Review of 'Twas the Night Before Easter

From the Cover:
"It's Easter time in Crisper County and cable news reporter Marlee Meade (Petunia Rhubarb) is hunting for a way to help others. On a tip that the old town theater will be shut down, Marlee cooks up a plan to save the stage. Despite all her schemes, will she discover the true meaning of Easter and what helping others is really about?"

I believe the best word to describe this new episode is classic. The character's roles really match their personalities, and the show overall feels like one of the old episodes that we all love. Their are so many great moments and songs. The only thing that I could almost complain about is the fact that the storyline is very similar to The Star of Christmas, but its different enough to where I don't think its a big deal.

One of my favorite things about this show is Americas Got British Judges and all the other references to American Idol. This episode is chock full of references to past episodes, so I've decided to compile a list of all of them, without giving away spoilers.

• Miss Acmetha comes back to sing her famous "Puppy Song" from Esther.
• Archie's character at one point says "I'm British," which hearkens back to LarryBoy and the Rumor Weed.
• During the Up With Bunnies musical, Mr. Nezzer sings The Bunny Song.
• In one scene, Benny the dog from Donuts for Benny can be seen in the middle of the road, eating a donut.
• Bob lands head first in the snow, you half expect him to say the "mousetrap" line from The Toy That Saved Christmas.

There are several more, but I can't mention those without giving spoilers.

The show presents the story of Jesus' death very well, and those who complain about VeggieTales not mentioning God by name won't have anything to quibble about. Bob even reads a verse straight from the Bible a couple of times.

The Silly Song is, just like the rest of the episode, classic. Archie even comes out and interrupts it. Its fun to do the "Hopperena" with the French Peas. New veggie Cassie Cassava (played by American Idol finalist Melinda Doolittle) is a good character, and adds a lot of fun to the show, not to mention some great singing.

This is a wonderful addition to the VeggieTales series! I give it a rating of 4/5 stars.