Veggie Tales: The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment!

Starring:Veggie Tales
Studio: Sony Wonder (Video)
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Pretty darn weird
A wonderfully, quirky . . .
VT "Concept" Video?
Confusion around the office at Big Idea?

Veggie Tales: The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment!
Starring: Veggie Tales
Manufacturer: Big Idea
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

3-6 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

7-9 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

10-12 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Family Films | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Animation | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

VeggieTales - Sumo Of The Opera
Veggie Tales: Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler
Veggie Tales: Gideon Tuba Warrior
Veggie Tales - Larryboy and the Bad Apple
VeggieTales Classics - God Wants Me to Forgive Them?

ASIN: B0002TSYA2
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Customer Reviews:

Pretty darn weird.......2007-03-14

This is the strangest VeggieTales episode out there. There is virtually nothing that could be considered a plot, the concept is bizarre, and the whole thing comes across as being plain ol' weird. It seems like this was an excuse to showcase songs, and that the whole "animation" and "storyline" parts were afterthoughts. That this video is "autotainment" can't really be argued with, but I would really take issue with the "wonderful" part...thank goodness most VeggieTales episodes are nothing like this one.

A wonderfully, quirky . . . .......2007-02-05

. . . addition to the VeggieTales family.

Nope -- this one is not a Bible story or a classic tale humorously re-told. It's just fun! With Mr. Lunt (the "techo-gourd of the future") running a random song generator (Pa Grape singing about Biblical Dwarves or Archibald Asparagus singing about Military Intelligence) and two silly robots attempting vaudeville -- this VeggieTales video is not what you would expect.

But my family sure has gotten a kick out of it -- from the babies, up to the teens (and, frankly, the adults).

All KINDS of fun!

Highly Recommended!

VT "Concept" Video?.......2006-08-10

They must have come up against a creative wall to put this one out. Although my 5 y.o. likes to watch it occasionally, it usually sits on the shelf. There's not really a story or plot, it's supposed to be the future of entertainment - randomly selected by computers. The jokes aren't funny, although they're not really supposed to be, there are a few cute songs, but there's no message, no plot, no point really.

Confusion around the office at Big Idea?.......2006-07-26

This DVD is so far out on left field I am not sure what to say about it.

This seems to be a secular video with the Veggie Tales added for flavor. No Biblical references, no moral to the story..... nothing.

Spiritually speaking, there is nothing to help nourish the mind of your child. You could get more from WB animaniacs than this video. If you have bought just about every video Big Idea has made, and just can't seem to keep yourself from buying it..... then just consider it a small financial loss and one that should be put WAY up on the shelf.

Average customer rating:

M 3 year old asks for it over and over
A jab at postmodernism?
The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment - eh, Not So Wonderful
A different sort of VeggieTales
As Pa Grape might say...

VeggieTales - The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment
Starring: Veggie Tales
Manufacturer: Big Idea
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Animation | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

3-6 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

7-9 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

10-12 Years | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Family Films | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Animation | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

VeggieTales - Lyle the Kindly Viking
VeggieTales - Madame Blueberry
VeggieTales - Sumo Of The Opera
VeggieTales - A Snoodle's Tale
VeggieTales - The Ballad of Little Joe

ASIN: B00008K7AY
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Product Description

Wake up and smell the future with the latest VeggieTales release featuring all-new animation and six new songs. The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment is one trip to the future you'll want to take again and again! What's "Auto-tainment?" Frankly, we don't know. But Larry the Cucumber is pretty sure it involves an automated set from the future, singing robotic children and some of your favorite veggies performing bizarre renditions of songs like "Hole in the Bottom of the Sea" and Gilbert & Sullivan's "Modern Major General." All that and a whole lot more. Tune in for the fun as Big Idea's award-winning writers and animators cut loose with the most bizarre vision of the future since 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Amazon.com

Larry the Cucumber's vision of the future includes automated robotic hosts telling jokes with random punch lines and musical numbers in which the performers and themes are chosen entirely by chance. As Bob the Tomato quickly points out, the jokes of the future aren't very funny because they don't make sense. Worse, technical malfunctions in the Ventrilomatic hosts actually promote emotional instability. Nonetheless, Bob admits that Larry's vision of the future contains some very cool adaptations of classic songs like Gilbert and Sullivan's fast-talking "Modern Major General" and Binky the Aardvark's solo performance of Mozart's The Barber of Seville. Larry's vision of the future also includes an amusing animated short about greed called "Lunch." Junior Asparagus calls Bob and Larry back to the present with a final song celebrating God's unconditional love. (Ages 3-7) --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

M 3 year old asks for it over and over.......2006-04-25

No, it's not as good as "Lyle," "Rack, Shack and Benny," "Little Joe" or most of the other VeggieTale movies. But, my three year old son asks for the "VeggieTale robot movie" (as he calls it) over and over again. And while there is no plot to follow, it does have some fun little diddies in it. I love the VT versions of "Major Modern General" and "Hole in the Sea" and most especially "You are my Sunshine." This shouldn't be your first or only VT movie, but is a nice addition to a VT library.

A jab at postmodernism?.......2006-02-12

It's clear from most of the reviews that "The Wonderful World of Auto-tainment" is easily the least of the VeggieTales videos available. Sadly, I must agree. Yes, there is some mildly amusing material here, but it is intentionally different from the rest of the VT canon. My almost 3-year-old son liked a couple of bits, but nothing like his excitement over, say, the dumbwaiter scene in "The Star of Christmas."

The problems with the show are easily explained if you are willing to listen to the audio commentary from the production crew. For one, this video was produced in a very short period of time -- a total of 12 weeks from start to finish, which for this kind of show is insane. Second, the intent was to animate some of the songs that had appeared exclusively on the VT soundtracks that had been produced over the years. The plotline, as bizarre as it is, was created almost solely to link together random songs. The creators admit this freely on the commentary, and it explains just why this one appears so disjointed.

What's interesting to me as a seminary student is that the "world of the future" and the randomness of it all seems in some way to be a jab at the whole postmodern movement that American Christianity is trying to embrace. The show has virtually no Truth (with a capital T) on display until the last song when Bob takes over and has Junior sing a song where he talks over his day with God. (It's actually a sweetly moving song nearly worth the cost just to see.) The world of the future seems to have no point, no real truth but what we make of it...and it's seen as a pretty ridiculous place. Is it a commentary on postmodernism and the church? Unlikely, but it's certainly possible.

However, who's going to notice this concept? Certainly not 3-year-olds, and almost certainly not their parents. VeggieTales has never really been a commentary on society but a fun way for parents to introduce children to biblical stories. This one has a little bit of fun once you get past its jarring nature, but nowhere near the message or goofy humor of "Rack, Shack, and Benny" or "The Ballad of Little Joe."

The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment - eh, Not So Wonderful .......2005-10-10

First I should state that I LOVE Veggie Tales and own every Veggie Tales produced as of date and even have Lord of the Beans on pre-order through my local Christian bookstore.

I didn't know what to expect initially when I purchased this DVD, but being the Veggie Tales fanatic that I am, I decided to pick this one up as well. To my disappointment I was less than impressed with this selection overall and if you are debating between purchasing this DVD or a different Veggie Tales show, I'd recommend to not purchase this one.

For starters they don't have the Veggie Tales theme song in this episode - which in itself isn't that great of a deal. But on top of that they are not on the kitchen countertop during any of the show - nor do they talk to Quartie (the computer) to find out "what we learned today". Perhaps I missed it - but there isn't a real storyline either - it just appeared to be a random jumble of songs with poorly written dialogue in-between the songs. At some places within the dialogue I think they are trying to be humorous but instead left your kids there staring at the screen. And if you love Silly Songs with Larry - well, there isn't one in here.

The songs themselves were entertaining and fun, while most are familiar campfire or Sunday school songs that your kids will probably recognize or at least pick up on the tunes - the dialogue, as I already stated wasn't of any great value. My favorite song is the last song sung by Jr. Asparagus.

If you buy the DVD there are several bonus features included on it that might make-up for the shortcomings of the dialogue in the film itself. But like I said if you only have $15 and can only buy one DVD with it and are debating between Veggie Tales movies - may I recommend A Snoodle's Tale.

A different sort of VeggieTales.......2005-07-15

As the other reviewers have said, this was different from the standard Veggie format. There is a lot of singing from randomly selected characters, but the songs are more like silly songs than songs that have any lesson to them. The movie was fun to watch, but not really a need-to-buy, as I can't imagine watching it over again. The songs are fun though but a warning: they are catchy and tend to get stuck in my head! If you go in watching this not expecting it to be a Veggietales story then it might be better. Different isn't always bad, but it is well... different.

As Pa Grape might say..........2004-06-27

"Eh, it coulda been woise." "Larry's World of Auto-tainment" is a different sort of a veggie-tales video. It doesn't present a story, but rather an over-plot of Larry's view of the future, where humor is generated randomly for maximum suprise value (and minimum logic). Being Larry's vision, it naturally goes screwy, with humorous results.

The main thrust of the show is songs done by "randomly selected" characters on "randomly selected" topics. As a result, we get to hear the French peas singing "There's a hole in the Bottom of the Sea," and Pa Grape singing, "Erie Canal" among others. One gets the sense that the video was made purely for entertainment purposes. Now, a veggie tales that just tries to entertain isn't necessarily a bad thing (my family has practically worn out our copy of "Ultimate Silly Songs Countdown.")

Unfortunately, the writers try to stick in lessons that just don't work. For example there is a short called "Lunch" that illustrates a lesson against greed in a way kids can relate to. They also include a quote from "John," the only scripture in the episode. Unfortunately, "Lunch" is a silent short with non-veggie characters. It seems so out of place it is jarring rather than enlightening.

At the end, Junior Asparagas sings a song about God loving him no matter what. This is a good lesson, one that deserves to be the subject of a full video. As it is in "Auto-tainment," it feels tacked on as an afterthought.

In short, buy this video expecting to be entertained with a good presentation of kid songs. There may not be a proper lesson to discuss with your kids, but hey, there are lots of veggie-tales videos that provide that.

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Sophie's Choice

George Carlin: What Am I Doing in New Jersey

Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years - Vol. 3: The Flyin

DVD: Stuck On You (Full Screen Edition)

Evil Below