Veggie Tales Rack, Shack and Benny: A Lesson In Handling Peer Pressure

I have been a fan of Veggie Tales ever since my sister, who is eleven years younger than I am, began listening to their audio cassette tapes many years ago. I watched one of the Veggie Tales movies on a high school retreat put on by a friend’s church, and in college there was a study break one evening night when they planned to serve Meatlover’s pizza and watch Veggie Tales. 

   
Rack, Shack and Benny is as educational, entertaining, and funny as the other Veggie Tales movies I’ve seen over the years. My husband, who is a bit of a music connoisseur, appreciates the variety and quality of the music. I love the catchy melodies and the lyrics which touch on a vast number of virtues—everything from being honest, standing up for the truth, and heeding your parents advice to avoid the sins of gluttony, greed, and idol worship.

   
My husband and I are always very impressed by how the creative minds behind the Veggie Tales products manage to do such an amazing job presenting Bible stories in a way in which children (teens and adults) can better understand the morals, struggles, and consequences in certain passages of Scripture.

   
Not only do they put a child-friendly spin on the story of from the book of Daniel about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but they also underline some of the Ten Commandments with catchy songs, reminding kids it’s important to obey their parents and make decisions that are in line with the values espoused by them even when they’re with their friends.

  
The more I think about it the more real life lessons and morals I realize are included in the movie. The setting of this story is a chocolate factory, and the song about having to work hard, not getting a break until late in the day, and sending the money home for family brings up social justice issues and could be a good springboard for discussing different jobs and work situations with your kids. There are several opportunities for teachable moments based on the material which could be used by parents or even religious education instructors.

   
The silly songs are a source of laughter for both children and adults. In this particular movie, they include “The Dance of the Cucumber” which Larry the Cucumber sings in Spanish while Bob the Tomato translates.

   
An added bonus for the adults are the behind-the-scenes extras. You’ll be in awe of all the thought and work that goes into these movies, get to meet the cast, see the studio, and hear about the inspiration for different songs and stories.

   
This movie is a great choice for people of all ages and definitely a perfect family movie night selection!

You can purchase this movie here.