VeggieTales twist on the beloved story of Pinocchio! Once upon a time in the small Italian town of Bologna-Salami, there lived a lonely toymaker named Gelato and his assistant Cricket. Gelato had no children he could call his own, so one day he decide to carve a little boy out of wood. His name is Pistachio! Young Pistachio gets involved with some slippery characters. His bad choices and disobedience towards Gelato lead to some sticky situations. (from BigIdea.com)

The Big Idea team, the brilliant minds behind VeggieTales, bring another familiar story to life with their vegetable characters in Pistachio: The Little Boy Who Woodn't. Using the classic tale of Pinocchio as a base, Pistachio is a cute and smart story about an Italian toy maker whose latest creation, Pistachio, suddenly comes to life. And in true Veggie fashion, the Big Idea team load up the story with inside jokes, clever twists, and Biblical lessons that are perfect for any child. The best part about these stories, and especially this one, is it's the kind of animated lesson for children that parents can watch along with them and enjoy just as much, or even more so. For example, with Pinocchio being such an age old fairytale, it carries a familiarity that parents and grandparents alike will be able to relate to. And in keeping with the VeggieTales tradition, all kinds of gags are inserted into the story, from references to Marlon Brando and Robert Deniro to Doritos, the board game Parcheesi, and even Monopoly. It's the kind of formula that classic cartoons like Looney Tunes, or even Animaniacs from the mid-90's, have utilized before -- entertainment for all ages.

Much like its source material, Pistachio has a pretty serious theme about disobedience and getting into trouble, which keeps the mood of the story a bit heavier than most VeggieTales ventures. However, the story never stops being fun and entertaining. When the mood needs a little lightening, the Big Idea team know just when and where to insert a great gag. Another fun aspect of the story is the return of Khalil the caterpillar from the 2002 Jonah - A VeggieTales Movie as a character named Cricket. Not only that, but the story itself takes advantage of the chance to make references to the feature film, and it's a great little wink to longtime fans of the series.

While Pistachio is the DVD's one and only story, the "Silly Song" of this release is fantastically titled, "Obscure Broadway Show Tunes With Larry." As one of the oddest song subjects you could imagine for a children's DVD, the song featured is supposedly from the "unknown musical" Office Supplies, titled "Where Have All The Staplers Gone?" For the duration of the song, Larry and Esther sing about a large array of office supplies with wonderfully creative animation and sight gags - from singing highlighters and rubber bands to a 2D marker-drawn animated portion of the interlude. It has to be one of the most random but creative "Silly Songs" yet, even if children won't be able to relate to even a hint of it (while their working parents probably will!). Lastly, the show's bookends from the Veggies' kitchen counter top fearlessly spoofs Extreme Makeover and pokes fun at "updating" the kitchen for the current times and technology.

The tagline of Pistachio is likely to be the biggest selling point of the DVD - "A Lesson In Listening To Your Parents." The story does a great job of driving the point home for kids to take their parents' sound advice and learn to trust them. While the theme is anything but subtle, the Pistachio story wraps it in a fun and enjoyable little package that children will hopefully embrace and learn from.

In the end, Pistachio is another fantastic VeggieTales adventure. Big Idea Productions continues to put forth the very best in Christian entertainment, setting a standard for what Christian entertainment can and should be. These aren't just goofy, embarrassingly cheesy videos with a Biblical message, these are topnotch quality productions that are truly a joy to watch and share with the family. Big Idea does it again with Pistachio... and that's no lie!

- Review date: 2/23/10; Written by John DiBiase of Jesusfreakhideout.com