Editorial: Is Bumblyburg Dead?

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Whatever happened to LarryBoy being in his hometown Bumblyburg?

Now that we've already seen him in his new appearance in the realm of Veggietales In The House, does that mean that he doesn't fight crime in Bumblyburg anymore?

-(only assuming) Bumblyburg may have gone to shit right now without him. Just saying. Maybe villains like the Bad Apple got smart and finally conquered that city... Let's hope that's not the case.

Now before go any further, I want to say that this editorial will include spoilers, as well as my own personal theories (like the one I wrote just now). So let's dive right in.

The city in question (Bumblyburg) is where many of LarryBoy's adventures take place,

from the CG-animated movies

to the Cartoon Adventures

and back again. If you watch all the videos all the way through in one sitting, you can tell that Bumblyburg has evolved over the years, going from a medium-sized yet busy city to a city with cool city backdrops. However, in The League of Incredible Vegetables,

Big Idea made the mistake of ditching the city backdrops, and replacing it with small-town-looking setups.

-WTF was up with that? What was wrong with making the city look big and modern like in LarryBoy and the Bad Apple? And that wouldn't be the first thing that The League of Incredible Vegetables fucked up on...

(and I've bitched about it over and over in one or a few blog posts)

To make matters worse, Bumblyburg isn't even present in Veggietales In The House,

like it's a lost cause or something. Now right here, I would like to propose a theory:

We know that the Noah's Ark episode of the new version of Veggietales is already here. Yes, Veggietales has two shows: one to distribute on DVD, and one to run on Netflix. So, if we already know that Big Idea is going to stick to their new animation style, I imagine that they're not finished with LarryBoy yet. If they're not finished with him yet, then Bumblyburg isn't finished yet either, because that city is part of what the LarryBoy universe is about.

So, is Bumblyburg dead?

Well, not exactly.

We have no idea what's on Big Idea's mind when it comes to LarryBoy. We don't know whether or not Big Idea would bring back the cool scenic backdrops of the tall buildings and the epic-ness of it. We don't know if a new Batman-Spiderman-based city is in the works. Only time would tell... and trust me, that's saying a lot about what they're already having LarryBoy do in Veggietales In The House.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Veggietales In The House
Veggietales
LarryBoy The Cartoon Adventures

Courtesy: Big Idea/DreamWorks

Scene Review: Rumor Weed Musical Number scene ("LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed")

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

I've always wanted to take a scene from a movie and give my opinion on it. And I did...
-Refer to the previous blog post (fight scene from The Pebble and the Penguin).
And recently, you guys requested that I do a scene review on a certain scene from LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed,

and that's the scene where  the Rumor Weed is singing while LarryBoy tries his best to destroy her... but ends up coming up short.

So let's not waste anymore time! This is my second Scene Review!

Start of Scene:

The scene starts with the camera zooming into the most generic neighborhood that you'll ever see of the late 90s, while catchy drum-and-snapping-finger music plays.

We then cut to Mr. Nezzer still in his BBQ-grilling attire...

-Um... why?

And then we see a Rumor Weed hanging around on the picket fence, and starting her song.

Rumor Weed (singing?): "Have you heard the one about Alfred?"

-Yeah, don't get me wrong, but like I mentioned in the review for this movie, this song is more of a rap than a sing-song song. Well, at least the end credits make up for it by having a sing-song version of this song.

Rumor Weed (singing?): "A dangerous robot I'm told..."

-Oh no! She turned into a disco ball! (Yeah right...)

-And plus, what's with the changing colors? It's like every time a villain sings a song, the colors have to be distorted. Why is that? Are we to assume that the scene is on drugs or something? Well, to be fair, the color trip happens three times in this scene; however, they feel really awkward, because... I mean look!

Now once the song gets going, Mr. Nezzer and two other characters join in:

Mr. Nezzer: "We've heard the one about Alfred. It's strange..."

Pea: "Amazing!"

Carrot: "And true!"

-Question: How do these people know Alfred? It's like the whole community knows him like he's a friggin' celebrity, when he's only a manservant to LarryBoy. And while we're on the subject, half of the dialogue in this movie is about Alfred:

Junior: "Did you hear what Mr. Alfred said?"

Rumor Weed: "I'm a good friend of Albert's..."

Laura: "Alfred."

Rumor Weed: "Yeah, Alfred..."

Mr. Nezzer: "What about Alfred?"

Carrot: "He is on the library board."

Mayor Blueberry: "They've been saying some strange things about your friend Alfred. I don't believe them, but some of our citizens are getting worried."

Dad Asparagus: "Mr. Alfred is a very nice man."

Mr. Nezzer: "...I remember when Alfred helped me out with my dinner party."

One Citizen: "He helped me change a tire."

One Lady Citizen: "He carried my groceries for me."

Officer Scooter: (crying) "He helped us with our bake sale!"
-Dude, there's a difference between saving someone and a funeral. Do you mind getting a clue?
Anyway, see what I mean? That was half the dialogue of that movie! Well, to be fair, that's supposed to be the purpose: Alfred being the center of attention.

So the Rumor Weed introduces herself through the song's chorus part. Then LarryBoy shows up to try to apprehend the weed.

So what does he have as a weapon?
LarryBoy: "Alright, Alfred. I am executing Plan A!"

(LarryBoy using a weed whacker)

-(sarcasm) By the way, good job, neighbors, for keeping out of the way, so that grass doesn't get into your eyes.

FAIL
LarryBoy: "Um, I'm gonna... I'm gonna try Plan B."

Alfred: "Alright, Trying Plan B..."
-The weird part about this bit is that you can definitely tell that LarryBoy is trying to cut at the weed. But afterwards, nothing is done to the weed, other than her just giving him a look, as if to say:

"Really, man?"
-And plus... random joke in 3...2...1...

(Does this make me look fat?)

After LarryBoy leaves, the Rumor Weed tells the three neighbors about how a rumor starts.
-And no, I'm not going to indicate that they're singing, because again, they're not really singing as much as rapping the lyrics.
Mr. Nezzer: "So what is a rumor?"
Rumor Weed: "It starts as a story/Maybe it's true, maybe not/but once you repeat it, it's hard to defeat it./Now look at the mess that you got!"
Neighbors; "Uh-huh!"
-That's Rumors 101 for us.

-Now, one thing that I've noticed is that there's one point in the scene where there's three Rumor Weeds standing in different spots, instead of there being only one weed.

Now, this is my first time noticing this, even though I saw this movie a million times, but I've discovered this when pausing scenes on my iPad.
-By the way, loving the color changes yet? I'm... I'm still a little bit skeptical.

-And look at that! These neighbors are just chilling during the weed's presence, as if this is a good thing. Seriously! What is wrong with these people?! Where's LarryBoy when you need him?
LarryBoy: "I am executing Plan B!"
-Thank you!

(LarryBoy using hedge clippers)

FAIL
-And even the weed is like:

"Eh..." (her reaction)
So seeing that both Plans A and B were a fail, what does our hero react?
LarryBoy: "Alfred, I think we have a problem."
Alfred: "Yes? What's that?"
LarryBoy: "I can't stop this thing!"
-Wouldn't it be nice to have a Plan C right now?

Anyway, Alfred tells LarryBoy that he can use the sensors from his plunger ears to scan the weed to gather some data. And then we get...
-Oh, just watch and see.

Rumor Weed: "Hello? Hello? Testing one, two, three..."
-(giggling) You can totally make fun of this bit right here.
AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR A SEGMENT I'D LIKE TO CALL...
Random Jokes with Whatsoever Critic!
Joke #1:

"Hi, can I get a large pizza with extra toppings and..."
Joke #2:

"Excuse me, sir? Is your refrigerator running?"

"Uh, I guess..."

"Well, you better go catch it!"
THIS HAS BEEN...
Random Jokes with Whatsoever Critic!

So after gathering data from the scanning...

-By the way, this is like the late-90s version of iTunes, when you think about it.
-And plus, why do they have Junior Asparagus on one of the monitors?

The Fib from Outer Space incident was 2 years ago (1997-99 time period). Are they stalking him?!
...LarryBoy can't move because...
LarryBoy: "It's got me by the ear!"

-Now, this is where we get Bullshit #3.

Seeing that Bullshit #1 is the weed whacker fail,

and Bullshit #2 the hedge clippers fail... Bullshit #3 is being pulled by a weed that as twice as strong as you are.

I mean, has that weed been bench-pressing the whole time she was in the sewer?

Then the Rumor Weed continues her song, and eventually lets LarryBoy's ear go, sending him flying off-screen. Then the neighbors join in the song... as if everything is A-Okay or something.

-Really, guys?! A stranger just comes into your yard and starts saying weird stuff about a person, attacks another person (LarryBoy)... and all y'all can do is join into her delusional festivities?!

Okay, so that's a run-through of the Rumor Weed song scene from LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed. I hope you enjoyed this new segment that I'm doing so far. This was requested by you guys. So thanks guys!

Whatsoever Critic
Source: LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed

Nintendo DSi also used for circling things, pointing at things, and making notes.

Courtesy: Big Idea