Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed is the 12th episode of VeggieTales, and the second Larry-Boy episode. In July 14, 1999 by Everland Entertainment, In July 27, 1999 by Lyrick Studios on VHS, and in June 9, 2006 on DVD.
Plot
The episode begins at the Bumblyburg movie theater, which is promoting a movie called "The Pecking". Percy Pea and his little brother, Li'l Pea, exit from the theater, stating that the movie was really lousy and that the monster in that movie looked like a chicken in a wig. While the two peas hop down the sidewalk, they are being stalked by a mysterious figure, before they stop, remembering what they say the last time as they look up at the dark night sky. However, the mysterious figure, revealed to be a bandit (played by Scallion # 3), appears in front of Percy and Li'l Pea, asking them to spare a nickel. Percy tells him that they're not supposed to talk to strangers and that he doesn't have any money. The bandit doesn't believe him before asking Percy if he has a dollar and twenty-eight cents, which Percy is surprised when he realizes that the bandit knows that that's how much he has. When the bandit says that he wants it, Percy protests that it's his milk money.
Later, after the bandit has apparently stolen Percy's money, he then climbs up a ladder while laughing and telling the boys, "I hope you like water with your lunches!" However, before the bandit can escape, he is suddenly confronted by Larry-Boy, who was on top of the building the whole time. The bandit is intimidated by Larry-Boy, who then grabs him up with his Super-Suction Ear, turns him upside-down, and shakes him so hard that it causes the money that he stole from Percy to fall back down in front of Percy and Li'l Pea again, who are happy that they got their money back. After Larry-Boy turns the bandit right-side up again, the bandit says that he doesn't feel so good, before Larry-Boy then carries him off and drops him into the police car of Officer Scooter, who identifies the bandit as the 'Milk Money Bandit'. Scooter then thanks Larry-Boy for catching the bandit.
On the radio, Alfred (played by Archibald Asparagus) congratulates Larry-Boy for doing a good job, before telling Larry-Boy that the next time he needs to release a criminal from his Super-Suction Ear, he should turn his head left and snap his neck down. Larry-Boy then says that even in spite of that, he was super, before he inadvertently knocks a potted plant off the edge of the building, with the plant falling onto some telephone lines while the pot falls down below and breaks. However, the plant ends up getting electrocuted by the phone lines, due to a gossiping woman on the phone. The plant then falls off the phone lines and falls into the sewer while still electrocuted. Larry-Boy then asks Alfred if he would like to get some pizza to celebrate, but Alfred tells him that it's late and that he needs to get some rest because he's volunteering at the Veggie Valley Grade School the next day. Larry-Boy understands before telling Alfred goodnight, then confidently says that if any space aliens want to fall into Bumblyburg, he's ready for them. The camera then pans downwards into the sewer, where the plant has now come to life and smiles at the viewers after that.
After the Larry-Boy theme plays, Alfred is telling all of the students at school the story of how he was able to help Mr. Nezzer out with his dinner party. After Alfred finishes his story, Dad Asparagus is fascinated by the story, but the students are a little bit unsure what to think of the story. Dad then asks Alfred if he would like to stay and watch, but Alfred tells him that he's a bit winded from his storytelling and that he really needs to go home and "recharge my batteries". Junior and Laura both become confused when they hear Alfred say this, before Dad tells the students to thank Alfred for coming to their school. Dad then tells the students that tomorrow, they're going to learn about rumors, little stories that can hurt. After school is over, Junior and Laura are hopping down the sidewalk while discussing about what Alfred said and why he would say something like that. After they do a little bit of speculating, they begin to come to the conclusion that Alfred must be a robot. When Junior and Laura want to keep this secret to themselves, they meet up with a strange-looking weed who asks them what it is they're keeping to themselves. Despite trying to resist saying anything to this strange weed, Junior and Laura finally give in before telling the weed that they think Alfred is a robot. When Junior and Laura ask the weed not to tell anyone else, the weed says that she has roots and that she's not going anywhere. However, the weed then gives a wicked smile at the viewers after that.
Meanwhile, Percy Pea is bouncing a soccer ball up and down on his head before he meets up with another weed who tells him about how Alfred is a robot, which surprises Percy very much. The next area is the backyard of Mr. Nezzer, who is barbecuing a steak on the grill, while Dad Carrot is with him, before they are both approached by another weed who tells them about Alfred being a robot. Dad Carrot then remembers reading a book about dangerous robots that took over the world, while Mr. Nezzer asks him if Alfred really is a robot, before Dad Carrot replies that he's on the library board.
- Rumor Weed: Today the library, tomorrow...
- Mr. Nezzer: The world!
The Rumor Weed then gives off another smile at the viewers after that. This time, Alfred and Larry are both admiring the beautiful petunia that has been growing in Alfred's garden, before the phone starts ringing, so Alfred goes to answer the phone. When Larry looks down at the garden again, he becomes angry to see a weed appear in the garden, the weed tries telling Larry about Alfred, but Larry doesn't listen, telling the weed that Alfred hates weeds in his garden and for the weed to leave before Alfred comes back. Alfred then calls out for Larry, so Larry goes back into the house, telling Alfred about the weed in the garden. Alfred then tells Larry to hear what the Mayor has to say. When Larry picks up the phone, the Mayor (played by Madame Blueberry) explains to Larry about all of the weeds that have been appearing in Bumblyburg and that he should get Larry-Boy to take care of the problem. Larry then proclaims to the Mayor not to worry about a thing because help is on the way. After hanging up, Larry tells Alfred, "We've got some gardening to do".
Larry-Boy then takes off towards Bumblyburg in the Larrymobile, while the Rumor Weed starts singing "The Rumor Weed Song", explaining to Mr. Nezzer, Dad Carrot, and Dad Pea about how she's a Rumor Weed that a tiny story is what she needs to make a big mess. Larry-Boy then shows up with a weed eater, which is Plan A, but when he uses the weed eater, it doesn't do a thing to the weed. Larry-Boy then tells Alfred that he'll try Plan B. After Larry-Boy leaves, the song resumes, with the Rumor Weed saying that rumors have a tendency to grow just like a weed in the ground. Larry-Boy then returns with a pair of garden shears, which is Plan B, but like with the weed eater, the shears also don't do anything to the Rumor Weed. Larry-Boy then tells Alfred that he can't stop it, before Alfred tells Larry-Boy to put his Super-Suction Ear down by the weed, which Alfred explains that he installed sensors in Larry-Boys plungers that can tell them about the weed's genetic code. Larry-Boy then does so as the weed talks into his Super-Suction Ear, however, the weed then grabs hold of Larry-Boy's Super-Suction Ear, before she resumes singing the song once again. Larry-Boy tries to free himself, before the Rumor Weed lets go, sending Larry-Boy flying, before the song then ends after that.
Back at the Larry-Cave, Larry-Boy returns, just as Alfred is able to get the information that is needed to find out more about the Rumor Weed. They then discover that this weed does not get energy from the sunlight like regular plants do. Alfred then explains that he inputted the data about the weed into the Larry-Satellite, showing that every minute, a new weed grows in Bumblyburg, as well as the fact that these weeds are also strong enough to break up sidewalks and smash through brick walls and that Bumblyburg will be destroyed if these weeds are not stopped. Larry-Boy then bumps the control for the Larry-Satellite which causes the satellite to look underground, revealing that all of the weeds are connected to what is known as the Mother Weed. Alfred then tells Larry-Boy that it's up to him to take out the Mother Weed, which Larry-Boy doesn't want to do because he doesn't know what to do, but Alfred assures him that he made some modifications to the Larrymobile that can help him. Soon, Larry-Boy then takes off as he speeds down the road, with Alfred telling him to press the yellow button, which Larry-Boy presses, causing the Larrymobile to turn into the Larry-Plane, as it flies up into the sky. Larry-Boy says that he thought that the weed was under the ground, with Alfred telling him that it is. After a few minutes of flying in the sky, Alfred then tells Larry-Boy to press the red button, which Larry-Boy does, causing the Larry-Plane's wings to retracting, putting the Larry-Plane in a free fall, which shocks Larry-Boy very much, asking Alfred if he's gone insane. Alfred then assures Larry-Boy that everything is alright, before telling him to press the blue button, which Larry-Boy presses, causing the windshield of the Larrymobile to get covered up, and for the front of the Larrymobile to come apart, revealing three boring shovels on the front. The boring shovels then sprout a bunch of spikes before they start spinning rapidly and tunnel right into the ground.
Inside the tunnel, Larry-Boy is surprised to find that he's still alive, with Alfred explaining to him that he's boring in the ground to the source of where the Mother Weed is. Once Larry-Boy finally arrives in the sewer, he and Alfred end up losing radio contact with each, meaning that Alfred cannot give Larry-Boy any more directions. Because of this, Alfred goes off to help Larry-Boy himself as he drives off in a motor scooter. Back inside the sewer, Larry-Boy tries to calm himself before noticing a little weed, thinking that there's nothing to be afraid of as he goes over to confront this little weed. However, he is proven wrong when the real Mother Weed, who is an enormous weed shows up in front of him. Back on the ground, Alfred continues riding in his scooter when he notices Scooter's police car and tries to tell him about Larry-Boy's plight, but Scooter recoils in fright when he sees Alfred, recognizing him as the robot, before he drives away frantically. Alfred then rides after him after that. Back in the sewer, Larry-Boy tries to combat the Mother Weed with some weed killer, but unfortunately, he presses the wrong button on the weapons.
Alfred then shows up in town where he tries to ask everyone for help, but are immediately afraid of him, due to the rumors that the Rumor Weeds told them about Alfred being a robot. Alfred tries to get help from Scooter and Mayor Blueberry, but they also regard him as a robot, which confuses Alfred very greatly. This time, Alfred finds himself cornered by all of the angry townsfolk, as he tries to insist to them that he's not a robot. Back in the sewer, Larry-Boy ends up getting beaten up very badly by the Mother Weed who then explains that thanks to all his friends up on the surface, she's getting bigger by the minute. Back on the ground, the townsfolk are still cornering Alfred, until they feel the ground shaking. The Mother Weed then bursts from the ground as she grabs Alfred and slithers up the city hall while carrying Alfred. The townsfolk don't do anything, saying that it serves Alfred right. Junior and Laura stand off to the side when Dad Asparagus comes by, asking what's going on. When the townsfolk explains what they heard about Alfred, Dad asks the Mother Weed if she made up this story, but she responds that she never makes up anything and that she heard this story from "two very reliable sources", before asking Junior and Laura if they're right.
Because of this, Junior and Laura are forced to admit the truth about what they heard about Alfred saying that he needed to recharge his batteries and so they got the idea that he is a robot. Dad Asparagus then explains to them that it was just a figure of speech and that grown-ups say things that really mean something else. He then tells them that when Alfred said that he needed to recharge his batteries, it really meant that he was tired and that he needed to go home and rest. Once Junior and Laura find out the truth about this, Dad then tells them not to spread rumors about someone, saying that God doesn't want us to tell stories that can hurt, he wants us to spread nice words. When Dad says that Alfred is a really nice man, some flowers appear on the Mother Weed's lower stalk. Junior and Laura then start spreading nice words about Alfred to the people, as they start to recall all the nice things Alfred did for them. Once all of the people of Bumblyburg say that Alfred is a nice man, a bunch of flowers then start sprouting all over the Mother Weed, before her head then turns into a flower, defeating her once and for all. Alfred then slides down the weed's stem before landing in front of the people, who apologize to him for what happened. Alfred then forgives everyone before asking them if they've seen Larry-Boy. Larry-Boy then uses his Super-Suction Ear to pull himself out of the sewer before telling Alfred that he heard that Alfred was a robot, but the others shush him, not wanting the rumor to start up again. When Larry-Boy sees the flowers on the weed, he then asks if there's a flower show, before everyone starts laughing about it. A flower then appears on the screen at the end after that.
Back in the Larry-Cave, Larry-Boy then tells the viewers about the wild adventure they've had today. He is about to say that the problem really spread like a weed before Alfred tells him to knock off the puns. Larry-Boy then says that they're back at the Larry-Cave to wrap up the adventure and send the viewers home, before asking Alfred if the Bible has anything to say about what happened today. The Larry-Computer then brings up the verse, which is, "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18". Larry-Boy explains that it means that if we aren't careful, our words can hurt people, just like a sword, before explaining that Junior and Laura didn't mean to hurt Alfred, but they weren't careful about what they said and who they said it to, and that that caused big problems. Alfred also explains that the verse means that if we use nice words, we can make it all better and make everyone feel good. Larry-Boy then reminds the viewers that God doesn't want us to tell stories that can hurt, he wants us to spread nice words, and that if they can do that, "you'll be that hero too". Larry-Boy and Alfred then say goodbye to the viewers, before Larry-Boy turns off the screen, ending the episode.
Characters
- Pa Grape Picture
- Mr. Lunt Picture
- Scallion #1 Scallion #2 Picture
- Bob the Tomato Picture
- 4 asparagus (debut)
- giant crazed chicken (debut)
- Dad Asparagus
- Mr. Nezzer
- Dad Carrot
- Lenny Carrot (cameo)
- Dr. Glocken (debut, cameo)
- Percy Pea
- Lil' Pea
- Scallion #3
- Larry the Cucumber/Larry-Boy
- Jimmy Gourd (picture)
- Scooter
- Archibald Asparagus
- Women of the Shadow (debut)
- Fibrilious Minimus (picture)
- Bob and Larry (young) (debut, picture)
- Barth (debut, cameo)
- Gordy (debut, cameo)
- Renee Blueberry (debut, cameo)
- The Rumor Weed (debut)
- Dad Pea
- Madame Blueberry (character)
- The Mother Weed (debut)
- Unnamed Bumblyburg Citizens:
- Unnamed cucumber woman (debut, cameo)
- Unnamed scallions (debut, cameo)
- Unnamed French cucumber/zucchini (debut, cameo)
- Unnamed cucumber/zucchini (debut, cameo)
- Unnamed carrot men (debut, cameo)
- Unnamed carrot baseball player (debut, cameo)
- Chilli (debut, cameo)
- Jack (debut, cameo)
- The Mushroom Family (debut, cameo)
- Pepe (debut, cameo)
Production
The story concept was written by Doug Peterson, which at the time Phil was accepting ideas for future episodes when the company was growing. Mike Nawrocki was a bit skeptic at the time, due to the fact the episode sounded similar to the first Larry-Boy episode (kids caused trouble from something that grow big). But they eventually tweaked it to work it out. Phil at the time decided to push the limits on what they can do for the episode since they're getting ready for their first feature film, and he originally considered this as the last episode they'll work on.
Fun Facts
Trivia
- This was the last episode to be rendered entirely in Softimage.
- The beginning scene was originally intended to be part of the previous Larry-Boy episode, but was cut due to time.
- This video is shown in the 2015 action thriller film 'Agent 47'.
- The first and only episode to feature a pumpkin. After this episode, Big Idea stated that if they ever do crowd scenes that they will all be peas and carrots.
- When Larry is talking to the mayor of Bumblyburg on his phone, you'll notice there is no chord but an antennae. The reason for the antennae is because animating chords is very hard.
- This is the first VeggieTales episode not to feature Bob. The poster with him and Larry in the back of the classroom doesn't count as his appearance.
Goofs
- Two major animation goofs were during after the Mother Weed merges from the sewers. One is that she's missing her lipstick, and the second is that there's a black hole behind her head. This is noticeable once get grabs Alfred.
Inside References
- The milk money bandit is a reference to the bandits from Flibber-o-Loo where they steal Larry's milk money. Which makes sense 'cause Scallion 3 played one of those bandits.
- On the streets their are street signs that say Vischer Street and Nawrocki Road. These are references to VeggieTales co-creators Mike Nawrocki and Phil Vischer.
A few mentions from the previous Larry-Boy episode:
- Percy and his brother remembering what happened before when they left the movies.
- Scooter saying it's another space alien, and him listening to I Can Be Your Friend in the car.
Real-World References
- The weed's smile after her creation is somewhat similar to Jim Carrey's smile from "The Mask".
- Dad Carrot's line about Alfred having teenagers inside him that know karate is a reference to the Power Rangers series.
Fast Forward
- The phrase "Sweet, sweet petunia" would later be used for a later character.
Credits Roll
Directed by PHIL VISCHER
Produced by JON GADSBY
Story by DOUG PETERSON
Production Coordinator JENNIFER COMBS
Production Assistant HOLLY VICKERY
Written by PHIL VISCHER
Story Supervisor LUIS CONTRERAS
Storyboarding by LUIS CONTRERAS EVERETT DOWNING
Concept Art AARON HARTLINE DANIEL LOPEZ MUNOZ JOSEPH SAPULICH
Matte Paintings EVERETT DOWNING DANIEL LOPEZ MUNOZ JOSEPH SAPULICH
Character Voices DAN ANDERSON LESLY BENODIN KRISTIN BLEGEN G. BOCK HENRY CAPAROSO STEVE LEEPER MIKE NAWROCKI MIKE SAGE LISA VISCHER PHIL VISCHER JOHN WAHBA
Kid Extras JUSTIN EDDY STEVEN EDDY GRETCHEN HEINECKE ARIEL MOCK HAILEY MOCK SHELBY VISCHER
Edited by JOHN WAHBA
Sound Effects Editor JOHN WAHBA
Modeling Supervisor DANIEL LOPEZ MUNOZ
Modeling Artists AARON HARTLINE DANIEL LOPEZ MUNOZ JEREMY VICKERY
Additional Modeling JOSEPH SAPULICH
Texturing Supervisor DANIEL LOPEZ MUNOZ
Texturing Artists AARON HARTLINE DANIEL LOPEZ MUNOZ JEREMY VICKERY
Layout Supervisor STEVE LEEPER
Layout Artists STEVE LEEPER CHARLES RAMSEY RYAN WILLIAMS
Animation Supervisors RON SMITH MARC VULCANO
Character Animators ANDY ARNETT THOMAS DANEN ROBERT ELLIS JOE MCFADDEN BRYAN MOLL RON SMITH NATHAN TUNGSETH MARC VULCANO
Additional Animation AARON HARTLINE MIKE LAUBACH CHARLES RAMSEY JEREMY VICKERY RYAN WILLIAMS
Lighting Supervisor DANIEL PATRICK O’BRIEN
Lighting Artists NICOLE ALLEN RICHARD GOUGE ADAM HOLMES DANIEL PATRICK O’BRIEN
Effects Supervisor DANIEL PATRICK O’BRIEN
Effects Artists NICOLE ALLEN RICHARD GOUGE ADAM HOLMES DANIEL PATRICK O’BRIEN
Engineering Artists MIKE LAUBACH RON SMITH JEREMY VICKERY
Director of Technical Development HENRY VERA
Render Management KEN GREENE SCOTT NELSON
Additional Render Management JENNIFER COMBS
Software Development KEN GREENE SCOTT NELSON
Digital Assets Supervisor PATTY O’KELLEY
Musical Score Composed And Produced by KURT HEINECKE PHIL VISCHER
Audio Engineering ADAM FRICK
Additional Engineering DOUG ACKMAN CONRAD STRAUSS
Conducted by KURT HEINECKE
String Section MICHAEL DUGGAN PETER LABELLA
Instruments KURT HEINECKE BRIAN RIP BRAD SCHLUETER
Content Consultant SCOTTIE MAY Ed.D.
Special Thanks To The Big Idea Family
Executive In Charge Of Production MARK BUCZEK
Executive Producer PHIL VISCHER