It's a Meaningful Life is the thirty-fourth episode of VeggieTales and the fourth Christmas episode of the series.
It is a parody of the 1946 Frank Capra film, It's a Wonderful Life.
Plot
Opening Countertop
The show starts out with Bob & Larry on the countertop as usual. Bob hadn't planned anything because he was expecting Larry to interfere with the show as usual. Feeling insulted, Larry decides to keep his mouth shut, even though Bob tries to reason with him. Bob then turns to Qwerty who posts up a video call from a girl named Maggie Greenman who hails from the city of Centennial in the state of Texas. She greets the trio and explains to them that she really wanted to get on the cheerleading team, but she wasn't picked. Maggie's pal Savannah got picked, and is essentially rubbing it in Maggie's face. As such, Maggie feels unimportant, un-special, and wants to know how to move forward. Even though he wasn't talking, Larry helped Bob with the situation by showing her a film.
Act 1
The story takes place in a town called Rockwell, where Stewart Green (Larry) aims to win a football game so he can go to the Salad Bowl. But after a mistake from the Decoy, Morty Bumble (Mr. Lunt), Stewart finds himself in the hospital. Now, not only is he unable to go to the Salad Bowl, but he can never play football again. Morty, however, does go to the Salad Bowl and he becomes famous. To try and cheer Stewart up, his dad (Mr. Nezzer) gives him a job at his toy train factory.
Fifteen years later, Stewart is still living in Rockwell and is now the CEO of the toy factory. Unfortunately, the factory is behind with the bills and needs to make 10,000 trains by Christmas. Stewart is also married to Donna (Petunia Rhubarb), has 3 kids. 2 sons named Barney & Art, and an adopted daughter named Emma. He also coaches his sons' football team consisting of them & some boys who used to be quite mean and comforts Emma when she didn't get the part she wanted in her school's Christmas play.
But Stewart's problems get worse when Morty comes back home and plans to buy the toy train factory. Stewart tries to make the factory to work harder and faster, but that only makes things worse. Just as he really starts to regret missing that football in the game, a train appears out of nowhere.
Silly Song
- Main article: Goodnight Junior
Act 2
Stewart boards the train and starts to explore it. He then meets the eccentric conductor, Gabe. Gabe tells Stewart that he is able to show him what his life could have been like for him if he had only caught that football in three stops. The first stop shows Stewart as a greedy business man who plans to buy the Toy Factory and rename Rockwell just like Morty did. The second stop shows Rockwell without Stewart around. Thanks to Stewart not being there, Donna never got married to him. All of those football team players that Stewart coaches never became into football & they continue to be quite mean thanks to Stewart was never around to teach them how to be funny, sensitive or even well mannered. Stewart's twin sons Barney & Art don't exist in this universe either because they were never born all because Stewart never married Donna. As for Emma, she still lives in the orphanage that Stewart adopted her from with her teddy bear Teddy because Stewart was never around to adopt her.
At the third stop, Stewart is given a choice to either remain in the world where he is famous, or to go home and solve his problems. Stewart decides that he should head home, seeing that God's plan for him in Rockwell is better than being famous.
When Stewart goes back to the toy factory, he finds that everyone in Rockwell is helping him get back on track. Even Morty starts to see that no one will help him unless he learns to live a meaningful life too.
Closing Countertop
At the end of the story, Bob apologizes to Larry for saying he always interferes, and Larry forgives him. Bob and Larry then recap the lesson learned story, get a verse from Qwerty and make up with one another while Maggie learns to be happy knowing that God has something special planned for her future. After Maggie says bye to the trio, Bob and Larry sign off.
Characters
Major
- Bob the Tomato (Football Coach)
- Larry the Cucumber (Stewart Green)
- Petunia Rhubarb (Donna Green)
- Mr. Lunt (Morty Bumble)
- Gabe
Supporting
- Jimmy Gourd (Jim Gourdly)
- Ellen (Linda)
- Barney and Art Green
- Emma Green
Minor
- Mr. Nezzer (Stewart's Dad)
- Quarterback
- Percy Pea
- Gourdon Smithson
- Dirk Evert
- Lil' Pea
- Oscar (Pete)
- Grandma Gourd (Mrs. Josephson)
- Grampa Gourd
- Chester's Mom (Betty)
- Barking Steve
- Arthur
- Marching Band Members
- Munchy Dream/Squeezy Cheesy Dream Announcer
- Wings Shop Owner
Cameo
- Teddy
- Scooter
- The French Peas
- French Peas (Crowd)
- American Peas
- Harold Pea
- Wee Pea
- Issac the Grape
- Penelope
- Egg Boy
Silly song only
- Silly Song Announcer
- Junior Asparagus (Silly Song)
- Lisa Asparagus (Silly Song)
- Barbra Manatee
Songs
- VeggieTales Theme Song
- Cheers to Stewart
- Cheers to Morty
- 110 Percent
- Munchy Dream
- Precious Girl
- Oh Bumblebee
- 110 Percent (Reprise)
- Stewart's Lament
- Bedtime Songs with Junior: Goodnight Junior
- Down These Tracks
- Squeezy Cheesy Dream
- Oh Christmas Me
- Precious Child
- Cheers to Stewart Finale
- What Have We Learned
- Meant to Be
Other Languages
- حياة نيما معنى (Arabic) (Nima Life Meaning)
- زندگی پرمعنا (Persian) (Meaningful Life)
- Многозначительная Жизнь (Russian) (Meaningful Life)
Home Media
- Main article: It's a Meaningful Life/Home Video
Features
Trailer Appearances
Fun Facts
Moral
- We oftentimes wish that our lives would turn out different. We sometimes think that if certain events had played out the way they were supposed to, our lives would be much better. But God has something for us that's more important than anything.
- We need to realize that everything in our lives is meaningful, because God is always working in our lives; even when we don't see it.
- When we feel down, we need to have hope because God cares about us, loves us and has a plan for our futures.
Trivia
- When this episode aired on Smile of a Child, Meant To Be was replaced with background music from the episode.
- On some airings on Smile of a Child, the episode was divided in two parts. The first part would go from the actual beginning to when Stewart sees the train. The second part would start with a long recap from the first part.
- This is the second and last episode animated by Hawaii Animation Studios.
- This is the first episode for a few things:
- Tthe first Christmas related episode to start with the countertop.
- The first episode to not have Scallion #1 since The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's.
- The first episode to have Lisa Asparagus since An Easter Carol.
- The first episode to have Keri Pisapia as Grandma Gourd.
- This is the last episode for a few things:
- The last episode to feature Lil' Pea until Being Gentle Makes You Great.
- The last appearance of Jim Gourdly, Barking Steve, Grampa Gourd, Issac the Grape, Penelope, Arthur, and Chester's Mom to date.
- The last episode Dan Krech worked on.
- The last episode to be made at The Factory.
- The last episode Grandma Gourd wears her blue and purple flower dress.
- There were a few differences between pre-production and the final product:
- Originally, Gourdon's line was supposed to be said by Percy, but the animators accidentally animated Gourdon's mouth movements instead. So, they decided to redub Percy's voice with Gourdon's.
- In the scene of Emma in the orphanage, she was initially going to be kicked out and left shivering in the snow. This was cut for obvious reasons.
- This is the only Christmas episode to be animated by Hawaii Animation Studios.
- This is the only Christmas episode to feature Ellen, Arthur Carrot, Chester's Mom, Barking Steve, Issac the Grape, Grampa Gourd, The Marching Band Members, and Penelope.
Remarks
- Even though it's set around Christmas, this episode can be watched anytime, whether it's close to the holidays or not.
- This is the first Christmas episode not to have a holiday-related Silly Song.
- This is the sixth of the 7 episodes where the Silly Song is in the later half in the runtime.
- Although not a goof, there are some shots where Morty is seen without his teeth.
- Even though the locomotive is a steam locomotive, it has a diesel locomotive's horn.
- When Stewart is carried to the hospital, there is a boy in the bleachers that uses Art's model. However, it is unlikely that this is actually Art, as he wasn't born until years after Stewart's injuries.
- If you play ball in the house, you can easily break anything fragile.
- Gabe tells Stewart to Buckle Up even though there are no seat belts on the train.
- Morty says he just took the strangest train ride, which would indicate he rode the What-If Express. However, he was nowhere to be seen on the train.
Goofs
- Throughout the episode, Barney & Art's voices often swap with each other. (i.e. Barney with Art's voice & Art with Barney's voice)
- The hopping animations of all of the characters seems to waver in quality throughout the entirety of the episode.
- Some of the extras are duplicated throughout the episode.
- There are 4 shots when Stewart's tooth is missing, when he's passing the workers, when he nudges Pete with the boxes into the delivery room, after the toy factory goes berserk and he's screaming, and when Morty says "Merry Christmas, Green Machine".
- When Stewart looks out the window of The What-If Express at one point, his tie clips through his body until he hops out of the chair and out the door.
- Scooter is missing his mouth throughout the episode.
- After Barney says "I didn't say how I caught it," his entire family's shadows disappear for a frame.
- Mrs. Josephson has Steve's voice when she calls Stewart a "seller".
- In some shots of the What-If Express, the wheels and side rods aren't moving.
- In one scene during Down These Tracks, the What-If Express has six coaches instead of two.
- When Maggie tells Bob and Larry even though she doesn't get to be a cheerleader, Bob and Larry show up in front of Qwerty, but when Larry says "Exactly Maggie," his mouth doesn't move correctly, and Qwerty vanishes. Was Qwerty still offscreen next to the jars on the countertop? Because when he says "You know, I do," he comes back.
Inside References
- Some of the mentions Bob referred to at Larry about what happened before are:
- Westernized Bible stories (The Ballad of Little Joe, Moe and the Big Exit)
- Having another letter (Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush, Moe and the Big Exit)
- A broken aardvark behind Larry's back (The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's)
- Petunia also wears a recolored version of the same coat she wore as her character Julia in Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella..
- Larry also does a spit like just like he does in that episode when Linda tells him that the toy train factory needed to produce and sell 10,000 toy trains before Christmas.
- Stewart getting hospitalized and bandaged, especially around his head and nose, is a reference to Are You My Neighbor?.
- The cow costume Stewart wears is a recolor of the one from The Ballad of Little Joe.
- The toy factory is a re-decorated version of the egg factory from An Easter Carol.
- Stewart's dad telling his son about the doctor's concern regarding Stewart's inability to play football due to his injuries is a likely nod to The Star of Christmas, where Seymour tells Cavis that he couldn't do any heavy lifting due to a football injury.
- Some of the sound effects from God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! are heard when the football knocks over the stuff on the shelf above the TV in Stewart's house. One of these is also played when Morty bumps into Stewart after returning to Rockwell.
- The paintings in Stewart's house are the same from Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler.
- Stewart and Morty drink from Joppa Java cups.
- The way Stewart rushed everyone in the factory through song is quite similar to Jacques rushing through song during Hum, Ding, Purr, Whee! in Blunders in Boo-Boo Ville.
- The Malta Malts shop from Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush is used for the diner.
- In the scene where Stewart and Donna are Christmas shopping, some of the score from Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving is reused. The town for Rockwell is reused from said episode too, as is the exterior for Stewart's house (which is re-used from Laura's).
- Jimmy is seen in his Jim Gourdly costume from Sumo of the Opera once again.
- The marching band members from Gideon: Tuba Warrior reappear.
- Larry and Jimmy were previously sitting at the same table in The End of Silliness?.
Real-World References
- Superman is one of the most beloved characters in comic book history.
- While the episode is a parody of It's a Wonderful Life, it also borrows elements from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and Chris Van Allsburg's "The Polar Express."
- The town of Rockwell gets its name from painter Norman Rockwell. It is also the name of the main setting of the Warner Bros. animation film The Iron Giant.
- When Linda asks Betty how her grandkids are, she refers to them as the "apples of [her] eye", possibly referencing the Stevie Wonder song, You Are the Sunshine of My Life (which was previously covered in Bob & Larry Sing the 70s).
- The Salad Bowl is a play on Super Bowl, which is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League
Fast Forward
- Larry would get his sports facts wrong again in Laura at Bat.
- There would be another Silly Song in a Christmas episode to not be holiday related.
- Mr. Lunt would later talk about how handsome he is three years later.
Episode Transcript
Credits
Gallery
