Big Idea Wiki
Advertisement
This article is about the episode. You may be looking for the game.
"You think I got where I am by looking out for others? Looking out for others is for saps!
No, looking out for others is true love!
"
— Otis and Duke
HobbyHorse24
Duke and the Great Pie War
Directed by

Tim Hodge

Produced by

David Pitts

Written by

Robert G. Lee (Babysitter in DeNile)
Jim Fisher & Jim Staahl (Duke and the Great Pie War)

Music by

Kurt Heinecke

Distributed by

Sony Wonder
(Mass market)
Word Entertainment
(Christian market)

Released

November 23rd, 2004
(screener disc)
March 5, 2005
(Christian market)
March 8, 2005
(Mass market)

Runtime

45 minutes

Previous episode

Sumo of the Opera

Next episode

Minnesota Cuke
and the Search
for Samson's
Hairbrush

Duke and the Great Pie War (originally known as Princess and the Pie War) is the twenty-fourth episode of VeggieTales.

The first story is a retelling of Miriam and Moses, while second, the main one is a retelling of Ruth and Naomi, as well as a prequel to "King George and the Ducky."

Plot

Opening Countertop

On the Countertop, Bob and Larry once again greet the kids, before Bob explains that they got a letter from Cody Gordon from Evergreen, Colorado (who Larry greets back, calling her "Colorado Cody"), before explaining further that Cody became a big sister, with Larry congratulating Cody. However, Bob also explains that while Cody is proud of her new brother, she gets angry because no one pays attention to her anymore, as well as the fact that she can't play as much as she used to because her mother is always having her help out with the baby, before saying that her mom wants her to show love to her brother, but she's not sure how or why. Larry understands the situation, before saying that it reminds him of how he felt when his brother, Steve the Cucumber, was born. Bob is surprised to discover the fact he has a sibling, because he didn't know that Larry had a brother, before Larry tells him that he has three brothers who are named Steve the Cucumber, Mark the Cucumber, and Bob the Cucumber, with Bob being the oldest, which surprises Bob, telling Larry that he never even knew that he had a brother named Bob. Larry is certain that he's told Bob about this, with Bob saying that if he did, then he would've remembered that Larry had a brother named Bob, also telling him, "I've known you for ten years!" with Larry saying, "Has it been that long?" Larry then says that he felt the same way when his brother Steve the Cucumber was born, saying that his mother had a story for him when he felt that way. When Bob asks Larry what his brothers look like, Larry answers, "Like cucumbers." After Larry tells Cody to check out the first story, Bob says rather dubiously, "Three brothers. You think you know a guy."

Babysitter in DeNile

(see Main Page for full Plot)

The Blues with Larry

See The Blues with Larry.

Duke and the Great Pie War

A storybook opens up on the counter as a choir starts singing about a pie war that broke out between two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Scone and the Kingdom of Rhubarb, before also singing about the story of a duke named Duke Duke (played by Larry the Cucumber), who fell in love with a beautiful Rhubarbarian woman named Sweet Petunia, as well as the fact that Petunia is accompanied by her mother-in-law Nona (played by Madame Blueberry). The scene then switches to "Ye Olde Knight School," where Duke, along with a trio of carrot knights and a perpetually sleepy knight named Sleepless Knight (played by Jimmy Gourd), are being trained by Irwin (played by Pa Grape) to be first-rank knights to serve in the pie war. Part of their training involves running past a bunch of bars with donuts strung on them and to avoid getting hit by the donuts. However, while the other knights were able to avoid getting hit by the donuts, Duke ends up getting hit when he drops his sword and tries to pick it up, which sends him flying until he hits the ground. Irwin then tells Duke, "If that'd been a pie, you'd be creamed right now! You're hopeless!"

At that moment, Irwin's top student Otis the Elevated (played by Mr. Lunt) shows up, accompanied by his accomplice Novak (played by Mr. Nezzer). Otis then demonstrates the element of surprise in war by taunting Sleepless Knight into charging him, which Sleepless Knight does, but Otis blinds him with sunlight reflected off the surface of a shield, which causes Sleepless Knight to fall face down on the ground in front of Otis, with Otis claiming, "All is fair in love and war," which Duke thinks doesn't make any sense. Novak then announces that Otis will be taking all comers in the annual Jousting Tournament. Otis then tells all the knights that this is the training that could save their lives when facing a Rhubarbarian, and that there isn't a nice one among them. Meanwhile, at a nice little treehouse in the forest, Sweet Petunia is approached by Nona, before telling Nona that what she made for dinner is "water soup." Nona then tells Petunia that she's been kind to her for years, before Petunia responds that Nona's also been kind to her as well. Even though Nona insists on being called a mother-in-law when Petunia calls her "mother," Petunia tells Nona that she's been like a mother to her. However, a pair of carrot ladies pass by while carrying a basket of apples, while telling Petunia, "Go back to your own kingdom, Rhubarbarian!" One of the apples then falls out of the basket and rolls in front of Petunia, just as a young pea notices the fallen apple. Petunia then picks up the apple and gives it back to the pea, before she is met with a glare from one of the carrot ladies who escorts the pea away. After that, Petunia then sadly admits that ever since arriving in Scone, she doesn't seem to fit in because everyone is so mean to her.

Down the road, Duke and his assistant Lucas (played by Bob the Tomato) come down the road while medieval-style surf music plays, before Nona then tells Petunia to get the apple, before Nona then throws the apple for Petunia to fetch. Duke and Lucas continue hopping down the road, with Duke asking Lucas why they're taking the long path home, before Lucas tells him that Nona moved back to town. We then learn that Nona is Duke's second cousin, twice removed, according to Lucas. The two then notice Nona and Petunia, with Duke mistaking Petunia for Nona, before Lucas reminds him that Nona is the short one while Petunia is the tall beautiful one, but tells Duke not to get friendly with Petunia because she's a Rhubarbarian. Of course, Duke disregards this, saying that Petunia is kind, which Petunia demonstrates by giving the apple back to Nona. Nona is happy to see Duke again, as is Duke, before Nona then introduces Duke to Sweet Petunia. Petunia then tells Duke that Nona told her so much about him, before offering some soup to Duke, saying that there's not much, but would be glad to share it with him. However, when Duke tries to act gentlemanly in front of Petunia, he accidentally bumps the soup pot when he bows down, which causes the soup pot to swing back and hit him from behind, which causes him to knock the bowl of soup to the ground. Duke and Petunia both try to retrieve the bowl at the same time but they keep bumping each other's heads when trying to do so.

Duke then decides to make it up to Petunia regardless, asking her what she needs, but Petunia tells him that she doesn't need anything, which Nona agrees with. Lucas then reminds Duke about the war, but Duke decides to do something for Petunia by allowing her to gather leftover apples from his orchards, which Petunia thanks Duke for. After Duke and Lucas leave, Lucas chides Duke for getting friendly with Petunia saying that the people of Scone don't take kindly to anyone acting friendly to a Rhubarbarian, but Duke thinks that Lucas is overreacting. The next day, Duke and Lucas then go off to see Petunia and Nona who are collecting apples, not realizing that the people of Scone are turning against him all because he was showing kindness towards Petunia. Duke tries to dissuade this before getting hit by an apple, trying to pass it off as an accident. The carrot knights then show up after that, one of them asking "How many Rhubarbarians does it take to change a light bulb?" When the other knights ask what a light bulb is, the first one answers, "I don't know, but if I did, I'm sure it would not change my negative opinion on Rhubarbarians." The carrot knights then hop off laughing after that.

Petunia then tells Duke that she has to go, saying that things will only get worse if he's seen with her, but Duke tells her that things will be fine before he trips over a bucket after that. Petunia then helps Duke up before telling him that he dropped his hat, but they both end up bumping their heads again. Petunia then says goodbye to Duke as she hops towards the door, but ends up bumping into the side of the door, while Duke has managed to get his hat. Nona then hops back down the ladder after that, saying that Petunia is somewhat clumsy for a princess, which surprises Lucas when he hears that Petunia is a princess. Duke then asks Nona that if Petunia is a princess, then why are they so poor.

Because of that, Nona then explains in storybook style that before the Pie War, she once had a husband, Gildersleeve the Invincible, and that they had a son, Ryan the Only-Slightly-Less-Invincible. When Nona mentions that Ryan married Petunia, Duke is surprised that Petunia is married, interrupting the story, but Nona resumes telling the story, explaining that after Ryan married Petunia, they all went to live in Rhubarb, but before leaving, Gildersleeve provided for his brother (whom a lot of viewers recognize to be Otis the Elevated) by giving him half of the golden crest (which is in the shape of a duck) that was the key to his castle. Otis is given the body of the duck, which he is surprised about, thinking that Gildersleeve doesn't trust him, while the head of the duck, which contains the key to the vault, is given to Nona. That was when things got bad, with the armies of Rhubarb and Scone going to war against each other, which began the Great Pie War. Nona also explains that both Gildersleeve and Ryan were neither invincible nor slightly less invincible, as they both end up getting hit by pies in the war. Duke then asks Nona why she didn't stay in Rhubarb, before Nona explains even further that while Petunia's family welcomed her, they wouldn't let Nona in after what happened. She then explains that Petunia was so compassionate so she sacrificed being a princess in order to be with Nona. After this explanation, Duke then says that this is complicated, before reiterating that Nona is forced to live in a tree stump because of Gildersleeve's brother, before Nona tells him that he only looks out for himself. Duke is sympathetic for Nona, wanting to do something to get the other half of the crest back for Nona and Petunia.

Fortunately, Nona comes up with an idea as she rummages through the bucket of apples and retrieves the head of the duck which has the key, before calling out to Petunia. Petunia then comes out while carrying a metal bowl of apples, asking Nona how apple fricassee sounds. Nona then gives Petunia the key to the vault, saying that Petunia needs it more than she does, which surprises Petunia, before Nona tells her that Duke can be able to help with getting the other half of the crest. When Petunia asks what Duke has to do with it, Nona tells her to give Duke the key and ask him to joust for her in the tournament. Even though she is hesitant about it, Petunia decides to do what Nona tells her as she hops up to Duke, but accidentally bumps into him from behind. When Duke turns to face Petunia, Nona tells Petunia to tell him that she thinks he's nice, but when Petunia tries to tell him, it comes out as "I nice," which Duke agrees with. With more urging from Nona, Petunia is finally able to tell Duke that she thinks he's nice, which Duke is flattered by, before Petunia then gives the key to Duke, which Duke asks her about. Petunia is then able to ask Duke to joust for her at the tournament to win the other half of the crest from Gildesleeve's brother. When Duke is confused about this, Petunia mentions further, with more help from Nona, that if Gildesleeve's brother won't look out for family, then Duke must. When Duke asks Petunia about this, Petunia tells him, "You're Nona's second cousin," to which Duke replies "Twice removed," before Petunia tells Duke that it's a lot to ask, but she wants, or rather, needs him to joust for her. At first, Duke is at a loss for words, but he finally accepts Petunia's request for him to joust for her in the tournament, saying that he'll do anything for her, even if he has to joust Otis the Elevated. When Duke asks who Gildesleeve's brother is, Nona answers that it's none other than Otis the Elevated, something which Duke is shocked to hear.

Nevertheless, Duke approaches Otis, telling him that he's going to joust him at the tournament. Of course, when Otis hears this news, he starts laughing, until he sees the key of the duck-shaped crest hanging around Duke's neck, before he realizes that the body of the duck is the only thing that he has. Duke then tells Otis that that the winner gets both halves of the duck, which Otis is interested in hearing, before Duke tells him, "If you won't take care of family, I will." Otis then replied by saying that "looking out for others is for saps," but Duke corrects him by telling him that "looking out for others is true love." This only makes Otis laugh more, telling Duke that he's seen him train before telling him that he's on. Soon, the day of the tournament has come at last, as Novak introduces the crowds to the two competitors of the joust, which are Otis the Elevated (which everyone cheers for) and Duke Duke (which everyone boos at as someone throws an apple at his head). Novak then explains that the winner gets both halves of the golden crest to Gildersleeve's castle with all the treasure that lies within, before also saying that if they act now, will include a lovely set of ginsu knives. Novak then explains that the contest will consist of three tests worthy of a knight, the first one being an obstacle course known as "the Implausibly Arduous Obstacle Course of Peril." Duke is rather nervous by the sight of this obstacle course, though Otis is the first one to go through the obstacle course, as he quickly slides down the slide, runs on the turning ramp, slides down a tunnel, navigates his way past a bunch of boots, hammers, and boxing gloves on swinging poles, swings over a pit of slime, and bounces up a trampoline next to Novak, with 23 seconds as his best time. It is now Duke's turn, but he ends up losing his balance down the slide, before he falls onto the ramp, staggers into the tunnel, gets hit by each of the swinging weapons, falls into the slime pit, and ends up hitting the side of the announcement post when he attempts to bounce up on the trampoline, with 67 seconds for his worst time. Lucas, Petunia, and Nona have been watching everything, with Lucas saying that it's not looking too good for Duke.

The second test of the joust is what's known as "the Hurling Catapults of Slime," in which Duke and Otis are to be asked a riddle by the Abbot of Costello (played by Scallion #1), to which if one of them guesses the answer right, the other will get catapulted into a bucket of slime. The Abbot then goes ahead with the riddle, which is, "There are three members of the royal family with strange names; Sir Who, Prince What, and Lady I Don't Know. They want to board a ferry to cross a treacherous river. Taking into account their rank, what would be the reverse order in which they should board the ferry?" By luck, Duke is able to correctly guess "Who's on first," "What's on second," and "I Don't Know's on third." When Otis tries to ask who went third, he ends up getting catapulted into the bucket of slime as a result. Lucas, Petunia, and Nona are especially happy to see that Duke was able to beat Otis in the second test of the joust, to which Novak is surprised to see, at the same time that Otis comes out of the slime while looking very angry. The third test of the joust is what's known as "the Joust with the Pies of Doom." The joust involves Duke and Otis jousting each other on wooden horses with pies situated at the ends of their lances, and that whoever gets knocked off his horse loses. Otis then yells at Duke that he's going to lose everything, before Duke then looks down, becoming dizzy at how high up he is on the ramp. Lucas then tells Duke that no one would blame him if he backed out, saying that Petunia is a Rhubarbarian, before asking Duke if he's really willing to take a pie for Petunia. Duke then answers that Petunia has no family to look out for her and that he has to think of her first.

The joust then begins as both Duke and Otis charge towards each other on their horses, but they miss the first time as the horses then roll up the opposite ramps before rolling back down again towards each other. They miss the second time. Before they charge towards each other on their horses the their time, Otis says to Duke in frustration, " Oh, I want that duck. Nona, Petunia, and those silly peasants can all starve for all I care." Hearing this, the crowds were shocked and realized that Otis told them a lie about the Rhubarbarians, so they changed their minds to cheer for Duke instead, such as when four citizens flipped the letters from Otis to Duke. Both Duke and Otis then charge towards each other. As this happens, sunlight reflects off the top of Otis's helmet and onto the key around Petunia's neck, blinding him and leading him to get knocked off his horse by Duke, which means that Duke is the winner of the joust and the crowds cheered for him. The carrot knights and Sleepless Knight are proud of Duke for winning the joust, just as Novak approaches the defeated Otis, who bitterly asks him, "What are you looking at?" Petunia then approaches Duke, as Duke tells her that they'll be family now and that he'll take care of her forever, which Petunia is happy to hear. Later, the Abbot of Costello has married Duke and Petunia, before telling them, "You may now join the halves of the duck," which Duke does. However, once the two halves of the golden duck-shaped crest have been made whole again, the duck then walks around a few times before laying a golden egg on the ground. Of course, Duke and Petunia end up bumping their heads again when they both try to retrieve the egg at the same time, before the choir from before then sings about true love, just as the story then comes to an end after that.

Closing Countertop

Bob compliments Larry about the stories that he presented, saying that they were great stories about loving your family. Larry then thanks Bob for the compliment, before telling Bob that he felt bad about never telling him about his family, and that he gave his brothers a call so that Bob could meet them. Three cucumbers then hop onto the Countertop, as Larry introduces Bob to them, which are his brothers Bob (a short mustachioed cucumber with a white collar and a yellow tie with orange polka-dots), Steve (a tall cucumber with a purple coat and a yellow necklace), and Mark (a middle-height bespectacled cucumber with blonde hair, a white collar, a dark red bowtie, a red coat and glasses). Bob then tells the three cucumber brothers that it's really great to meet them, but they do not say anything, with Larry telling him that they're not much for talking, but they sure can sing. Larry demonstrates this by telling his brothers that they're over by Qwerty to talk about what they've learned today, to which the three cucumbers then start singing a choir-like version of the "What Have We Learned" song. After the song ends, the three cucumbers then leave after that, with Larry telling Bob that they have to get back to the hardware store, which Bob is confused about, to which Larry answers with, "I chose a life of show business, they chose a life of hardware," with Bob telling him that they sing so nice, before Larry tells him, "You should see them with the table saw." Despite this setback, Bob and Larry consult Qwerty for a verse, which he brings up as, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10." Bob then recaps that in the story of Miriam and Moses, Miriam learned that she needed to think first about what her brother needed and she showed love to him by protecting him, even though it was hard, before Larry also recaps that in the story of "The Princess & the Pie War," Duke, Sweet Petunia, and Nona all looked out for each other because each wanted the others to be happy. Bob then tells Cody that God gave us families to help each other and that the very best way for her to show love to her new little brother is to think about him first, kinda like how her mom looks out for her, and that will help him grow up to be a great brother and that Cody will feel great because she helped. Larry agrees with that, because "True love always thinks of others first." Bob and Larry then sign off, before Larry tells Bob that he has to go do a video link with his dad, who is an astronaut, because he's in orbit and that he has to wish him a happy birthday. Larry says bye to the kids and he hops off, before Bob hops off after him telling him, "Larry, we gotta talk more!" The episode then ends after that.

During the post credits scene, a deleted scene shows Miriam hiding Moses from the guards.

Characters

Major

Minor

Babysitter in DeNille Only

Silly Song only

Songs

Other Languages

  • Duka dhe lufta e madhe (Albanian) (The Duke and the Great War)
  • Unknown (Arabic)
  • 君主與餡餅 (Cantonese) (Monarch and Pie)
  • Herttua ja suuri piirakkasota (Finnish) (same translation)
  • Das Abenteuer von Ruth (German) (The Adventure of Ruth)
  • 公爵與的餅大戰 (Mandarin) (Taiwan) (The Duke and the Pie Fight)
  • Jarle og kakekrigen (Norwegian) (Earl and the Cake War)
  • Unknown (Persian)
  • Duque e a Grande Guerra de Torta (Portuguese) (Brazil) (same translation)
  • A Grande Guerra das Tartes (Portuguese) (Portugal) (The Great Pie War)
  • Duque y la Gran Pie (Spanish) (Latin America) (Duke and the Great Pie)
  • Cuộc chiến bánh nướng (Vietnamese) (Pie War)

Home Media

Main article: Duke and the Great Pie War/Home Video

Features

Duke and the Great Pie War/Features

Trailer Appearances

Duke and the Great Pie War/Trailer and Teaser Appearances

Fun Facts

Moral

  • Loving your family means that you care about them and practicing selflessness.

Explanations

  • Before phones were invented, the English village would use the "Hear ye, Hear ye" at the start of a public announcement.

Trivia

Remarks

  • Bob states he has known Larry for ten years. This is slightly incorrect, as the first episode came out in 1993 (about 11-12 years earlier) and Take 38 came out in 1992 (about 12-13 years earlier).
  • The credits state that this episode was released in 2004, but it didn't release until March 2005. However, this may have been when the episode was completed, due to the VHSs/DVDs were manufactured at the head of time.
  • A title card is added to the episode on some international releases and the Brazilian Portuguese dub of this.
  • King George took place during the Great Pie War, yet Duke and the Great Pie War takes place after it.

Goofs

DukeGoof
  • According to the audio commentary, the French Peas often swap hats throughout the first segment.
  • When the knights land on Duke, a giant black plane clips through his body (see image).
  • When Duke says that looking out for others is true love, the tile texture on the ground is inverted in color.
  • On the DVD releases of this episode, there are some audio errors when the 5.1 Surround sound was enabled, which it does not occur on the "2.0 Stereo" option:
    • On the VeggieTales theme song, the accordion and the horns along with the backup vocals can be heard in the background.
    • The fairy chorus' vocals during The Ballad of the Pie War were mixed on a center channel.
      • Also, an instrumental for the same song during the end credits has some echo instruments in the background.
    • During the end credits, the accordions can be heard a little bit loud in the instrumental for "The Blues with Larry".

Inside References

Real-World References

  • The Abbott of Costello was based on the comical duo Abbott and Costello. Their famous gag "Who's on first?" was parodied during the second round of the joust.
  • One of the Pharaoh's guards says "walk like an Egyptian," which is the name of a 1986 song by The Bangles.
  • "Three Dog Knights" is a play on Three Dog Night, a rock band that was formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron.

Fast Forward

  • The Egyptian Background would reappear in future episodes.
  • Mike Asparagus would quote the bible verse in this episode 12 years later.
  • "Hear ye, Hear ye" would later be said again.
  • Petunia would be considered a Barbarian again.
  • The story of Ruth and Naomi would be told again years later.
  • Larry would later crash into a building and slide down the building again.
  • Scallion #1 would say "Correct" again 5 years later.

Transcript

Credits

Gallery

DukeandtheGreatPieWarTitleCard
DukeAndTheGreatPieWar2010TitleCard

References

VeggieTales episodes
Advertisement