Pirates of produce

Can a treacherous high-seas adventure transform shy, indolent, and insecure computer-generated vegetables into valiant produce? In The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (rated G), the VeggieTales franchise sets sail on a moralistic and comical cartoon adventure that entertains the entire family.

Elliot (voiced by Mike Nawrocki), Sedgewick and George (both voiced by Phil Vischer) play cabin boys at a pirate-themed dinner theater until they are transported with the help of a golden orb back to a time and place in need of heroic deeds. The underachieving trio meets up with Princess Eloise (Laura Gerow), who mistakenly credits them with a noble calling. Reluctantly, they agree to help rescue her captured brother, Prince Alexander (Yuri Lowenthal), from the clutches of her evil, mechanically enhanced vegetable uncle, Robert the Terrible (Cam Clarke), as a means to get back home.

Their swash-buckling quest, filled with root-beer-guzzling buccaneers, giant rock monsters, and small, yet ferocious cheese puffs (recognizable to VeggieTales veterans), puts our unlikely heroes face-to-face with danger.

Pirates is void of any specific mention of God or biblical application-something commonplace in VeggieTales productions for the smaller screen. Only a mysterious message near the movie's beginning provides a veiled indication that our characters will have to draw on an external power for strength to overcome their personal shortcomings in the face of great difficulty.

Viewers, young and old, who are either familiar with the franchise, have a Judeo-Christian worldview, or have spent any time in a Sunday school class, won't have a problem connecting the dots. Others will probably leave the theater thinking they have just watched a cute, fun-filled movie with a valuable lesson.