Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed was released yesterday! I did have the opportunity to see it on the big screen. The only complaint that I have with the way that it was presented was that this movie was not meant to be seen on the big screen in the 1.85:1 ratio. They had to stretch the image a bit to make the original 1.33:1 image fill the 1.85:1 screen that was provided. This meant that everybody was a bit fatter than they were supposed to be. The sound wasn't too great either because it was a stereo soundtrack coming from a projection television going through speakers meant to carry more than two channels of sound. The sound became a bit distorted. Now that these videos are being shown in theaters like this, Big Idea should start doing two framings: 1.85:1 for theaters and 1.33:1 for home video releases. A remixed soundtrack would be good, too. And this would not be a waste for just one day for the reframing and digital soundtrack would be great for a DVD release! A 1.85:1 framing would make a great 16�9 enhanced DVD for Widescreen televisions.

Now, on for a review of the movie itself. This episode confirms the rumor that Lary-Boy is going on to have a spin-off series. There's no kitchen counter, no Qwerty, and no VeggieTales theme song. Instead, we hear the Larry-Boy theme song and we see Larry-Boy and Alfred at the computer in the Larry-Cave. This also marks the first episode with no Bob, which I miss. Bob only appears in background pictures and in the Big Idea logo. I hope Bob becomes a citizen of Bumblyburg soon.

I have mixed opinions about the quality of animation. While the animation IS some of the best ever, there is also some blocky shadowing, which we haven't seen since the last Larry-Boy movie. But there's a possibility that we won't see this again since Rumor Weed marks the end of another era in VeggieTales because Big Idea will do away with their old program (for the most part, at least) and do the next episode in a compleatly new animation program.

I enjoyed all the new characters, including the Milk Money Bandit, the Mushroom family, some more cucumbers (including Larry's nephew and a baby cuke), a pumpkin, some peppers, and more! Of course, most of these were just extras. I would like to see more done with all these new characters sometime in the future.

Story line was excellent, as usual, but this isn't as dark as the last Larry-Boy. This is a pretty bright movie. Comparing the two would be best put in an allusion to Dracula: Dead and Loving It. The whole movie is pretty dark, but right in the middle, Dracula has a daymare where he dreams he has been cured and can go walking around during the day with no problem. It was very bright in this scene. Well, Rumor Weed is this scene while Fib is the rest of that movie.

Overall, I'd give the movie these ratings:

Music: A- for there was only one new song, as in the last Larry-Boy movie, but the background music was excellent!
Animation/Picture: A- for an occasional block pixel. The transfer was pretty good for VHS, also.
Humor: A for some of the funniest lines ever!
Sound: A+ for the voices and music were as clear as VHS will alow. Overall: A

The new news section is now up! Here, you will find news about upcoming Larry-Boy movies and merchandise, plans for this page, and more. Since I've added the "Recent Additions" to the main page, the format of the news page will change. Now, anybody with a news item will be able to send them to me ([email protected]) and I'll post it here (that is, if it's true and not a rumor with no support). The old news section will still be available, preserved in it's original form.