Review of The Princess and the Popstar

Summary from VeggieTales.com:

Princess Poppyseed’s life on her family’s farm is far from the glamorous world of her favorite pop singer Vanna Banana. While Princess milks the cows and dreams of a life on stage, Vanna has her own dreams of a life far from the hectic pace of stardom that leaves her feeling alone and lonely. On a chance meeting at a playground, Vanna and Princess cross paths and realize they look almost exactly alike, which leads to the crazy notion that maybe they could switch lives! In a flash, the girls’ secret plan is launched and Princess is whisked to her new life as a pop star while Vanna gets to live her dream of a life away from the pressure of fame! As Princess tries to live up to the demands of being a diva and Vanna learns how to milk the cows, things don’t go as smoothly as they would like! As each girl realizes the life they longed for doesn’t fulfill all their dreams, they learn that the life God gave them is the one for which they were uniquely and lovingly designed.

You can be a rockstar. Follow your dreams and you can be famous. Believe in yourself.

That's what so much of our culture is constantly telling us. A friend of mine came up with a term for phrases such as the ones stated above: "Disneychannelisms." And it fits very well. Kids turn on the TV to nearly any kid's channel and they're told that they have to be famous in order to be special.

And that's why it's so refreshing to see VeggieTales teaching that fame isn't everything- that God has made each and every life special.

While this show may be directed at little girls, it has some good truths that boys can learn from as well, and they will be able to relate to Princess's little brother Pepper (who is adorable, by the way). My four-year-old brother loves it and insists that it's not a "girl's movie."

But at the same time, this just doesn't feel much like your classic VeggieTales. While the two main girl characters are very good, we don't get to see much of many of our favorite classic characters, though the moments that those characters do get to have are very funny.

Another thing that makes this episode stand out from other VeggieTales shows is the music. Because one of the main characters is a famous singer, the songs have a very "pop" feel to them. I don't mind that though- I actually bought the Songs For a Princess CD so that I could listen to the music on my iPod. The song "Alone" is particularly good, but it's just not what we're used to hearing on VeggieTales.

One thing I loved about The Princess and the Popstar was the relationships between the mothers and their daughters. While Mrs. Banana (Madame Blueberry) may not always the right ideas, she really loves Vanna and wants the best for her, and Mrs. Poppyseed want Princess to know that she is loved and special just the way she is.

I'm still not a fan of the Silly Song. For whatever reason, Astonishing Wigs has failed to get a laugh out of me so far (though Larry's moment at the very end is hilarious). I don't really know why. Maybe it just somehow feels forced to me. It just isn't very funny.

I loved the reference to Little House on the Prairie. That was great. Larry's RoboPogo was probably the funniest part of the show (well, other than maybe his "anomalies" during the countertop scenes). This episode, while it carries a different feel than VeggieTales does most of the time, has some great characters, songs and moments, and is definitely one that I can recommend. I give it a rating of 3/5 stars.