An Easter Carol
Encyclopedia
An Easter Carol is the twenty-first episode in the VeggieTales
animated series, released in early 2004 on DVD
and VHS
format. It lacks a subtitle, but the lesson it conveys is to remind viewers of the Christian
significance of Easter
. It is longer than most episodes, running to approximately 49 minutes.
The episode is a reworking of A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
. The storyline is similar with Mr. Nezzer playing the role of Ebenezer. It is the sequel to The Star of Christmas
and picks up where that episode left off with Cavis and Millward going to work in Mr. Nezzer's Easter Egg
factory.
Next viewers see Ebenezer's factory which is full of mechanical chickens hatching plastic Easter eggs. Cavis Appythart and Millward Phelps are workers in the factory and the two are arguing over who should approach Ebenezer and ask for a day off for Easter. When they finally do ask, Ebenezer goes into a long history of how his grandmother started Easter by making Easter. He recalled that before his grandma died, she told him to tell everyone "Easter means no death". Nezzer misunderstands this, thinking that as long as he makes Easter eggs he will keep his grandma alive forever. That's why he plans to tear down the local church and build Easterland in its place.
Cavis and Millward are shocked at the idea while Rev. Gilbert, and Edmond have arrived. Mr. Nezzer offers Cavis, and Millward to help him in his deed, but when they attempt to persuade Mr. Nezzer not to tear down the church, Ebenezer gets angry, that they do not want to help him and fires both Cavis and Millward from the factory. Everyone is worried about the demolition of the church but since Nezzer owns the property they are unable to stop him.
That night, Ebenezer falls asleep when he sees a vision of his grandma telling him he has missed the point, and at the stroke of midnight, he will receive a second visitor to help him understand. Meanwhile, Cavis and Millward are trying to break into the factory to get the Easterland plans. Mr. Nezzer then wakes up from his vision and then intends to stay awake for the visitor.
Ebenezer has fallen asleep waiting for the visitor when a clockwork egg suddenly opens and Hope
emerges. She wakes Ebenezer and starts showing him Easter past - a church service. We see young Ebenezer and his grandma sitting in the church. Grandma is trying to get Ebenezer to understand the story of Easter but the youngester is mainly focused on selling his eggs and why the egg he received is empty. Next, Hope shows him Easter a year ago, when Ebenezer first started making plastic Easter eggs. He talks to an inventor and when he sings a rhythm song about how the inventor should make him plastic chickens that lay plastic eggs, he (Inventor) agrees, is not paid, but Ebenezer does give him an early free pass to Easterland much to Hope's dismay.
They return to Easter present and visit the Reverend's house they are discussing about the church it is then revealed that Grandma Nezzer paid for all those church windows herself, and that just before she died she commissioned the new window that they were going to reveal tomorrow. Ebenezer attempts to insult Easter once again by saying that the factory, his Easter eggs, and candies are what Easter is about. They next find out that little Edmond is very ill and will not survive for another year if nothing changes. Ebenezer is shocked on how Edmond's parents are so calm with such news. Hope then takes Mr. Nezzer back into the church and teaches him the story of Jesus dying on the cross to save the sinners.
Then Hope welcomes Nezzer to 'Easter future'. The church is being demolished. Little Edmond has died.And without the Hope of Easter, the town's once-brave policeman has lost courage to stop criminals. Hope disappears back into the egg and Ebenezer pleads for her to come back because they need her. He rushes back to the church to try and stop the demolition, and wakes up. He finds out that it is still Easter Present and he still has another chance. Nezzer is able to stop the demolition crew just as they are about to start the church demolition.
Millward suddenly rushes into and shouts that Cavis is trapped in the factory and the chicken
s are overheating. The entire place is about to explode.
Nezzer rushes back into the factory to save Cavis and they escape by being catapulted out of one of the factory's windows by one of the machines just when the building explodes. It starts raining Easter eggs across the town from the explosion and Nezzer promises to help young Edmond get the medicine he needs with the money he has left after fixing the orphanage.
VeggieTales
VeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
animated series, released in early 2004 on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
format. It lacks a subtitle, but the lesson it conveys is to remind viewers of the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
significance of Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
. It is longer than most episodes, running to approximately 49 minutes.
The episode is a reworking of A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
. The storyline is similar with Mr. Nezzer playing the role of Ebenezer. It is the sequel to The Star of Christmas
The Star of Christmas
The Star of Christmas is the eighteenth episode of the VeggieTales animated series and the second holiday special in that series. It was released on October 29, 2002 and re-released September 5, 2006 in Holiday Double Feature with its earlier episode The Toy that Saved Christmas. Like the other...
and picks up where that episode left off with Cavis and Millward going to work in Mr. Nezzer's Easter Egg
Easter egg
Easter eggs are special eggs that are often given to celebrate Easter or springtime.The oldest tradition is to use dyed or painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as jelly beans...
factory.
Cast
- Mr. Nezzer as Ebenezer Nezzer
- Bob the Tomato as Cavis Appythart
- Larry The Cucumber as Millward Phelps
- Junior Asparagus as Edmund Gilbert
- Dad Asparagus as Reverend Gilbert
- Mom Asparagus as Rachel Gilbert
- Scooter as Church deacon
- Rebecca St. JamesRebecca St. JamesRebecca St. James , is a Christian pop rock singer, songwriter, musician, author, and actor. She began performing in Australia in the late 1980s and released her first full-length studio album in 1991. In 1993 she was signed to the record label ForeFront Records and released her major label debut a...
as Hope the Music Box Angel
Songs
This episode does not contain the "VeggieTales Theme Song" and "What Have We Learned" but does contain these songs:- We Sing This Tune
- Mr. Nezzer's Grandma's history song
- When I am interrupted by people bugging me
- You've really Missed the Point!
- The Rhythm Song/ Boids!
- Jesus's resurrection Song
- We Sing This Tune (Reprise)
Plot
The local church is having a new window unveiling service the next day on Easter. We find out that Ebenezer Nezzer used to come to church with his grandma when he was little, but no longer goes. Reverend Gilbert and his son Edmond agree to pay Ebenezer a visit and invite him to the Easter service.Next viewers see Ebenezer's factory which is full of mechanical chickens hatching plastic Easter eggs. Cavis Appythart and Millward Phelps are workers in the factory and the two are arguing over who should approach Ebenezer and ask for a day off for Easter. When they finally do ask, Ebenezer goes into a long history of how his grandmother started Easter by making Easter. He recalled that before his grandma died, she told him to tell everyone "Easter means no death". Nezzer misunderstands this, thinking that as long as he makes Easter eggs he will keep his grandma alive forever. That's why he plans to tear down the local church and build Easterland in its place.
Cavis and Millward are shocked at the idea while Rev. Gilbert, and Edmond have arrived. Mr. Nezzer offers Cavis, and Millward to help him in his deed, but when they attempt to persuade Mr. Nezzer not to tear down the church, Ebenezer gets angry, that they do not want to help him and fires both Cavis and Millward from the factory. Everyone is worried about the demolition of the church but since Nezzer owns the property they are unable to stop him.
That night, Ebenezer falls asleep when he sees a vision of his grandma telling him he has missed the point, and at the stroke of midnight, he will receive a second visitor to help him understand. Meanwhile, Cavis and Millward are trying to break into the factory to get the Easterland plans. Mr. Nezzer then wakes up from his vision and then intends to stay awake for the visitor.
Ebenezer has fallen asleep waiting for the visitor when a clockwork egg suddenly opens and Hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
emerges. She wakes Ebenezer and starts showing him Easter past - a church service. We see young Ebenezer and his grandma sitting in the church. Grandma is trying to get Ebenezer to understand the story of Easter but the youngester is mainly focused on selling his eggs and why the egg he received is empty. Next, Hope shows him Easter a year ago, when Ebenezer first started making plastic Easter eggs. He talks to an inventor and when he sings a rhythm song about how the inventor should make him plastic chickens that lay plastic eggs, he (Inventor) agrees, is not paid, but Ebenezer does give him an early free pass to Easterland much to Hope's dismay.
They return to Easter present and visit the Reverend's house they are discussing about the church it is then revealed that Grandma Nezzer paid for all those church windows herself, and that just before she died she commissioned the new window that they were going to reveal tomorrow. Ebenezer attempts to insult Easter once again by saying that the factory, his Easter eggs, and candies are what Easter is about. They next find out that little Edmond is very ill and will not survive for another year if nothing changes. Ebenezer is shocked on how Edmond's parents are so calm with such news. Hope then takes Mr. Nezzer back into the church and teaches him the story of Jesus dying on the cross to save the sinners.
Then Hope welcomes Nezzer to 'Easter future'. The church is being demolished. Little Edmond has died.And without the Hope of Easter, the town's once-brave policeman has lost courage to stop criminals. Hope disappears back into the egg and Ebenezer pleads for her to come back because they need her. He rushes back to the church to try and stop the demolition, and wakes up. He finds out that it is still Easter Present and he still has another chance. Nezzer is able to stop the demolition crew just as they are about to start the church demolition.
Millward suddenly rushes into and shouts that Cavis is trapped in the factory and the chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s are overheating. The entire place is about to explode.
Nezzer rushes back into the factory to save Cavis and they escape by being catapulted out of one of the factory's windows by one of the machines just when the building explodes. It starts raining Easter eggs across the town from the explosion and Nezzer promises to help young Edmond get the medicine he needs with the money he has left after fixing the orphanage.
External links
- An Easter Carol at Epinions.com
- An Easter Carol at VeggieTales Review