Sumo of the Opera is the twenty-fourth episode of VeggieTales. Its lesson is perseverance.
Plot
Countertop
The show starts off with Bob explaining that Larry is out trying to help some children and has left him with a sock puppet (a teensy-weensy cucumber) that will help him do the show. Larry calls up and says that he's going to give up because it's hard to get where he should. Khalil says that he has a story that will help him, and so Bob tells him to go ahead.
Going Up
This is a silent film in the tradition of Laurel and Hardy. Larry, Jerry Gourd, and Mr. Lunt are piano deliverers for Mr. Nezzar. He leaves them to deliver a piano to the top of a long line of stairs. After getting close to delivery, the piano rides all the way down, and Jerry gets distracted.
Larry and Mr. Lunt work it for little while, but Mr. Lunt decides to get an ice cream instead. This leaves Larry to do it by himself. Once he gets to the top, Madame Blueberry gives him a kiss, and Mr. Nezzar lets him sit in the front truck, while the other two are stuck in the back.
Countertop
Bob tells Khalil that it doesn't help Larry to not be able to hear what happened, so he goes off to find a story.
Schoolhouse Polka
Larry comes in looking a lot like a teacher from Mike Nawrocki's school. He sings a song about homophones words that sounds similar. The words show on the bottom during the tune. The announcer talks about different parts of speech making Larry continue to come back many more times until Larry gives up.
Legend of Saint Patrick
This is a flannelgraph run by Khalil's sock puppet. It traces the story of Saint Patrick from England to Ireland, from a slave to running away to being trained in church to going back to be a missionary to Ireland. We're not too sure whether he taught the real Gospel or the catholic gospel, though.
Sumo of the Opera
This story is a take off on Rocky. Apollo Gourd is the champion Sumo Wrestler that is supposed to be challenging a Mr. T look-a-like potato. The Scallion (played by Larry the Cucumber) is his sparring partner, but while being a goof, Scallion causes Mr. T to injure himself. In the mean time we learn that Scallion was supposed to fix Hadrian's bicycle, so Scallion offers to fight Apollo. (We also learn about what is and isn't Haiku, but that's another story.)
Scallion goes into training, but it proves difficult. Pa Grape decides to help train him, but Scallion gives up until Hadrian shows that he has faith in him and looks up to him. This causes Scallion to train in true Rocky fashion, even ending at the top of an escalator where strategically placed robot arms look as if Scallion is raising gloves in the air.
During the fight, Apollo is unable to push Scallion outside the ring as fast as he bragged he would, and they end up in a tie. Scallion fixes Hadrian's bicycle, and they all learned a valuable lesson.
Countertop
Larry shows up after the phone goes dead saying that he made it and giving directions that, if you were in Chicago, would lead you to Big Idea's headquarters at the time.
He says that the stories helped him stick with it, even when it was difficult.
Characters
- Bob Bobby the Tomato
- Eight The Shortest Carrot As Himself
- Apollo Gourd As Sumo Wrestler
- Professor Hat Archibald Asparagus
- Jim Gourdly Jimmy Gourd
- Mikey Pa Grape
- Phillipe Pea As Owner
- Scallion Larry the Cucumber
- Cameraman Jerry Gourd
- Jean Claude Pea As Owner
- Potato Guards As Sumo Wrestler
- Hadrian Junior Asparagus
Segments
- Countertop Intro
- Going up!
- Silly Song: Schoolhouse Polka
- The Story of St. Patrick
- Sumo of the Opera
- QWERTY Closer
Songs
In addition to the ubiquitous "VeggieTales Theme" and "What We Have Learned," this episode contains the following songs:
- Wrestlers of Japan, sung by the Sumo chorus
- A Joking Sumo I, sung by the Italian Scallion
- He's Accepted the Challenge (Part 1), sung by the Sumo chorus
- He's Accepted the Challenge (Part 2), sung by the Sumo chorus
- A Sumo Can't Go Wrong, sung by the Sumo chorus
- The Feeling of Finishing, sung by the entire cast
- Schoolhouse Polka (Silly Song), sung by Larry
Trivia
- Schoolhouse Polka is a parody of the educational series Schoolhouse Rock.
- At the QWERTY closer scene, Bob gets the telephone recording "If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again. If you need help, hang up and then dial your operator." The recording was playing over the standard telephone busy signal. In real life, this recording is not played over a busy signal.
- Going Up will return from Lessons From the Sock Drawer.
- Schoolhouse Polka will return from Sing-Alongs: Do the Moo Shoo.
- The Story of St. Patrick will return from Lessons From the Sock Drawer.