Yeah, I go on and on about LarryBoy. So... why not praise him a little.
-I mean, come on! I feel that LarryBoy is the only superhero on Earth that goes under-appreciated. (That's saying a lot.)
So, pull up a couch and enjoy my Top 8 favorite LarryBoy episodes. Yes, I'll include the Cartoon Adventures and the recent LarryBoy adventure, a.k.a. "diet-LarryBoy."
8. LarryBoy in the Good, the Bad, and the Eggly
Not only is this my least favorite episode... it's also forgettable.
Well, something you should know is that this episode is part of the diet-LarryBoy canon.
Almost nothing stands out in this adventure, other than LarryBoy teaming up with another superhero (who, again, nobody gives a crap about) to defeat two bad guys who... decided to team up as well.
-Gosh! Are they serious?
Plus, in general, the show's message was phoned in; the comedy was weak; and the story itself was a bore.
If there was anything of value, I'd say that...
-You know what? I can't think of what was valuable in that one. Sorry...
7. LarryBoy: Leggo My Ego
Talk about an awesome vs. a villain with an enabling mother. That's the scenario for this one.
Well, I don't see this video as the worst one. It's just that this kind of awkwardness led to two more Cartoon Adventures awkwardnesses.
The only problems I had with this movie was the story and the villains.
For the story, you can tell that they're trying to get their message across...
BUT HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR LARRYBOY TO LEARN THAT THE BAD GUYS HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR THEIR EVIL PLANS?
-Hint: He finds out in the last ten minutes of the episode.
And lastly, the villains.
You have an evil Alchemist who would've been bad-ass if he didn't have his mother around wearing the pants. And then you have his mother Pearl, who... I KID YOU NOT... could be the love-child of the Burger Meister (Santa Claus is Coming to Town special) and the old witch (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves). If you watch the movie all the way through, you can tell that she speaks more than the Alchemist...
-MOMMA'S BOY! I don't care if you're supposed to be the villain of the movie! I don't care if you've invented a special chemical spray that can only be fueled by one's pride! It doesn't matter what your occupation or about the outfit that Loki would think is silly... YOU'RE STILL A MOMMA'S BOY!
Anyway, I don't think that this was the worse LarryBoy adventure, but I don't think it's that great either.
6. LarryBoy and the Yodelnapper
Keeping in the spirit of having weird villains and trying to get a message across... LarryBoy and the Yodelnapper is kinda like that... plus the overwhelming theme of yodeling.
-I'm serious. Yodeling is like the highlight of the movie!
More than 85% of this movie consists of having to do with yodeling. Well, I could understand that some of it is meant for the sake of the plot, but at times where it's not needed... it just shows up!
On top of that, there's also some awkwardness that I'm sure I covered in the past...
-Yeah, that mischievous Awkward-Face Moment that I had coined in my review of this movie. While we're on the subject, pick which one is more awkward than the one I have here:
(The Pebble and the Penguin)
(LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space)
OR...
("The Penguin Who Loved Me")
-BTW, more Awkward-Face Moments to come in this blog.
Anyway, this movie wasn't as bad as The Good, The Bad, and The Eggly...
5. LarryBoy and the Angry Eyebrows
Like I've said before in this blog, I felt that this was the video that made LarryBoy lose its popularity over the years- the start of the downfall. This was where Big Idea made that big jump out of their comfort zone by trying 2D-animation, instead of CG-animation; it almost worked, but didn't.
It's the same formula: the hero-and-villain cliches;
the Saturday-Morning cartoon feel;
and the message trying to get across...
-I mean, serious, Awful Alvin! Get a life.
4. LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space
The video that started it all!!!
Can you really blame me for putting this one in the #4 spot? Well, it's not bad.
I mean, it's not as awkward as the Cartoon Adventures episodes combined. And the message is there.
But aside from that, this video was just a work-in-progress for future videos. As I said before, this was when Big Idea was testing out a superhero mascot for Veggietales.
I don't think this movie was meant to be taken seriously; it's just one of those movies that debut something, only to make them more popular in the sequels...
-EXCLUDING the third Iron Man movie, and The Little Mermaid sequel and prequel.
3. The League of Incredible Vegetables
Already two years old (I'm writing this post on October 1, 2014), seeing that it was released in October 2012, The League of Incredible Vegetables was, by far, the most-advertised and most-promoted (in Christian retail, at the very least) of the LarryBoy franchise. Keep in mind that this was the year when The Avengers movie was all the raves, and TV shows wanted to have their own spoof of the film. So, this movie wanted to cash in on the excitement. Most of the story is tolerable, except for the payoffs of LarryBoy that they decide to give us.
-I'm telling you! LarryBoy is a great superhero, but the movie just needed to keep him more involved. That means not having LarryBoy kidnapped and waiting for the rest of the League to come rescue him.
And that also means not letting Junior Asparagus have all the spotlight by giving him and superhero costume and making him superhero material!
How many times do I have to say that Junior Asparagus is not superhero material?!
However, there was anything of value... that would be the scene where LarryBoy saves Dr. Flurry
(SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!!!) near the end of the movie. That goes to show that LarryBoy isn't like the other superheroes that we know of today- that's what's unique about LarryBoy: he doesn't kill anybody or let anyone die.
-Refer to my editorial called "Why Did LarryBoy Save Dr. Flurry?"
2. LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed
After the release of The Fib from Outer Space, Veggietales fans begged for a sequel... and it was great.
This video decided to touch down on a serious topic: spreading rumors. Nowadays, rumors are spread through the Internet. However, this video keeps its message subtle to where it's understandable. This video knows that words can hurt people, especially if the person that you're talking about has a high reputation.
And yes, people tend to disregard this kind of message a lot, but for me, this video gets it.
I also liked that the animation was much more detailed and beautiful to look at.
The story had a darker feel than the first one.
The comedy can be corny, but it still works. For what it is, I liked it, and I still do.
1. LarryBoy and the Bad Apple
I debated whether to put this one or Rumor Weed in the #1 spot, because they were both energized and action-packed. However, as far as comebacks go, I'll have to give the #1 spot to Bad Apple.
First of all, after the downfall of LarryBoy with the Cartoon Adventures, Big Idea finally learned its lesson and gave us Bad Apple in 2006 (about 7 years after Rumor Weed); and boy did it pay off!
The action, the writing, and the animation... they're all there!
There was little to no problems in this movie. I loved everything about it. I especially loved the animation, because it made everything nicer and bigger
(not to mention the city back-drops; they were awesome).
Even the colors and effects are beautiful to look at...
-Um, maybe that trippy moment in that Chocolate-Room scene(?)
On top of that, the high-speed quality of the animation matches the delivery of action
(ex. the scene where LarryBoy is rescuing Petunia Rhubarb from her video game).
It's amazing; it's something worth talking about; it was inventive; and it was the greatest comeback for a superhero.
And that was my Top 8 list. I hoped you had fun.
Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Veggietales
LarryBoy: The Cartoon Adventures
The Pebble and the Penguin
Penguins of Madagascar
Courtesy: Big Idea Entertainment, Don Bluth, and DreamWorks Animation.
