Veggie Tales - Duke And The Great Pie War

Reviewed by James Richard Morris

"A lesson in loving your family," this animated re-interpretation of the book of Ruth is certainly a visual feast, and a charming one at that. Running at around 40 minutes, the main feature is preceded by an untold tale of Moses' early life, in which the viewer is given an insight into his sister Miriam's coming to terms with the challenges, and relative loss of attention, associated with having a new baby in the household. Told from a child's perspective, it is easy to imagine children identifying with the leguminous protagonist, and assumedly learning the importance of putting other's needs before one's own. Attention to detail is paid throughout in the animation, the Egyptian Peas being especially amusing characters. Despite the initial exposition being somewhat speculative, and the Egyptian threat being toned down, the resolution of this early story of Moses is quite close to that of the story in Exodus and maintains most of the salient points. Interspersed with a hilarious running dialogue between Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato, an amazing barbershop number and "A Brand New Silly Song", the jokes are all here. 'Duke And The Great Pie War' is a good effort at attempting to convey the essence of the story of Ruth for youngsters. Translating the Biblical context to a medieval setting it lost a great deal of subtlety in the switch to a "Knight School" and "Serf Music" mentality. However, bearing in mind the intended audience, this is perhaps not too pertinent a point. The DVD contains some great bonus features, the most entertaining and informative of which is the Behind the Scenes section, where the viewer is given a real insight into the way a VeggieTales episode is created. It certainly appears that the creators of this series are almost as colourful and fun as their vegetable counterparts.