VeggieTales: Lyle the Kindly Viking (2001)

Yes, I am an adult and I watched VeggieTales: Lyle the Kindly Viking all by myself, OK? My son can see it tonight -- but VeggieTales! Vikings! What's not to love? (It helps that I'm from Minnesota, but still.) No one does hammy humor or softpedal schmaltz (with scooped and jammed vocals) quite like VeggieTales. That being so, on this disc Archibald Asparagus tries to class up the production values a bit by hosting a Masterpiece Theatre-like presentation of Hamlet (called Omelet). Larry's Silly Songs becomes Classy Songs (but as with Hamlet, the new label is for window dressing only). Then in the title presentation, Lyle breaks the Viking code by (1) not taking stuff from others and (2) giving his share back -- with the lesson that making friends is better than having stuff. The animation and storyline are very good and the message is mild (expressed in four sentences, including one Bible verse). In a word: Share. This is my favorite of all the VeggieTales titles I have yet seen. I had to rent it through Blockbuster since it has not been in stock on Netflix for a couple of years. 4.5 stars.