The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's

The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's is the 33rd episode in the VeggieTales series, and was released on DVD on October 6, 2007 in Christian Bookstores and on October 9, 2007 in other stores. It is based on the parable from the Bible, The Prodigal Son, and a spoof of The Wizard of Oz film adaptation.

Plot

On the countertop, Larry is acting nervous because he's hiding a toy aardvark behind his back. Bob asks why he's doing this and Larry responds that he broke it. Since his father loves the toy, he's afraid he'll get in trouble for breaking it. Bob is shocked and it also reminds him of a letter they got from a boy named Felix Rosenwinkle in Iowa who has been stealing things from others and is ashamed to go back to church because he thinks God hates him now.

Darby (Junior Asparagus) resides at the O'Gill farm and is the son of a Kansas floss farmer who, more than anything else in the world, just wants to have fun. When he learns about the Wonderful Land Of Ha’s – a fancy amusement park – and its mysterious Wizard who promises to make his dreams come true, Darby is determined to go with his money despite his father warning that it is for college. When his father tells him he’s needed to help with the harvest, Darby decides to leave. Darby, with his pet pig Tutu by his side, flees the cornfields and sets off to find the Wonderful Land Of Ha’s as a tornado sweeps them away while inside a trailer. Along the way he meets a bored scarecrow, a tin man who wants to ride roller coasters, and a lion that craves cotton candy. Each with their own dreams, they set off to see the Wizard in the Wonderful Land of Ha's, the funnest place on Earth.

The Silly Song focuses on Bob and Larry in a safari scene on the countertop looking at various animals. During their discussions, Larry reveals that he was told the difference between monkeys and apes ("If it has a tail it's a monkey, if it doesn't have a tail it's an ape") and then goes on to use this theory on everything else around him such as cows, comets, kites, lions, and even Bob.

Back to the story, the group spends a great deal of time in the Wonderful World of Ha's but soon run out of money and are forced to leave. The Wizard (Archibald Asparagus) informs Darby that he is a phony business man who used his wizard identity to make money for a living. Disappointed, Darby is angry at the Wizard and unsure of what to do as he's afraid that his father will hate him for wasting his college funds. Threatening to tell the world about what the Land of Ha's is really like, the Wizard takes Darby hostage and throws him in his basement. However Darby's friends eventually break him out of the basement and publicly humiliate the fake Wizard. In the end, Darby sadly leaves his friends and goes back home. Seeing his dad, Darby apologizes and offers to become his slave if he will only take him back, but his father refuses his offer and accepts him back as his son.

Back at the kitchen, Larry has learned that his dad will love through thick and thin because he loves him and God. And Felix learns that he can always come back to God. QWERTY then reads the verse from 1 John 3:1. In the end credits, Mr. Lunt (as Scarecrow) sings a cover of "Over the Rainbow".

Cast of Characters

• Phil Vischer voices:
  • Mr. Lunt as a Farmhand and the Scarecrow
  • Pa Grape as a Farmhand and the Lion
  • Archibald Asparagus as the Wizard of Ha's

• Mike Nawrocki voices Larry the Cucumber as a Farmhand and the Tin Man
• Lisa Vischer voices Junior Asparagus as Darby
• Dan Anderson voices Dad Asparagus as the Farmer
• G. Bock voices Madame Blueberry as Splenda the Sweet (but non-fattening) Fairy
• Vishcer and Nawrocki voice The French Peas as the Munchies in Munchieland

• Don Gourdon as the Bobby the Bully and Chester the Bully
• Oscar the Polish Caterer as Chester`s Father

Soundtrack

Songs include:

• "Somewhere Beyond the Barn" - Over the Rainbow parody
• "His Name is Darby"
• "Follow Old Yellow McToad" - Yellow brick road parody
• "It's Time to See the Wizard" - We're Off to See the Wizard parody
• "With a Ha Ha Ha and a Ho Ho Ho" - The Merry Old Land of Oz parody with lyrics by Phil Vischer
• "You Can Always Come Home" - from the CD "Slugs & Bugs & Lullabies"
• Mr. Lunt performs a cover version of "Over the Rainbow" during the end credits.
• "Monkey" - Silly Song performed by Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber and written by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame

External links