VeggieTales: Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen (2000 Video) User Reviews

Different than most VeggieTales, but not in a bad way

[MxMint32e · 8/10 · 30 May 2020]

If someone asked me for recommendations on which VeggieTales episode to watch first, I would suggest Dave and the Giant Pickle, Madame Blueberry, and the Jonah movie. That being said, Esther definitely wouldn't be on my list for first-timers to the franchise. It is drastically different than most VeggieTales in that it is more dramatic than humorous (though still featuring some hilarious dialogue), does not feature the countertops, lacks a Silly Song, and barely uses Bob and Larry at all. However, these differences don't taint the entertainment this episode offers at all, and on the contrary, it is filled to the brim with VeggieTales charm. The story of this episode is based on the book of Esther from the Bible, and Mike Narwocki does an incredible job fleshing out these characters' personalities while mostly managing to stay true to the Biblical text. Esther and Mordecai, though not particularly funny characters, are easy to sympathize with, and Esther's growth and maturity throughout this episode is a great example to girls (and boys). Unfortunately, though, there are a few inaccuracies present between this episode and the Biblical account. Some of them were taken to censor the story for young children, which I understand entirely, but others, like Esther's initial tenacity to be queen and Haman's lashing out at Mordecai after the banquet, are either not quite provable or entirely inaccurate, which made my rating slightly lower. Overall, though, this is an underrated but excellent episode of VeggieTales which longtime fans of the series should check out.

(And by the way, Haman, the youngest Jackson wasn't Tito. It was Janet.)

I really liked it

[JessamynDreamer · 8/10 · 15 November 2005]

For a start, I don't know if anything here counts as a spoiler- I just want to stay on the safe side. Okay, so I have always wished that Veggie tales would go back to the exact pattern of the first couple of videos, and this one definitely did NOT. That said, I actually enjoyed it very much. I first saw a picture of Esther, I thought, "A *new* veggie? And she has HAIR?". But she won me over from the start, sweet and cute and talented, perfectly conveying the rolemodelishness of Esther. One review said that the 'Death' like character that take victims to the IPT is a bit too scary for little kids. It's possible... I for one (When I was younger, OK!), and my ultra-sensitive baby sister were far more scared by the Fib from Outer Space- The Death of Tickles was nothing. Esther is (My sister's best friend)'s favorite book of the Bible- I think this did her love justice.

Very cute movie with great songs and message

[imdb-7798 · 9/10 · 6 February 2006]

My children loved Esther. The format was slightly different; it didn't include a "Silly Song" segment, but there was a very silly song about puppies. And my children absolutely loved Esther's song. They got the message about being courageous and trusting God during difficult situations. It was a serious story, but they handled the touchy topics in a way that got the basic idea across without making it too serious, gruesome, or graphic for kids...the usual VeggieTales way. For example instead of being executed, criminals were sent to the Isle of Perpetual Tickling. My children and I highly recommend Esther; they learned a lot, laughed a lot, and sang a lot.

The Best Veggie Tale Video to Date

[askjason · 10/10 · 4 November 2002]

I was stunned by the graphics in this one. They did an excellent job. The story is well told and moves along at a great pace. I did feel the character who leads the Peas to the Island of perpetual tickling is a little to scary looking for the youngest ones in the audience. Aside, from that this video is awesome.

One Of The Best VeggieTales Videos.

[filmbuff-05706 · 10/10 · 30 June 2023]

I have well documented on my page how much I love VeggieTales. One of the best videos in the series is this one- Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen.

Esther follows the Biblical book's story of a queen who is chosen by God to be Queen of Persia, particularly to stop the evil plot of the King's advisor Haman, who wants the Jews hanged, particularly Esther's cousin Mordecai, for worshipping the true God over him.

As with any other VeggieTales video, Esther adds some silly changes to make the story fresh for kids and adults. For example, while The Bible story involves hangings for criminals, it's replaced here with a "Grim Tickler", who tickles people for eternity.

In The Bible, Esther becomes queen by winning a beauty contest. In this video, she wins for having the most beautiful singing voice.

Also, while Vashti Biblically is dethroned for refusing to leave her party to be womanized at her husband's, here, she is literally thrown out of the kingdom for not making the King a sandwich at 3 am.

Just like any other VeggieTales video, these changes are not meant to be heretical, they are just to be silly and entertain the viewer, particularly kids. The main points of the story are still respected, and that's what matters.

Esther also has a handful of great songs as well, 2 of which I would like to highlight. One is the villain song, simply named Haman's Song. VeggieTales doesn't have many villain songs, but this is easily one of the best, and catchiest.

Remember how I said that Haman has an evil plot? He disguises it by not informing the King that he plans to target the Jews. Haman's Song takes this plot and sings it out, and it's a bop. I highly recommend looking it up on YouTube.

However, the most poignant song, The Battle Is Not Ours, covers the video's message of courage. Esther reminds herself that with God on one's side, there is nothing to be fearful of, and thus we should be courageous. This is another song worth looking up.

I have about 15 all-time favorite episodes of VeggieTales, and this is one of them. It's co-written by both creators of VeggieTales (Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki), and around this time they wrote the script for Jonah, a film I have previously referred to as a masterpiece. This would accredit to the craftsmanship put into Esther.

If you've never seen a VeggieTales video, while this one is more serious than most of them, this one isn't a bad one to start with. To VeggieTales fans or casual viewers alike, Esther comes highly recommended.

NOTE: This review is being posted on June 30th, 2023, for the 8th birthday of a church friend. This is her favorite VeggieTales video. Happy Birthday to her, consider this to be a birthday gift. :)

Glad this wasn't my first experience with Veggie Tales

[Rachel-20 · 5/10 · 17 May 2003]

I was rather disappointed with this one. By the time this came out we had watched almost all 13 of the Veggie videos which had already been released by Big IDea, and it was a good thing, since we knew that they were capable of far better things. We thought hard about what made Esther less appealing than the rest of the series, and finally hit on it: the veggies were taking themselves too seriously. The silliness was gone (no Silly Song, even), the wackiness was gone, the Monty-Pythonesque humor was gone, and all we were left with was a beautiful young scallion with hair (but no limbs) and a serious dramatic difficulty before her. Which sounds stupid, and, well, it did kind of come across that way without the zaniness to buoy it. We own it, and we let the kids watch it because there's nothing really *wrong* with it, but we don't enjoy it while it's on.

One of the weaker

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 29 February 2016]

Now I think I have seen all VeggieTales at least once and I must say that this one here "Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen" is one of the weaker entries. Writer and director team is Nawrocki and Vischer as usual, but at almost 40 minutes, this one is fairly long for a VeggieTales episode. It was made in the first year of the new millennium. The only thing i really liked here was the music used on several occasions. But it's just not enough to make up for the fairly mediocre story. They almost tried to be really dramatic here with a tale on a queen who doesn't want to be a queen and one of the closest advisers to the king being a traitor. So it is about moral, yes, but still it feels like something's missing and this one does not tell an educational message as inspiring as the ones from some other VeggieTales. Animation is also fairly weak for 2000. I do not recommend the watch. Only worth checking out for the really biggest fans of the franchise.