The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie

Three busboys at a pirate-show dinner theater are zapped back in time to help a princess thwart some real pirates—or at least, as real as pirates get in a movie populated by computer-animated vegetables. The second big-screen feature from the popular faith-based video series is, believe it or not, a thinly-veiled remake of Galaxy Quest (gigantic rock-monster and all), transplanted from deep space to the bounding main by writer Phil Vischer (who also does several voices, with director Mike Nawrocki). The series’ religious message is soft-pedaled in favor of cutely smart-aleck humor and low-stress adventure, with a few doodle-de-doo songs and a shiny visual scheme designed to charm pre-teen eyes. It’s harmless fun for small kids, though parents may wish they’d waited for the DVD and saved a few bucks.