded too British, not French. 5. Junior Asparagus sounded like Jimmy Neutron. 6. Laura the Carrot sounded like female version of Timmy Turner. 7. Archibald looks too skinny and his British accent sounded like he had a frog in his throat. 8. Jean Claude and Philipe looked like circus freaks. 9. Ichabod "Ichabeezer" Money Nezzer sounded like Carl Wheezer, who went for a drink at a bar. 10. Jimmy has cravings or some sort. His brother, Jerry, is too stupid like Sheen from Jimmy Neutron. AND THEIR TEETH LOOKED LIKE VAMPIRE TEETH!!!!!

And that's why, Big Idea should replace Dreamworks with Paramount Pictures/Animation. They love racist stuff.

This show uses too much adult code words adults would love to hear from the young humans. And it's a winning game any way you put it. Because even if the children learn the controlled vocabulary of their adult jail masters, the adults still get to enjoy countless hours of being disappointed, let down, whatever.

The show is unnatural in speech. And the animation is very weird given the vegetables do not have visible hands and legs even if they do seem to use hands and legs.

Still, nice to have some variation from the killer robots routine.

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch