All Rise...

Judge David Johnson has a silly song for you: "Skewered from Ear to Eye" by Cannibal Corpse.

The Charge

"Have we got a live show for you!"

The Case

So how does one translate a CGI-animated children's show about talking vegetables with no legs and arms into a live stage production? With a moderate degree of difficulty it appears, but not without some success.

Sing Yourself Silly is an installment from the VeggieTales Live! tour, a family-oriented production that plops the kids and their haggard parents right in front a large group of adults in giant vegetable costumes, giving them the change to dance and scream to some of their favorite "silly songs" from across Veggie canon.

If you're new to the world of VeggieTales, here's the skinny: the show is a Bible-based, God-centric, kid-friendly animated spectacle and one of the original pioneers of utilizing only CGI for cartoons. I've reviewed many Veggie releases and have typically been impressed with each. The morals are there, but it's not moralizing, the characters are memorable and cute and, best of all, the writing is witty. Even if you're not a subscriber to the Christian worldview, VeggieTales still offers amusing, innocuous entertainment that your kids will like, all without being too preachy.

That's the mythology. The live show discards narrative, save for some small transitional segments between numbers, opting for an hour-plus of music-drenched entertainment. What you have here is essentially a concert, with 18 songs performed in front a typically rambunctious toddler audience.

If you're a fan of the show, there's plenty to like here. The costuming is hit-and-miss; some of the effects look real nice, especially the moving mouths, but there also seems to be an over-reliance on packing tape in some of the designs. So, no, we're not talking The Lion King level of production design, but your kids will love seeing these characters bounce around on stage, belting out the iconic "Hairbush Song."

Straightforward DVD: 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround, a brief behind-the-scenes featurette, a sing-along, discussion guide, and trivia game.

The Verdict

Not Guilty. Where's the singing dip?

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