ST. NICHOLAS: A STORY OF JOYFUL GIVING

Let confusion reign...
First, let me say we are big Veggie Tales fans, or perhaps I should say Classic Veggie Tales fans, as more and more of their more recent offerings have fallen flat for us.

We were hopeful for this latest Veggie Tale, especially since it started off with the premise that Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber would explain who Saint Nicholas really was. In the beginning, the story does just that, showing Nicholas' life as a young boy in ancient Greece, and is in fact fairly accurate through Nicholas becoming an orphan.

It is Nicholas' (young) adult life that the Veggie Tales team takes creative license with. Had this not been a story about an actual historical figure AND one that was claiming to set history straight, I would have had no problem with the ensuing silliness. But instead of sharing the story of how Nicholas helped 3 daughters with no dowry money by throwing sacks of coins through their window late at night, the V.T. team puts Nicholas in ridiculous...

Sad representation of a wonderful saint
I was very sad and angry to see how the VT crew butchered the life of a powerful saint. Saint Nicholas was a good and holy man, not a misguided preacher's kid. I can even get over the silliness about him being a masked hero running through the streets, but I cannot stand the slander of his early life. If you aren't going to speak the truth about holy men, avoid their stories completely. BTW he was not Greek, he was from Turkey. Getting kinda sick of the Orthodox=ethnic associations that seem to be acceptable. There was plenty to produce a powerful story of learning and loving God as you grow up into the faith, not turning it into the false "He got saved" moment that is the typical adult Evangelical conversion story.

Jolly Young St. Nick
Watching Saint Nicholas, one can only note how much better it is than most of the recent holiday specials, which try to have a moral to the story, but end up flat and heavy-handed. VeggieTales, on the other hand, go far beyond morals to express big ideas. The recent VeggieTales movie, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie (Widescreen), was the sort of superior entertainment that, while it enthralls kids, also engages adults. It's hard to believe this featurette is only 45 minutes, because it runs the gamut from light laughs to moving pathos to profound finale, the same arc as a feature film. Adults who happen to walk by while it's on TV will probably find themselves drawn in. Kids will see something new every time.

Bob the tomato tells the true story of St. Nicholas, while Larry the cuke constantly interrupts with more conventional ideas of Santa Claus...

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