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'Twas The Night Before Easter

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'Twas The Night Before Easter (originally titled The 27th Annual Crisper County Easter Pageant) is the thirty-fifth episode of VeggieTales, and the second Easter special.

Plot

Opening Countertop

Bob and Larry are hunting for Easter eggs, but Bob isn't really good at finding them. His friend ultimately finds all of them, including a giant golden egg. He's very curious to know what's inside, hoping it's a creme-filled bunny. The two get a video email from Timmy Tucker, who asks them if they'll have a show with eggs, candy, and bunnies, which gets Larry and him very excited. Bob then tells them that Easter is not always about that kind of stuff, and it can makes us forget sometimes the true meaning of the holiday, which leads to the episode's story.

Act 1

The story starts on a young reporter named Marlee Meade who does daily reports in her home town, Crisper County. However, she feels unsatisfied that she's not doing anything big that would help people make a difference. Marlee wishes she could do something related to theater, and her partner/friend Louis states there's something interesting down the street. An old theater owned by Prescott E. Huddlecoat is planning to be torn down since it's out of business for 15 years and plans to make it as a playground for the homeless shelter next to it. Marlee wants to keep it open since she has a show idea for Easter: a musical called "Up with Bunnies," which would make everyone feel happy about the upcoming holiday.

Unfortunately, the rehearsals aren't as good and they need a lead singer. Prescott gets a phone call from his brother Winston, a judge from "America's Got British Judges" that season 3 winner Cassie Cassava is heading back to Crisper County so she can attend her church service there.

Maybe we should fall back together and regroup.

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Silly Song

Main article: The Hopperena

Act 2

The next day at the theater, the same carrot couple from yesterday pass by the theater and see Cassie Cassava might be at the musical and go inside for tickets, which worries Howard.

Maybe we should fall back together and regroup.

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Closing Countertop

Back on the countertop, Bob managed to help Larry get his egg open, but to the latter's dismay, it was empty.

Maybe we should fall back together and regroup.

This section is in need of expansion. Please help Big Idea Wiki by getting to the job!


Characters

Major

Minor

Songs

Other Languages

  • لية عيد القيامة (Arabic) (Easter Night)
  • Det var kvelden før påske (Norwegian) (same translation)
  • شب پیش از عید قیام (Persian) (The Night Before Uprising)
  • Ночь перед пасхой (Russian) (same translation)

Home Media

Main article: 'Twas The Night Before Easter/Home Video

Features

Trailer Appearances

Television Airings

  • This video aired on TBN and its block Smile from 2014 until 2019.

Fun Facts

Moral

  • There's more to Easter than just candy. It's about God!
  • Jesus came back to life from the dead to serve us so we should serve others as Jesus did.

Explanations

  • Thespian is a way to describe anything involving drama or theater.
  • A quartet is a group of four people singing.
  • A Baptismal is where someone is baptized in water as they believed in Christ.
  • A Youth Pastor is a leader of youth and young adult events at a Church.

Trivia

  • The show's original title was "The 27th Annual Crisper County Easter Pageant."
  • This episode was released on the same day as Hosanna! Today's Top Worship Songs for Kids!. It was also released exactly six years after Duke and the Great Pie War and nine years after the first two volumes of Heroes of the Bible!: Lions, Shepherds and Queens (Oh My!) and Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand Strong! VHS releases.
  • This is the first episode for several things:
    • The first episode where Petunia has a main role. In previous episodes, she was a secondary character alongside Larry.
    • The first episode not to use a verse from Qwerty in which Bob read it with an actual bible. (Sumo of the Opera doesn't count since a verse was used from his hard drive.)
    • The first episode where Maggie Roberts joined the cast.
    • The first episode where Keri Pisapia voices Laura Carrot.
    • The first episode since Pistachio: The Little Boy That Woodn't to be animated by Huhu Studios.
    • The first episode to have David Pitts as a producer since Moe and the Big Exit.
  • This is the last episode for several things:
  • This is the only episode for a few things:
    • The only Easter special to use the 2009-2014 logo.
    • The only Easter special to use the 2010-2013 VeggieTales theme song.
    • The only Easter special to use the countertop segments.
    • The only Easter special to include a Silly Song.
    • The only Easter special to be distributed by Vivendi Entertainment for mass market stores.
    • The only Easter special to feature Miss Achmetha, Mr. Lunt, Madame Blueberry, Grandma Gourd, and Petunia Rhubarb.
    • The only Easter special to be done in the 2010s.
    • The only Easter special to be animated by Huhu Studios.
  • This is one of the only episodes where Bob and Larry don't greet the audience.
  • In the teaser that was released from the previous episode, there was concept art that Marlee was going against someone else instead of the church. According to Mike, the script was different compared to the final product. So it might be possible the concept art from the teaser was from the original script idea.
  • The characters who auditioned were:
    • Jimmy and Jerry Gourd
    • Howard Greenman
    • The Scallions
    • Percy Pea
    • Mr. Nezzer
    • Pa Grape
    • Laura
    • The French Peas
    • Miss Achmetha
  • This is the first (and only) Easter special released in 16:9. An Easter Carol was also filmed in 16:9, but was only released in 4:3.
  • This episode was released on the same day as Hosanna! Today's Top Worship Songs for Kids and the Blu-Ray/DVD reprint of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Remarks

  • Even though Qwerty's off on the episode due to it being Easter, he's still on showing the video message. It's confirmed by Mark and Mike that the program is off and Bob and Larry are just using the computer manually.
  • Erwin's outfit on the DVD cover and menus are different from what he wore in the episode. It might be suggested it was a prototype outfit.
  • The eyelid colors on Scallions #2 and #3 are different than normal.
  • In The Audition Song, The French Peas claim to be auditions 5-9, however, this is technically untrue, as the Scallions, Mr. Nezzer, Pa Grape, Laura Carrot, and Percy Pea auditioned before them, therefore making them auditions 4-10. So, technically, the French Peas would actually be auditions 11-15.
    • Also during the song, Mr. Nezzer states that he is auditioning because he is "trying to impress his boss." This is somewhat ironic, given how he has played several boss-type characters himself in many previous episodes.
  • As stated in the commentary, Junior's size has been reduced in this episode. This is mostly because he looked off next to his mother.
    • Speaking of which, Lisa Asparagus is only credited as Homeless Mom, and her actual name doesn't appear with the brackets.
  • If you look at the calendar, the first day of April is on a Saturday. Calculating the real calendars, it's possible the story takes place in 2006, not 2011.
  • Considering snow fell the night before Easter, it's possible Crisper County is in the north.
  • False Contracts are considered fraud.
  • Louis and Prescott don't show any care to Marlee and leave her alone at night in the cold.
  • It's unknown how the secondary characters in the story got to the church.
  • The credits state it released in 2010, but it didn't release until March 2011. It may have been when it was completed in production.
  • The back cover of the 2019 DVD shows the "An Entertainment Rights Group company" byline under the Big Idea logo despite Entertainment Rights being absorbed into Classic Media in 2009.

Goofs

  • During the camera turn on some of the citizens singing in the church, there's one guy who doesn't sing and appears to be frozen. This can be noticed in the widescreen version.
  • Louis was missing his tooth when Prescot said Quartet and again in one shot before Howard made the theatre go berserk.
  • Even though Prescott was wearing a different suit when he entered the church, it briefly changes to his normal one when Pastor Irwin looks at Marlee suspiciously, but in the next shot, it changes back.
    • Similarly, Prescott is seen wearing his costume for Up with Bunnies when he, Marlee, Louis, and Cassie are backstage, but when Petunia reminds the group that it is time to start the finale, he is seen wearing his regular suit.
  • Miss Achmetha's name is mistakenly spelt as Miss Akmetha during the credits. This was the same issue during the credits for A Snoodle's Tale.

Inside References

Real-World References

  • The episode's title refers to the classic story, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.
  • Tums are a brand of antacid that help relief heartburn problems.
  • This episode contains many American Idol references:
    • America's Got British Judges is a parody of both that show and America's Got Talent.
    • The talents being judged by three people is similar to American Idol's judging system.
    • Cassie being a winner in America's Got British Judges.

Fast Forward

Episode Transcript

Commentary

Credits

Gallery

VeggieTales episodes
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