Synopsis:

Veggie Tales has finally made it to DVD! For those of you without children, Veggie Tales is a wonderfully thematic CG cartoon that features, you guessed it, talking vegetables. The main characters are Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, Jr. Asparagus, Archibald Asparagus, and a batch of the funniest French Peas, you'll ever find! Each Veggie Tale is chock full of wonderful Judeo Christian values that have been made palatable for the younger ones in the family. Each episode of the "tales" features the major players in different re-tellings of bible stories. In the latest installment, the lesson is on the importance of sharing and who better to explain that concept than, Vikings! In Lyle The Kindly Viking, Lyle (Jr. Asparagus) refuses to go out on pillaging runs with his Viking family. Instead, he stays at home and knits…potholders. Once completed, he takes the potholders to the victims of his families Viking looting, and returns to them a portion of the booty they lost. In addition to the potholders that is. Largely musical and loosely based on the Pirates of Penzance, Lyle the Kindly Viking is full of songs that eventually lead to the realization that sharing is better than anything. Especially, when it comes to taking things from people without their permission. In addition to the stories as told by the main veggies, a silly song accompanies each tape/DVD. In this particular episode, Archibald Asparagus has commandeered "Silly Songs" and replaced them with "Classy Songs". You really have to know a little something about Archibald's background to appreciate the change from silly to classy. In any event, the silly song featured is "Larry's High Silk Hat". Like all the Silly/Classy songs, this one is silly and quite funny. For their first foray into DVD, Veggie Tales came out of the box swinging and scored a KO!

Audio/Video:

The audio for LTKV is presented in a DD5.1 platform that has some pretty decent aural effects included for their DVD release. When you are used to watching them on VHS, you come to expect a normal audio presentation. The DVD however, expands the listening area and creates a very full audio presentation. Most notably, the effects during the storm are really nicely presented. It's just really neat hearing them in 5.1 when you are used to a 2-channel stereo presentation! The dialogue was clear and the effects were well utilized. There were even directional effects employed which made a great presentation even better. The video is spotless. Veggie Tales is CG already so, the level of detail even on the VHS versions are pretty intense. The DVD actually lends an even greater level of detail to an already visually striking presentation. The colors are bright and well defined. The blacks are deep and the vegetable skin tones are true! The episode is presented in a full frame format and there were no transfer errors of any kind noted. Essentially, an impeccable transfer.

Extras:

The extra on the disc are as follows: Larry's high Silk Hat video is presented in widescreen, an interview with Veggie Tales creator AKA The Big Tomato and Big Ideas founder Phil Vischer and Director of LTFV, Tim Hodge. A story reel/Storyboard side by side comparison on Jr. Asparagus' song about sharing is included that showcases both the unfinished and the finished version of the song. As well as a trailer for the soon-to-be-very first theatrically released Veggie Tales movie Jonah!

Overall:

Lyle the Kindly Viking is another great chapter in a series of great releases from Big Idea Productions. The quality of the storylines and the quality of the presentations themselves are hard to beat. When parents are scanning the airwaves for something for their kids to watch that doesn't involve all the current horrors of programming for children, Veggie Tales comes to the rescue and delivers not only very enjoyable entertainment but, educational fun as well. I'm not really sure who loves these more, my son or myself?! My family loves them and swears by their content and presentation. Once you start, you'll be hooked too! Highly Recommended