Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures
Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures is an American direct-to-video animated children's series developed by Tom Bancroft as a spin-off of the VeggieTales franchise created by Big Idea Entertainment. The first video titled "Larryboy and the Angry Eyebrows", was released on March 16, 2002. The videos came to an end with "The Good, The Bad and the Eggly!", released on June 10, 2003, due to Big Idea's bankruptcy. Unlike its predecessor VeggieTales, which was animated in CGI using Softimage 3D and later Autodesk Maya, LarryBoy was animated in 2D animation using Adobe Flash. From September 2006 to November 2009, NBC aired the content of all four videos on its Qubo block alongside airings of VeggieTales videos. LarryBoy also currently streams on Yippee TV, a Christian-based American children's subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. Each video contains two segments, a twenty-minute long segment and a seven-minute short segment.
Premise
The video series revolves around the character Larry's superhero alter ego Larryboy as he tries to manage his life as a superhero while working as a janitor for the Daily Bumble newspaper in Bumblyburg.Characters
Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures only carries over four characters from VeggieTales: Larry the Cucumber, Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, and Archibald Asparagus, with Mike Nawrocki, Phil Vischer and Lisa Vischer reprising their respective roles.| Voice actor | Role | Description |
| Mike Nawrocki | Larry the Cucumber | The janitor Larry and his superhero alter ego, Larryboy. |
| Phil Vischer | Archibald Asparagus | Larryboy's butler. Unlike previous Larryboy videos, this character is named Archie instead of Alfred. |
| Phil Vischer | Bob the Tomato | Larry's boss, who works as the head of the Daily Bumble newspaper. |
| Lisa Vischer | Junior Asparagus | A kid editor of the Daily Bumble. |
| Shari Belgeau | Vicky Cucumber | One of the members of the Daily Bumble. She is the love interest of Larry. |
| Shari Belgeau | Mother Pearl | The Alchemist's evil sidekick and mother. |
| Larry Whitaker | The Alchemist | A villain who appeared in the second video. |
| Larry Whitaker | Officer Olaf | Bumblyburg's resident policemen. |
| Larry Whitaker | Chief Croswell | Bumblyburg's resident policemen. |
| Larry Whitaker | Awful Alvin | A villain who first appeared in "Larryboy and the Angry Eyebrows". |
| Larry Whitaker | Herbert and Wally | The eggplant brothers. |
| Marc Graue | Bok Choy | The wise teacher of the superhero class that Larryboy attends. |
| Anita Protich | Greta Von Gruesome | A villainess with a German accent who appeared in the final two videos. |
Reception
In a mixed review, Scott Blakey of the Los Angeles Times Syndicate wrote that the series has "sly nods to comic book characters of the 1930s and the so-called golden age of animation" while referring to the series as a "breakthrough in reverse" for its use of 2D animation instead of 3D animation. In a more positive review, Richard LeCornte of the Reno Gazette-Journal writes that the series "succeeds at making its message pleasing to children and adults" and gave the series a B+.The series was nominated for a Golden Reel Award in 2003 for Best Sound Editing in Direct to Video, but lost to The Adventures of Tom Thumb & Thumbelina. Vischer stated that fans of the original VeggieTales series criticized the series for its cheap-looking animation. Mixed with Big Idea's bankruptcy at the time, the series was cancelled after the release of only four videos.
Home media
All of the videos were released in both VHS and DVD formats. They were also released as a set or included with the other Larryboy videos in: VeggieTales: Bumblyburg Super-Hero Value Pack, VeggieTales: Larryboy Super Hero Power Pack, and VeggieTales: Larryboy Ultimate Super Hero Collection.In other media
Books
A series of nine chapter books based on the series was published by Zonderkidz between 2002 and 2004. The first five came out during the show's run, with the remaining four published after it ended, serving as a continuation. The books featured new stories set within the show's continuity, with Larryboy facing a variety of villains and challenges. Seven of the books were original stories, while two were adapted from the episodes "The Yodelnapper!" and "The Good, the Bad and the Eggly." The books were written by authors Sean Gaffney, Bob Katula, Kent Redeker, and Doug Peterson. The first book, LarryBoy and the Emperor of Envy, was later adapted as an episode of The VeggieTales Show in 2021.Titles
- LarryBoy and the Emperor of Envy : The city of Bumblyburg’s in danger and LarryBoy’s the only one who can save the day. Everyone is weak with jealousy after the diabolical Napoleon of Crime and Other Bad Stuff—a.k.a. the Emperor of Envy— tainted the Slushee supply with his envy formula during Mister Slushee’s Slushee Slurping Contest. The Emperor has set the ultimate envy trap, and he and his “army” of henchmen are taking over the city of Bumblyburg. The whole town has slurped some of the Slushees, including LarryBoy. What will LarryBoy do? Will he conquer his own envy? If he doesn’t stop the evil emperor, Bumblyburg will be destroyed forever.
- LarryBoy and the Awful Ear Wacks Attacks : Ear wacks have attacked Bumblyburg! LarryBoy’s fiendish nemesis, Alvin the Onion, is behind it and has unleashed the awful ear wacks to interfere with being a good listener. When LarryBoy falls into Alvin’s awful trap and he can no longer listen, it’s up to Junior Asparagus and LarryBoy’s faithful butler and mentor, Archie, to foil the evil plot.What will come of Bumblyburg now that their superhero is under Alvin’s awful spell? Will Junior and Archie be able to convince LarryBoy to listen to them in time to save Bumblyburg? Will LarryBoy’s super-suction ears be saturated with evil for all time? Alvin’s out to rule the city and LarryBoy forever!
- LarryBoy and the Sinister Snow Day : The Veggie kids in Bumblyburg don’t want to go to school. They’re convinced that school is boring and they want a snow day―even in the middle of warm weather. The Veggie kids make friends with the snow peas who assure them that all their snow dreams “can come true”―and now Bumblyburg is in danger of becoming a frozen wasteland. Can LarryBoy fight Iceburg and his notorious band of snow peas―and show everyone that when you stop learning, you stop growing?
- LarryBoy and the Yodelnapper : LarryBoy goes undercover as a world-famous yodeler to foil the scheme of Green Greta, the Greedy Zucchini, who is kidnapping yodelers out of greed. Things go from bad to worse when LarryBoy tries to capture Greta and is attacked by an entire collection of Hula dolls. But instead of waging a Hawaiian war, LarryBoy sees this as a chance to complete his own Hula doll set. Does LarryBoy really need all the hula dolls? Will he realize how to be content before it’s too late? Or will our hero be overtaken by his own greed? Find out in another exciting LarryBoy adventure!
- Larryboy in the Good, the Bad, and the Eggly : LarryBoy and fellow superhero, Dark Crow, scramble to learn a lesson in sharing. But it doesn’t come over-easy when they discover Greta Von Gruesome and Awful Alvin are the terrible team of trouble that has struck Bumblyburg with their new invention―the Over-Easy-Egg ray! Everything turns into a hard-boiled mess as this deceptive duo zaps everything in sight. LarryBoy has to learn that sharing means working together as he and Dark Crow team up to share the responsibilities of fighting this crime. Will LarryBoy learn that sharing means working together? Will he learn it before he and Dark Crow become the world’s biggest superhero omelet?
- LarryBoy in the Attack of Outback Jack : The Australian supervillain, Outback Jack, and his sidekick, Jackie, are in search of buried treasure in Bumblyburg. No veggie will stand in their way! LarryBoy has to rely on retired superhero, Pruneman, to help him. But before they can capture Outback Jack, they must first battle the Hilaria-Mosquito, which stings victims with a green gag gas that keeps them telling jokes…for hours! Will LarryBoy respect the wisdom that Pruneman has to offer? Or will the Hilaria-Mosquito make him the next super-comic?
- Larryboy in the Amazing Brain Twister : The citizens of Bumblyburg are no longer showing compassion! They are committing outrageous crimes and giving into peer-pressure amidst some unusually stormy weather. Something is amiss in the city of Bumblyburg, and LarryBoy is out to discover who’s behind these evil doings. Little does he know, it’s none other than the evil genius, Plum Loco. This cold-hearted plum has created a new device called the Brain-twister which rages through town mixing up brains, causing the citizens of Burblyburg to end up on the receiving end of their own teasing. How will LarryBoy calm this storm and show everyone the importance of being kind?
- Larryboy and the Abominable Trashman : Something smells very fishy in the city of Bumblyburg. It also smells like moldy gym shoes, rotten eggs, and spoiled milk. What’s to blame? The Abominable Trashman, one of the weirdest, wildest creatures to ever leap out of a garbage can!The Abominable Trashman and his evil creator, Awful Alvin, are spreading fear throughout Bumblyburg and turning the citizens into slaves of their own fear. Is Bumblyburg doomed to become a smelly trash heap for all-time? LarryBoy must battle the foul monster to rescue the city, but first, he must battle his own fears.
- Larryboy Versus the Volcano! : When LarryBoy and his superhero buddies are invited to Superhero Island, they are in for a surprise of volcanic proportions. Trouble erupts when LarryBoy discovers he’s a second-class citizen, because he doesn’t have “super” powers like his buddies. Bumblyburg’s newest supervillain, Chili Pepper and his henchman Coconut, are cooking up a plot for disaster to destroy all superheroes. Will Larryboy help after his vacation is ruined and his friends treat him poorly? Kids will enjoy the adventure of finding out as Larryboy tumbles into a secret hideaway and uncovers Chili Pepper’s tourist trap. But is it too late when the volcano explodes? Will LarryBoy save himself or will he save the day before the island is covered in hot, molten chili? How will Larryboy learn that everyone is important in God’s eyes, even after being excluded from his friends?