VeggieTales: Beauty and the Beet

This latest entry in the long-running Christian children's series serves up an extremely loose interpretation of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. After the Veggie Tones family band cleans up at the Greensburg talent show, the group tours vegetable-themed locales such as Spinachusettes, Squashington, Okrahoma, and Caulifornia—all leading up to a big show at the famed Vegetable Square Garden. Pressing ahead through a treacherous snowstorm on their tour bus, the band finds themselves trapped at the near-empty Beet's Alpine Suites. Although some staff members are thrilled to see the Veggie Tones, crotchety owner Finnigan J. Beet III is not impressed and wants the cash-strapped musicians to earn their keep while waiting for the roads to be cleared…perhaps by helping save the reputation of the lagging resort by sprucing up their floor show? Centering on the bond between lead singer sweet potato daughter Mirabelle (voiced by American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler) and the not-so-bad-on-the-inside Beet, the story features several twangy tunes with a theme set to 1 John 4:11, which focuses on loving one another. Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood)