Trailer Analysis: The Never-Before-Seen Trailer of "LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed"

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

As promised in my previous blog post, I'm here to give you my analysis on the never-before-seen trailer of LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed.

For me, I found out about this particular trailer two or three years ago when I was watching my DVD copy of the movie. When I first came across it, I was wondering if anyone else that watches Veggietales knows anything about this. Well, I know that this never-before-seen trailer is also on Youtube, but the full version of this trailer can be found only on the DVD.

When I first saw this never-before-seen trailer, I was a little amazed. In fact, it didn't have the same kind of quirkiness as any other Veggietales video. So let's get started.

Where To Find the Never-Before-Seen Trailer
Like I said before, this trailer can only be found on the DVD. It's hidden as an Easter egg on the DVD. And interestingly enough, it's not as hard to find it as you think.
When you get to the main menu soon after you start the DVD, just move the mouse arrow (or navigate your remote control buttons) to the menu options and move to the right of the option that says "Fun!" and you'll see a star.

(as demonstrated in this video here)

When you click on the star, it'll take you to the video where a person from Big Idea talks about the never-before-seen trailer. Note: If you want to see the never-before-seen trailer, you'll have to listen to the short interview first, so that they'll explain it more.
In the interview, Big Idea composer Kurt Heinecke explains that the trailer was done in one day, and commented that it was like scoring an actual movie.

This interview lasts for at least a minute, until it cuts to a disclaimer.

The disclaimer is self-explanatory.

Trailer Itself
The first thing you'll find out is that the voice-acting is in the work-in-progress stage, because like Heinecke said in his interview, the trailer was worked on in one day. Plus, the voice-acting didn't use any voice alterations, because the movie itself wasn't a finished product yet. So, the voices sound deeper and closer to the real-life voices of the actors themselves.
In this trailer, there's also no announcer. The trailer is explained through title cards. And to sweeten the "darkness" of the trailer, dramatic music is playing as the trailer progress. And to make the trailer look even more creepy... guess who emerges from the darkness in one clip!

-Yeah! Talk about creepy!

Imagine seeing this monster after watching this particular trailer!
After showing clips of the movie, you can hear LarryBoy say "Hasta la vista, weedy!" and then the movie's title abruptly comes on screen. It's there briefly until it's replaced by the word "July," which was when the movie was released to video (July 1999).

Analysis
Honestly, I don't see this as "dark" or anything. This trailer seems different from the one that's usually played in the previews in other Veggietales videos. I can tell that Big Idea had to take a step back and try again on creating a trailer, so that they wouldn't lose the kid audience.
-That's pretty much a good thing on their part, because why scare kids?
For me, this trailer didn't scare me. Even though I got a warning from both the short Kurt Heinecke interview and the disclaimer afterwards, it still wasn't scary. Sure, it sounded and looked strange, but for what it is, it's still worth mentioning to anyone that's a LarryBoy fan like me. I felt that it's my civic duty as a LarryBoy fan to share this with y'all.
So, I don't think there's much of a trailer, except to acknowledge that this is just Mr. Nezzer's "The Bunny Song" all over again, only we're not letting our kids sing "I won't go to church" and "I won't go to school."
Again, this trailer isn't scary. It was a little too dark to be released to the world, but it's still not scary. In fact, this trailer didn't even reach suicidemouse.avi standards. So there's nothing to worry about.
So to review, the banned trailer of LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed can be found on the main menu of the DVD. Move your mouse or the remote control to the star, and then you'll see the trailer.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed

Courtesy: Big Idea

CHARACTER ANALYSIS (Throw-Back Edition): The Mother Weed from "LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed"

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

Remember my character analysis on the Rumor Weed from LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed? Well, I've been getting requests on social media to do one on the Mother Weed, the ultimate baddie that LarryBoy is facing near the end of the video.

Now, this blog post was suggested by Facebook user Jeff Jackson; so thanks man! : )

For this character analysis, I'll be doing it in Top-10 list format. Plus, this countdown will contain spoilers; so if you haven't seen the video, feel free to check it out. Other than that, let's get started. The requested... character analysis on the Mother Weed.

10. The Rumor Weeds resemble their "mother."

This one wasn't hard to determine. The weeds, whether you like it or not, look like the stereotypical gossiping women that you would see on TV.

They all have blondish hair, wear earrings and pearl necklaces, and have these outrageously-whacked-out lipsticked lips.

And of course, the Mother Weed herself has much better bling, because, for one, she is the main antagonist.

9. The Mother Weed may have been inspired by the monster from Little Shop of Horrors.

For this one, it's a given, because if you both at both monsters side by side, you can totally see the resemblance.

Big mouths. Monstrous vine and plant features. And there's even the place of origin, which are their flower pots. This might have been Big Idea's intent, is for this LarryBoy adventure to be somewhat a parody of Little Shop of Horrors.

8. The Mother Weed has many connections.

The Rumor Weeds, as proven in one scene, are connected to a vast root system, which is run by the Mother Weed.

And yes, it's safe to say that the Mother Weed is responsible for the infestation, which leads me to...

7. The weed from the beginning may be the Mother Weed.

Before we seen the movie's title card, we get this brief scene where the plant that fell from the rooftop sits up and smiles at the audience.

Now, the reason why I have a strong feeling that this weed may be the Mother Weed, because (obviously) an infestation has to start somewhere. And as most of us know, weeds tend to start from a few to many in a short time period. By the time there is so many of these weeds in the movie, you can definitely link the Mother Weed to the one at the very beginning.

Although it's not known how she impregnanted herself to have all these offspring, other than the rumor, which is being passed on from person to person.

-(sarcasm) Thanks, Nature!

6. The Phone Lady

This ties in with the plant that fell off the rooftop.

There's a scene where after LarryBoy accidentally knocks a plant off the rooftop, the plant lands on a powerline. The powerline is live, because a lady in a window is talking on the phone, apparently gossiping, because of the "he said... she said" type of conversation.

As the phone lady is talking, the weed is getting electrocuted by the powerline, until it falls down into a gutter, and eventually into a sewer.

Now, the reason why I bring up the phone lady, is because I have a vague but stand-out theory that the phone lady's soul may have transferred to the weed; and that's how the weed has a personality. Think about it: the phone lady and the weed are voiced by the exact same person; and the only other evidence that we have is the phone lady's shadow: big hair, outrageously big mouth, and the talkative demeanor.

Then again, Big Idea would never associate soul-transfer with any of their movies, because that's an abomination to Christianity. And plus, as soon as the weed falls off the powerline, the phone lady stops and asks off-screen "Did you hear something?" before going back to her phone conversation.

-Maybe part of her soul went into that weed? IDK.

5. Did she swallow a cat?!

(I'm not joking on that subtitle.)

What stood out with the Mother Weed is when she tells LarryBoy that nobody can stop her. And I think I've mentioned this in my review of this movie, but I'll bring it up again. There's one point where she says, "Thanks to your friends out there, I'm getting bigger by the minute!" And then afterwards, she laughs diabolically.

Listen to how she laughs at this part; you'll definitely laugh at this. Her laugh sounds as if she swallowed something and has a hairball... kind of like a cat.

-So, did you get my joke about her sounding like she swallowed a cat?

4. Magic Lipstick?

I'm thinking that this was a minor animation mistake on Big Idea's part. There's the scene where the Mother Weed pops out of the ground in full force and captures Alfred in front of everyone. On the first shot of this scene, you see that the Mother Weed's lips are bare; no lipstick.

But the next time we see her when she perches herself on top of the Town Hall building, her lips are back to red.

-Maybe (as a joke), she had a stylist helping her do her makeup in between sets. LOL.

Anyway, this was a minor mistake that Big Idea may have overlooked.

3. The fight scene between the Mother Weed and LarryBoy is off-screen.

Sure. it would've been nice to have seen an epic boss fight between hero and villain. However, knowing Big Idea, they wouldn't want to show that much violence in a kids' video. I mean, just see how LarryBoy is all banged up after that ordeal off-screen.

-Bruises. Band-aids. Okay then. But still, show don't tell, movie.

2. Defeating the Mother Weed is simple...

The movie shows that saying nice things about a person that's on the brink of having a ruined reputation is the only way to effectively stop a rumor.

Well, that sounds logical enough. But just remember that the very first suggestion that was made in regards on how to stop the Mother Weed was to attack her roots by means of force. This proves to be ineffective, because of the Rumor Weed musical number from earlier, and because of LarryBoy's failure to destroy her with the machine gun that he apparently had.

-I'll admit, that machine gun thing was never explained in the movie, unless that was what Alfred meant when he said, "I'll be right here giving you instructions as you need them." Then again, he and LarryBoy lost contact at some point in the story, so yeah.

So, yes. The solution is straightforward...

...even though the Mother Weed turning into a flower afterwards was just a freebie for the citizens of Bumblyburg to see to prove that the monster has been defeated.

1. The never-before-seen trailer for this movie may have made the Mother Weed even more scary!!!

I don't know if y'all know this or not, but there was an original trailer for this movie that didn't make the cut to be distributed as the official trailer, because it was said to be too dark for kids. This particular trailer can be seen on the DVD of this movie, but it would require some digging on the DVD.

Anyway, there's this one point where it cuts to the scene where LarryBoy comes across one of the small weeds and starts talking down to her, until the Mother Weed emerges from out of the darkness.

That scene alone would deem this trailer too intense for a kid to sit through.

-It's kind of like a Rumor Weed version of Foxy emerging from his stage curtain in Five Nights at Freddy's.

It's that intimidating.

-Even one of the people that made this movie was saying in an interview that the trailer was too much for the kids, which is stated at the beginning of the video when you find it on the DVD.

You know, I may not be a kid, but I can honestly say that that scene with the Mother Weed emerging from out of the darkness is, by far, one of the creepiest scenes in LarryBoy history. In fact, this trailer will be the subject of my next blog post.

So there you have it; this was my first throw-back character analysis, which was requested by you guys. That was pretty fun, actually. So if you want to request a review or anything, leave a comment or suggestion below, or follow me on my Facebook page, and also on Twitter: @vygonza1.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed
Little Shop of Horrors
Five Nights at Freddy's

Courtesy: Big Idea/DreamWorks; The Geffen Company/Warner Home Video; and Scott Cawthon

Veggietales In The House: Season 1, Ep. 10 "For The Honor of LarryBoy"

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.
Say, remember in my editorial on Veggietales In The House,

where I showed y'all the new LarryBoy design in that editorial, as well as on a vlog?

Well, seeing that there's finally an episode on that show that features LarryBoy...
-I found this out last night!
...I spent last night and today putting together an emergency review for this one. Yeah, I'm talking about the episode "For The Honor of LarryBoy."
Yeah, I may be a little iffy on the choice of costume, but the episode that he's in shouldn't be too bad, right? Now, I know the show is on Netflix and some of you may not have Netflix, but I still feel that it's my civic duty, as a LarryBoy fan, to bring this to you all.
This is "For The Honor of LarryBoy."

Title Card:

-First of all, look at the design of his costume, and tell me you'd feel the same way as I do. The old design had no problems at all. In fact, the purple and yellow combo looked really good with his mask and plunger ears. Here, the show just said, "Hey, we like this superhero with the plungers. We'll keep those trademarks, only we'll make him a mix between Iron Man and Buzz Lightyear!"

Opening:

Anyway, the episode opens with Veggietales' discount Mr. Nezzer schmuck- Ichabeezer, who just got a big package from who-even-cares.
Ichabeezer: "I present you with my new Super Go-Go Mover!"
But that's nothing- wait until you see some really cool action in this LarryBoy adventure...
Ichabeezer losing control of his segway!

-That's right, LarryBoy fans! You've waited so long after the disappointments made in The League of Incredible Vegetables to see this. And all you had to do was sacrifice (something) dollars a month with Netflix to see this!
-I betcha no matter what scene this old fart Ichabeezer is in, he doesn't seem too invested in whatever's happening.
Ichabeezer: "I'm stuck in my chimney all alone!"

-(mimicking Ichabeezer) You hear that, audience? I don't need to act all worried to get me through this episode of Veggietales In The House!
Eventually, discount Mr. Nezzer gets himself stuck in his chimney, which...

...somehow gets the attention of Archibald Asparagus.
Archibald Asparagus: "This is a job for... LarryBoy."

-Eew! I didn't like that face he made. It's like he's obsessed with that superhero or something. And plus, we've already had trouble stomaching the Fib's look that he gave to Junior in LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space.

At home:

Larry the Cucumber is reading a comic book, until Bob the Tomato tells him about the Larry Signal shining outside.

-(pretending to be one of the producers of this show) Um... we tipped the pizza guy $10 to shine a flashlight on the wall and make a shadow puppet of LarryBoy.
So this gets Larry going and turns himself into LarryBoy.

-Not much to say about this transformation scene except...
1. There's no Alfred Asparagus (Archibald Asparagus is too busy being mayor of the veggie town or something).

2. The LarryMobile has a different design (Again, what was wrong with the original design?).

3. And a Siri-type feature in the LarryMobile.

Driving:

So Archibald informs him that Ichabeezer is stuck inside his chimney, but LarryBoy has his doubts.

LarryBoy: "But... but... he doesn't like me!"
Archibald: "Perhaps if you rescue him, he'll change his tune."
-Remember this scene, because that'll prove how totally absurd this Ichabeezer character is.

Ichabeezer's Place:

So LarryBoy arrives and gets Ichabeezer out of the chimney... only to be sassed by the old fart.
Ichabeezer: "Get off my roof!"

"Not until you showed up!"

"Thanks for nothing!"
-What an ungrateful bastard!

Ichabeezer: "Get off my lawn!"
-Uh, no. I think Clint Eastwood said that better in his movie Gran Torino.
LarryBoy: "A wealthy man like you would be an easy target for a supervillain."

-Wait a minute. Ichabeezer is wealthy? Geez! Talk about snobby rich people, then! No wonder this old fart is crabby!
-By the way, LarryBoy's helmet isn't even covering the top half of his face.

Basically, anyone can tell who you are by now. It just steps over the secret-identity part of being LarryBoy.
This, of course, gets LarryBoy upset, and he leaves...

...just as somebody from behind the building pops out of a corner to watch him leave.
-(sounding bored) Oh. Could it be our villain for this episode?
-Plus, this had to be on cue, didn't it?

Back Home:

An upset Larry returns home to Junior and Bob playing video games.
Larry: "What do I got to gain to rescue this guy, that he didn't even thank us!"

Bob: "It would depend on why we were trying to save him in the first place, for thanks or because it's right?"
-Well, I can tell you that no matter the reason, Ichabeezer is an ass. And remember that scene I wanted you to remember? You know, that scene where LarryBoy was telling Archibald about Ichabeezer?

LarryBoy: "...he doesn't like me!"
Archibald: "Perhaps, if you rescue him, he'll change his tune."
I'm sorry. I have to agree with LarryBoy. Ichabeezer is too grumpy to be saved by anyone!

Ichabeezer's:

Ichabeezer tells his pet olive that he doesn't need saving, even though he was saved from his chimney from earlier.
Ichabeezer: "I'm telling you... I don't care less if he never helps me out again!"
-Okay. Moving on...

Then there's more slap-stick with his segway... and what else?

(Ichabeezer standing in front of a villain)

-Ugh! What the hell am I looking at?!
Well, this... pile of ugly-villain-dreams is the town's villain Motato...

-Yeh, this proves that not only can you kind of sort of pronounce the second half of "hakuna matata," but that you learned how to come up with names with that thing that Kowalski used in "Dr. Blowhole's Revenge."
Good job, show.

Motato: "I am Motato, and I am the most super of all villains!"
-The voice-acting for this Motato guy sounds like somebody trying to do a soothing Tim Curry impression... and aren't even coming close to that.
So, what does this evil villain want from Ichabeezer, of all people?
Motato: "...I'm here to take all your nice stuff."
-Um, are you sure you don't want all of Mr. Nezzer's possessions instead? I mean, Mr. Nezzer has a chocolate factory, a toy factory, and an Easter factory. I mean, Ichabeezer is too bland of a character to steal from.
Ichabeezer: "Wrong! You are a supervillain who needs to get off my lawn!"
-Wow, not even the face of evil can faze this crabby old fart!
So Motato...
-Are you sure y'all didn't get the idea of this villain's name from the phrase "hakuna matata"? I mean, they both sound identical.

...sends his evil radish minions to capture Ichabeezer and take him away, along with his stuff.
This gets the attention of Archibald...

-Seriously? He's on Ichabeezer's property when we've already established that Ichabeezer doesn't want people on his lawn?
-And by the way, is Archibald's occupation in this veggie world as also the town's informant? Well, add that to the resume, Archie!

Back at Home:

Ichabeezer's kidnapping gets the attention of the news...
-Listen to how the news people approach this situation. They end the news story by saying "Experts and scientists say that LarryBoy is Ichabeezer's only hope." Seriously, what do the experts and scientists have to do with this? I mean, how would you like it if our experts and scientists go on the news and say "[This person] is our only hope in solving this problem"? I mean, that was so subtle how that was addressed.
Larry's roommates are concerned about Ichabeezer, but Larry wants none of it. Bob tries to talk some sense into Larry.

Bob: "Well, isn't LarryBoy gonna jump into action?"
Larry doesn't budge.
Larry: "I don't know, guys. I'm not sure LarryBoy helps old meanies like Ichabeezer."
-True. I mean, what's Ichabeezer ever done in this series to deem him rescue-worthy? He bitches a lot, he tells people to get off his lawn, and he doesn't seem to feel like he's being kidnapped as he's being kidnapped. LarryBoy should go back to saving people like Junior Asparagus and Petunia Rhubarb.

So the LarrySignal is left on anyway, while Larry continues to sulk.
Archibald: (singing) "Calling LarryBoy..."

-Um... is this warranting of a song? That LarryBoy isn't coming, because he won't save Ichabeezer?

Besides, this show has already established that Ichabeezer is an asshole to everyone. I mean, he hurt LarryBoy's feelings! Shame on you, Ichabeezer! Shame on you! So what good will that do?

Bob: (singing); "Calling LarryBoy..."
-(mimicking the song) Calling LarryBoy, come save us from this show. This is turning very silly. You really ought to know! The silly design! The whacked-out baddie! The Ichabeezer that made this crappy! Calling LarryBoy!
Archibald: (singing) "Calling LarryBoy. There's no time for stalling..."
-Okay! Okay! Y'all need LarryBoy's help, next!

Motato's Lair:

Meanwhile at... a giant bathroom-styled lair, Motato taunts Ichabeezer.
-Normally, I'm supposed to feel sorry for the victim, because they're captured and everything... but nope. Ichabeezer is too dickish to sympathize with.

Motato: "Right! Give me the code to your safe, or I tie each of your nose hairs to the Super-Deluxe Man-Mover... And talk about one-by-one..."
-You know how with Dr. Flurry (The League of Incredible Vegetables) you kind of sort of found his voice to be mildly annoying? Well, Motato's voice is just God-awfully unpleasant to listen to.

Just then, LarryBoy bursts onto the scene to save Ichabeezer.

-So let's see: How does LarryBoy wow us with his crime-fighting awesomeness?

1. throwing banana peels at the minions

2. spraying sneezing spray at a minion

3. carrying Ichabeezer's cage... only to accidentally drop it

Um... can we get the past LarryBoys' take on that?
(showing all LarryBoys from past videos giving their reaction)

Yeah.
LarryBoy pulls out his wings...

-... Feel free to comment about him looking like Buzz Lightyear...
But that doesn't stop Motato from using his segway to take on LarryBoy and Ichabeezer.

Motato: "Time to clock out, hero!"
-Wait a minute!

A villain on a segway? Penguins of Madagascar (TV show), sue something!

Then the fight is taken up into the air.

LarryBoy: "I just followed my code of honor, and did the right thing!"
Ichabeezer: "I said to put me down!"
-You see? Even when he's really in mortal danger, he still acts like a jackass to our hero! This is one a-hole kidnapping victim to please!

Eventually, LarryBoy defeats Motato and throws him in a cage.

Motato: "Oh, sour cream!"

-I heard better villain defeat phrases than that... Just saying.

Back at Ichabeezer's:

So, instead of sending the bad guy to jail...
-Why not send Motato to jail to answer for his crimes of kidnapping and stealing?
...LarryBoy returns Ichabeezer to his mansion, and Ichabeezer thanks him for saving him.

Ichabeezer: "Well, I suppose you expect a thank you?... Don't tell anyone but... thank you."
-(mimicking Ichabeezer) I just want to say thank you... (ten seconds later) GET OFF MY LAWN!
-So what about Ichabeezer's stuff? That's never explained. Then again, screw his stuff. He was a dick earlier. Let him replace his own stuff.

Ending:
So the episode ends with Motato still in a cage...

-I'm starting to think that this villain's appearance is paying homage to the design for Awful Alvin. Yeah! They look pretty similar!
Motato: "Yoo-hoo! Radishes? You can come out now! I could really use some assistance!"
-(mimicking Motato): And I could really use some more villain lessons from somebody like Dr. Blowhole 

or... 

(none of those guys)

Dr. Blowhole. 
God, I really suck as a villain!

And that was "For the Honor of LarryBoy" from Veggietales In The House. Folks... what can I say?

Well, I don't think this was the worst thing to come from LarryBoy, especially when he's in a different set-up and a different kind of animation. I know I may not agree with stuff like the costume and the things that they had to sacrifice to please DreamWorks, but at least they're still trying to show us that LarryBoy is making some effort in a comeback.
I know the moral of the story is trying to get across, but it just felt like bullshit because of the choice of victim (Ichabeezer), who's nothing more than a nutjob that bitches left and right.
Another thing is the villain: he has a weird name; he has a creepy-as-heck voice (not as creepy as Tim Curry's); and there was a line in the lair scene that's going to stay with me... not in a good way.
-Nose hairs! There, I said it!
Maybe what I'm looking for is if the victim was less of an asshole, and if the villain was a lot more cooler (instead of trying to be like a DreamWorks villain), then this would've been a stronger adventure for LarryBoy.
For what it is, it's not bad, but I don't think it's perfect. Maybe try again in future episodes?

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Veggietales In The House
LarryBoy and the Fib from Outer Space
LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed
LarryBoy and the Bad Apple
Penguins of Madagascar (TV Show)
The Pebble and the Penguin
LarryBoy: Leggo My Ego

Courtesy: Big Idea/DreamWorks; DreamWorks Animation; Don Bluth