Saturday, March 2, 2013

VeggieTales: Lettuce Love One Another!




VeggieTales shows the way of love

VeggieTales: Lettuce Love One Another!
Length: Approximately 123 minutes

Even though I knew that VeggieTales: Lettuce Love One Another! includes three different stories, while watching for the first time, I found myself distracted by the first one, Abe & the Amazing Promise. I struggled to see how it fit with the theme of showing love to others. Perhaps I needed to learn this story’s lesson of patience.

Abe is all about Abraham and Sarah waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise. This is staged as an interview with Abraham, who recalls the events while being filmed. The impatience of the film crew shows that being patient is a way to show love to others: “Love is patient and kind” (1 Cor. 13:4a ESV). As Junior Asparagus notes, it’s hard to wait when you have “cookies on the brain.” The idea is that we can trust God to do what He promised, even though waiting is not easy.

Of course, it’s not enough to refrain from being impatient. In Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue we learn the importance of helping others. You can summarize the thought in one of the wise sayings from the book of Proverbs, “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them” (Pro. 3:27 NLT). This time, instead of Larry being the one who gets in trouble, it’s Tomato Sawyer who is reluctant to help.

Some might not want little ones to learn the story of King David’s sin with another man’s wife. No worries! The worst thing in King George & the Ducky is the selfishness and greed. Sex is never part of this retelling. This is about thinking of others. Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 19: 19 NLT).

It’s not as serious as it may seem. What makes it fun is the zany humor. The subtle aspects and pop culture references broaden the appeal. It’s remarkable that these stories can be appreciated by all ages.

Five new “Bible Bits” found in and around the stories give this more substance. They consist of brief Bible lessons illustrated with drawings that are moved like objects on a flannelgraph. It’s a change from the standard animation. Each one is narrated. Together they provide examples of forgiving, helping, giving, praying and sharing.

Bonus features include three silly songs, “The Biscuit of Zazzamarandabo,” “Sneeze if You Need To” and “Endangered Love.”

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