VeggieTales: Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen (2000)

My favorite VeggieTales episode is hereby Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen. It's a standalone Bible story told in the VeggieTales style -- using vegetable-based characters and cornball humor -- but mercifully no VeggieTales schtick. (No Larry the Tomato, Silly Songs, etc.) You get the orthodox narrative from the book of Esther -- the king of Persia's righthand man, Haman, has it in for Esther's relative, Mordecai, a Jew -- acted out in unorthodox fashion by a zucchini as king, peas as would-be assassins, Mordecai as a grape, etc. In a word, Haman plans to banish all Jews to the Island of Perpetual Tickling unless the new queen Esther can convince the king otherwise. (The VeggieTales ethos is to be palatable to children of any age.) Esther has several singing numbers that are quite nice (and even reminiscent of An American Tale). The moral of the story is no stronger than "You don't have to be afraid to do the right thing" and to trust in God. 4.5 stars.