VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 25, 2020

The VeggieTales series prompts children to consider life's challenges through prisms of colorful animation, lighthearted humor, and spirituality. In LarryBoy and the Bad Apple, the challenge is temptation, which is personified in an apple (as in the Garden of Eden) which takes aim at various individual weaknesses in a greater scheme of creating chaos and securing control over a town. On the other side is a Superhero who comes to realize that he can't save the day without a little help from up above. It's a good little program, clocking in at 45 minutes, and offering a good balance between color, comedy, and content that should please younger viewers and ingrain in them a Biblical perspective on temptation.

The town of Bumblyburg is about to celebrate a major anniversary but the wicked Bad Apple has other plans. She desires to usurp power by finding the weaknesses in the town's leadership, exploiting them, and creating an opening for her wicked ways. She faces three key obstacles: Mayor Blueberry, whose weakness is vanity; local reporter and communications expert Petunia Rhubarb, whose weakness is video games; and the local superhero and town protector, LarryBoy, whose weakness is chocolate. With promises of great beauty, a hot new racing game, and copious amounts of sweets, Bad Apple makes her move, and her position is only strengthened when LarryBoy proclaims that, because he's a superhero, he's not susceptible to temptation and doesn't need any extra help. Will he be proven correct, or will he need to turn to a stronger, higher source in order to save the day?

The program opens with Bob the Tomato and LarryBoy fielding a fan text message from someone who is addicted to video games, which leads into a conversation about the dangers of temptation and into the film proper. There's a fun Batman vibe to the show but of course it favors zany cartoon action, simple characterization, and timeless messages on the importance of balance in life, of not succumbing to temptation when one knows it means doing something wrong. The film doesn't speak poorly of the temptations the characters face -- there's nothing wrong with looking pretty, taking a break to play a game, or snacking on a few bites of chocolate -- but rather discusses why it's important to indulge in moderation and the dangers of ignoring everything else for a single pursuit. Essentially, the characters are consumed by the temptations they face, focusing on the trivial rather than what's important.

Certainly, there's a spiritual angle to the program. God, the show says, is bigger than any temptation one may face and it espouses the importance of turning to Him for help and doing one's job -- mayor, reporter, superhero -- to the best of one's ability through that prism of remaining faithful to and dependent on God through every pursuit. That the tempter is "Bad Apple" is certainly no coincidence; anyone who has ever attended Sunday school will remember that the serpent tempted Eve with the apple in the Garden of Eden, the original sin. But the show doesn't push its message in every scene; it's subtle through most but commands the content in the final minutes. Overall, it's fun and colorful, certainly lacking the technical wizardry of more modern and more robustly budgeted animated fare, but parents looking for clean content with a healthy spiritual message will find a good and entertaining option here.

VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple's 1080p Blu-ray presentation is severely hamstrung by the source animation's inherent limitations. There is some banding and aliasing in evidence on the counter in the first minute and these issues, as well as stair stepped edges, appear in some frequency throughout, yielding a disappointing image in the aggregate. The picture displays the inherent low grade animation style that yields soft textures, a flat presentation, and clarity boosted by resolution but severely lacking at the source. There's no real definition beyond the basics, which are themselves often left wanting for more intricacy. Of course, this is not a fault of the Blu-ray as it has no choice but to display the mediocre, at best, elements. Colors are flat, too, lacking punch and pizzazz. Whether would-be bright greens and reds and purples that make up several of the key characters or various other accents around the city, there's not much depth or pop of note. The image is certainly watchable, and the target audience won't care, but any videophiles following along are going to be disappointed.

VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack fares a bit better than its video counterpart, delivering a well versed listening experience, particularly as it accompanies a program of limited production value. The track is lively and proves willing and able to spread sound around the stage, whether considering music or action and ambient effects. There's both wide front side spread and pleasing surround integration to all elements, and clarity remains a high point throughout. Several discrete effects pop in from time to time, such as a knock on a door off to the side as heard in the 12-minute mark. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and center focused and includes a few good examples of natural reverb when Petunia is reporting early in the film and again at the 33 minute mark.

VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple contains several bonus featurettes and a commentary track. A DVD copy of the program is included with purchase. No digital codes and no slipcover are available.

• The Story (1080i, 5:23): The creators discuss the theme of temptation that defines the story and how it impacts the characters, the world, and the message. It also looks at some technical details like voice work and the animation process.
• Rebuilding Bumblyburg (1080i, 7:57): The creators essentially start from scratch after LarryBoy's lengthy hiatus. They discuss the environments, vehicles, characters and voice work, animation, and more.
• Studio Commentary: Director Tim Hodge, Producer David Pitts, and Co-Writer/Voice Actor Mike Nawrocki discuss returning LarryBoy to the screen, technical details, themes and story, anecdotal insights, and more.
• LarryBoy's Chocolate (1080i, 3:22): LarryBoy learns about where chocolate comes from.
• Web Maze Family Activity (1080i, 1:06): Instructions on how to make a web maze with twine.
• Tip Top Cape Shape Storybook (1080p, 1:40): Petunia reads a children's book from the LarryBoy universe.
• How to Draw LarryBoy (1080i, 9:05): Big Idea Artist Greg Hardin shows viewers how to draw the show's hero.
• How to Draw the Bad Apple (1080i, 7:58): Big Idea Concept Artist Joe Spadaford demonstrates the process of drawing the film's villain.

VeggieTales: LarryBoy and the Bad Apple Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

LarryBoy and the Bad Apple offers a nice combination of family-friendly digitally animated fun with a positive lesson on the dangers of temptation and unchecked focus on trivial pursuits. There's a spiritual component, too, which is reinforced through scripture towards show's end. The technical construction is a bit crude by modern standards but kids should enjoy the Superhero vibe and parents the safe environment the show provides. Video and audio presentations are adequate though hindered by the source. The disc contains a decent assortment of extras. Recommended.