Product Description

Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 08/31/2004

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29532 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-08-31
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 50 minutes

Amazon.com
The main event on VeggieTales: Sumo of the Opera is the title featurette, a comic concoction of Gilbert & Sullivan and Rocky. Veggie Tales hero Larry the Cucumber plays the Italian Scallion (okay, so he was raised by a family of onions), a professional wrestler big on quips but not on finishing anything he starts, in or out of the ring. When he's challenged to a match with the sizable Apollo Gourd, Scallion is faced with the biggest decision of his life: Does he have what it takes to complete the task? This particular VeggieTales animation treat for kids doesn't reinvent any specific Bible story, but it does underscore the importance of perseverance. Also on the disc are a few extras, including "Going Up," a more-or-less silent comedy in which a Veggie Tales version of the Three Stooges re-creates the famous Laurel and Hardy routine about pushing a piano up a long flight of stairs. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Hilarious Entry in the Series
The latest episode of everyone's favorite vegetables is packed full.

First up is "Going Up," a "silent" film starring the three Veggie Stooges working to deliver a very heavy piano up a very tall flight of stairs.

Next up is our silly song, the hilarious "School House Polka." Where do they get these great ideas?

Then comes a new segment. "Lufti's Fanciful Flanographs" features the story of St. Patrick. I found this retelling rather funny myself.

Finally comes the title feature. Larry takes the main role of The Italian Scallion, a sumo wrestler who never takes anything seriously. Will he follow through when he challenges Apollo Gourd to a championship match?

All this is held together by Bob trying to convince Larry, via phone, to go to the charity event he's supposed to be at.

While the last couple of episodes have been great, they've had fewer laugh out loud moments in them do to the nature of the stories they were telling. This episode is all out laughs. I loved every segment. The last one had plenty of references adults will appreciate as it spoofs underdog sports movies. Throughout the show, the theme is still clear - perseverance is rewarded by God.

As always, anyone looking for more won't be disappointed by the DVD. For adult fans, they've got behind the scenes documentaries and an audio commentary. Kids will enjoy the trivia game, maze, and craft ideas. And, as always, picture and sound are top notch.

It seems my love of VeggieTales grows with every episode I see. This is no exception. If you love these shows, be sure to add this one to your collection.

Another Excellent Story
This VeggieTales release is another winner. With four excellent segments, this show has enough variety to win over lots of different tastes.

"Going Up" is a spoof of Laurel and Hardy mixed with The Three Stooges, and while this has some dialogue (not in the actual story, but in the special dialogue cards that go with it), the original "unrestored" version that was going to be part of the show before it was changed is included as a bonus DVD feature.

"Schoolhouse Polka" is a pretty good Silly Song, though not as good as some other recent greats like "Sport Utility Vehicle" and "Belly Button." It's also kind of short. A good segment, nonetheless.

"St. Patrick's Day" tells the story of Saint Patrick in a mix of 2-D and 3-D animation, within the context of a flannelgraph. It's a great story on church history and it's very funny to boot.

The main segment, "Sumo of the Opera," is wonderful with a great color palette, excellent animation, and a good story. This one also has a good score.

As usual there is a Bible verse at the end, but a surprise happens to QWERTY. Hopefully he'll be repaired by next show.

The DVD features are as to be expected from Big Idea top notch, including Easter Eggs and the standard behind-the-scenes interviews. There are previews for two upcoming shows, "The Princess and the Pie War" (January 2005) and "Minnesota Cuke" (May 2005), as well as a progression reel and art gallery. My favorite feature is always the audio commentary, and David Pitts and Mike Nawrocki (who also did the commentary on "A Snoodle's Tale") do a great job with the audio commentary on this DVD. For the St. Patrick's Day segment, Mr. Nawrocki is joined by Brian K. Roberts, who animated the entire segment. After the segment is done David Pitts come back and he and Mr. Nawrocki finish the rest of the commentary.

One minor concern -- Phil Vischer is almost nowhere to be found on this DVD. Aside from voicing Bob, Jerry Gourd, Pa Grape, and his other usuals, and singing in the Japanese vegetable choir, he seems to have had little to do with this episode, and he's not in any of the DVD features either. Hopefully he will be more involved in the upcoming episodes.

Overall a great episode and a great DVD -- surely another classic for everybody's VeggieTales library.

They Seem Like the Veggies to Me.
Despite the fact that Veggies Tales and Big Idea are now owned by a larger company, the creativity and Biblical messages haven't stopped coming. THE SUMO OF THE OPERA is the latest episode to be released in the Veggie Tales series.

The entire episode revolves around a message of perseverance. Larry isn't on the show because he's supposed to be delivering some toys to some kids. However, he's gotten lost and is about ready to give up when he calls Bob asking for help. What follows are several films aimed at trying to keep Larry from giving up with what he set out to do.

The first short in the episode is a "silent" film called "Going Up". The short film is kind of a tribute to the Three Stooges and involves a trio of vegetables (who look like the Stooges) trying to deliver a piano up a mountain of stairs. The film is introduced by a hand-puppet in the shape of a cucumber which is operated by Khalil.

The second short on the tape is the usual Silly Songs with Larry. This one is entitled "Schoolhouse Polka" and has Larry singing about homophones. The song is rather short, but it is original and reminiscent of the Silly Songs from the original Veggie Tales episodes.

A third feature on the tape is "St. Patrick's Day" which tells the history of St. Patrick. The story is illustrated with images that look like pictographs, but pictographs which move 3-Dimensionally. The story is quite informative and educational. However, I have no idea why it's on this episode since St. Patrick's Day isn't until March and the video was released at the end of August.

The final installment on the episode is "The Sumo of the Opera". "The Sumo of the Opera" can best be described as a tribute to Rocky, interspersed with Oriental dressed vegetables who sing songs to the tunes of Gilbert and Sullivan. Quirky, yes. But it works and provides enough vibrant colors and short tunes to keep even the youngest children involved.

Overall, SUMO OF THE OPERA is a great Veggie Tales. There's a lot crammed in one tape, but most people like their veggies plump.