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"There's a new Madame Blueberry in town, and she's going to be thankful for what she has!"
— Madame Blueberry
MadameBlueberry281
Madame Blueberry
Directed by

Mike Nawrocki

Produced by

Phil Vischer
Chris Olsen

Written by

Mike Nawrocki
Phil Vischer

Music by

Kurt Heinecke

Distributed by

Word Entertainment (Christian Market)
Lyrick Studios (Mass Market)

Released

July 21st, 1998

Runtime

37 minutes

Previous episode

Josh and the
Big Wall!

Next episode

The End of Silliness?

Madame Blueberry is the tenth episode of VeggieTales. This story's protagonist is the character with the same name and is loosely based on the French novel "Madame Bovary."

Plot

The show opens up with Bob alone with Larry driving a vehicle in the background. When Larry drives up, he says that it is his new "Suzy Action Jeep," a thing that Larry has been wanting for a long time. He also says that he also needs the "Suzy Action Camper" next. Wondering how much stuff that Larry needs to be happy, Bob asks for a story based on Larry's desires for new stuff. Hearing Bob's request, the French Peas come by and tell the story of "Madame Blueberry."

In the story, Madame Blueberry is a very sad lady because she is ungrateful for all of the things that she owns. Every day, her two butlers (Bob and Larry) come to her tree house to help her around the house. One day, after she cries over things that she does not own, Madame Blueberry, Bob, and Larry look out her window and see a new store being built. Then, three crooked salesmen (The Scallions) come by and say that they represent a new store being built down the street, called the Stuff-Mart. They then begin to manipulate Madame Blueberry (through song) that she will be very happy if she buys a lot of items that she does not need. Madame Blueberry agrees to go shopping, much to Bob's dismay.

We then transition into what seems to be the usual Silly Songs with Larry segment, but then Archibald Asparagus interrupts and makes an announcement that because of what happened during the previous Silly Song in the previous episode, Silly Songs will have to be cancelled until further notice. We then get "His Cheeseburger" (a.k.a. Love Songs with Mr. Lunt).

Leaving Love Songs with Mr. Lunt, we see that the gang are on the way to the Stuff-Mart. Madame Blueberry and the rest of the gang notices a little french girl dressed beautiful in a black beret and a tattered peach blouse and skirt celebrating her birthday with one piece of pie that her family could only afford since they are poor. Madame Blueberry thinks that surely they must be very sad to have so little, but then, as the little girl smiles at her piece of pie, she sighs with love and sings about being thankful for what she has. Madame Blueberry begins to wonder what makes her happy despite being poor, but forgets upon entering the Stuff-Mart. Once inside the giant store, she begins to buy a lot of useless products and has them shipped to her house. At the food court, Madame Blueberry notices a little boy excited about a train set that he has always wanted, but his dad says that he cannot afford it and asks if he would like a ball instead. The boy changes his mind by saying yes to the ball, and sings the same song the poor girl sang earlier. Wondering why the children who do not have what they want are happy and she is grumpy while she has what she wants, Madame Blueberry realizes that they have happy hearts and that buying a lot of useless things is not making her any happier. She dismisses the Scallions and heads on home.

As the trio head on out, they notice that Madame Blueberry's house is tipping over from the excessive amount of bought items. The gang get in shopping carts (except Larry, who is in a carrying basket) and head over to the house to stop the remaining deliveries from flooding the house. As they head there, the back door begins to open, so the items everywhere in the house begin to pour out and land in the lake behind the house. Bob thinks that her house is alright, but right on cue, the sudden loss of weight causes the house to be flung across the town and crash-land upon a dangerous impact.

Later that evening, after the destructive disaster, Madame Blueberry is comforted by her butlers, the poor girl's family, and the little boy with his dad at the picnic table. They begin to sing the same song that the poor girl and the little boy sang earlier and Madame Blueberry believes that everything will turn out alright in the end.

Back on the countertop, Bob and Larry are sobbing emotionally about the story. The French Peas appear again and, now in an impatiently manner (despite being guests), remind them that they need to wrap up the show. Then, they head over to Qwerty for the bible verse of the day. The Bible verse that Qwerty pulls up is Proverbs 15:27a: "He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house." Larry decides that even if he never gets the camper for his jeep, he will be happy for what he already owns as they sign out, ending the episode.

Characters

Major

Minor

  • The French Peas (as themselves and Stuff-Mart workers)
    • Jean-Claude Pea
    • Phillipe Pea
  • Dad Pea (does not speak; Stuff-Mart workers)
  • Annie's Parents (do not speak)
  • Qwerty

Pictured Cameos

Featured in the Silly Song

Voice Cast

Songs

Production

Madame Blueberry was actually conceived during the early process of VeggieTales when Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki were thinking of spoofing classic literature, before Where's God When I'm S-Scared? even came up. Mike Nawrocki read Madame Bovary in college, and after production on VeggieTales started, he wanted to adapt a happy version of the story after seeing how it reminds him about everyone in his life. He also took some basis from Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," where the main character has a change of heart and a big climax.

Other Languages

  • مدام توتة الزعلانة (Arabic) (Madame Blueberry the Upset)
  • 藍草莓夫人 (Cantonese) (same translation)
  • Madame Mustikka (Finnish) (same translation)
  • Madame Blaubeere (German) (same translation)
  • Η Κυρία Βατόμουρο (Greek) (The Raspberry Lady)
  • Madame Blueberry (Indonesian) (same title)
  • 우울한 징징 부인 (Korean) (Despressed Whining Lady)
  • 蓝莓夫人 (Mandarin) (Taiwan) (same translation)
  • Madam Blåbærhulk (Norwegian) (same translation)
  • خانم شاتوت (Persian) (1st dub) (Ms. Shatut)
    • خانم زغال اخته (Persian) (2nd dub) (same translation)
  • Madame Blueberry (Portuguese) (Brazil) (same translation)
  • Madame Baga (Portuguese) (Portugal) (same translation not counting Madame Blueberry's name change)
  • Мадам Голубика (Russian) (same translation)
  • Madam Borovnička (Slovenian) (same translation)
  • Madame Blueberry (Spanish) (Latin America) (same translation)
  • Quý Cô Việt Quất (Vietnamese) (Lady Blueberry)

Home media

Main article: Madame Blueberry (episode)/Home Video

Features

Madame Blueberry (episode)/Features

Trailer Appearances

Madame Blueberry/Trailer Appearances

Fun Facts

Moral

  • If all you want in life is more material things, you will be consumed by greed. You will always want more and more, and that will make you miserable.
  • Be thankful for what you have.

Explanations

  • The kitchen sink being the last item is a visual gag on the term "Everything but the kitchen sink."
  • Toaster ovens are miniature ovens that work the same way as a regular stove-top one.

Trivia

  • This is the first episode for several things:
    • The first appearance of Madame Blueberry and Annie Onion, as well as the first episode revolving around her.
      • It is also the first episode to focus on a female character.
    • The first episode Mike Nawrocki wrote and directed aside from the first sing-along video, Very Silly Songs!
    • The first episode John Wahba, Daniel Patrick O'Brien, Steve Leeper, Scott Nelson, Chuck Ramsey and Jeremy Vickery worked on.
    • The first episode to introduce the trope where a Silly Song is interrupted and replaced by a different one.
MadameBlueberry Prototype Box Cover

The original 1998 prototype VHS cover from a 2D sketch with the original VeggieTales logo, which never made it into the final VHS cover, due to the logo and theme song change.

  • This is the last episode for several things:
    • The last episode where Chris Olsen worked on.
    • The last episode where Mike Nawrocki was given an editor's credit. (His Cheeseburger)
    • The last episode where the Bible verse is only half of a verse.
    • The last episode where Bob and Larry leave the screen after signing out at the end.
    • The last episode where Jerry Gourd, Annie, the French Peas, and Mr. Lunt are animated in Softimage.
    • The last episode to have the Lyrick Studios logo on the spine.
    • The last episode to be released in Mass Markets in 1999.
  • This is the second episode where Bob and Larry do not receive a letter from a child who needs help since God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?!.
  • Most of the closing countertop was animated by Ron Smith.
  • Mr. Lunt's voice starts to become more high pitched starting with this episode (His Cheeseburger song only).
  • Scallion #1's line "Allow us to introduce ourselves" eventually became a popular internet meme.
  • The script for this episode was finalized in 1997, one year before this episode was released.
  • This episode includes a redone, high-definition version of the theme song.
  • This episode was scheduled to be released on January 6, 1998, but then was pushed back to July 21, 1998.
  • The "Nezzer's Clock" Pattern seen on the box art for the Rack, Shack and Benny video can be spotted on the pajama display during the shopping sequence.
  • Some international releases replace His Cheeseburger with The Water Buffalo Song.
Web-05
  • There exists an extremely rare early 2002 VHS reprint of this episode by Lyrick Studios/HiT Entertainment. It has a black tape with a white ink label, and it has a print date of March 15th, 2002.
  • According to a prototype of the Big Idea website, this episode was originally going to be released on DVD sometime in 2001/2002, but it was postponed until the VeggieTales Classics release in May 2003 (see image).

Remarks

  • The poster in the snack bar depicts the Fib with electric powers, which he never displayed in Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space!
  • In the Closing Countertop, when Larry and Bob are so emotional from the story, Larry's Jeep disappears, although he parked next to Bob at the beginning of the episode.
  • This is one of the few times Madame Blueberry cries in this episode.
  • Monsieur Lagoon, Monsieur Desplanes, Madame Lacrosse, Edward and Tammy were mentioned, but were never seen in the series. Philip van Pea may imply the French Peas.
  • Annie's mom is shown talking during the narration, but nothing is heard from her.
  • Bob says that "being greedy made her a very grumpy berry", even though Madame Blueberry was never grumpy over herself being greedy or her house being destroyed.
  • Another verse this episode could have used was Ecclesiastes 5:10
  • This episode continues the "End of Silliness" story is started in the previous episode, in which the disastrous results of "The Song of the Cebú" saw Silly Songs with Larry being cancelled until further notice, while management fielded other ideas for mid-show songs.
  • The "Previews" section on the DVD has a preview for the episode itself.
  • In the rough animation section of the progression reel, the shot where the Scallions tell Madame Blueberry that they do not sell happy hearts is in place of the shot where the Scallions are being dismissed.
  • The Salesmen's bungee cords end up snapping during the Stuff-Mart rap. If this were to happen to people who buy the product, it would very likely be recalled.

Goofs

  • There is very loose continuity on the appearances of the blonde wig Madame Blueberry wears throughout the episode.
  • When Larry drives past Bob on the countertop, he is first seen without a mouth.
  • In I'm So Blue, while Madame Blueberry sings the line "Just look at this sofa of Edward and Tammy's, and lovely armoire where they keep all their jammies," an animation error featuring a question mark over Madame Blueberry's mouth can be spotted for one frame before the shot shifts to Bob and Larry.
  • When Larry trips over the ceramic fish while carrying the tray of tea to Madame Blueberry, the teapot and cup do not shatter like they would in real life.
  • During the Stuff-Mart Rap, out the window behind Bob a black background is seen.
  • At the end of the Stuff-Mart Suite, the scallions clip through the door as they walk out of Madame Blueberry's house.
  • There is a shot where the inside of Madame Blueberry's mouth is missing while she is shopping through the store aisles.
  • The shadows on the toy train set do not follow the movement of the train itself.
  • As the camera turns during Junior and his dad singing in the end of "The Thankfulness Song", the various banners and shopping carts in the background appear to "buzz" due to a rendering error. The shadows can be spotted flickering as well.
  • When Madame Blueberry moves while sitting, she often clips through the cushions of her sofa.
  • After Madame Blueberry gets off her shopping cart, the pea driver glitches a bit and his mouth is gone.
  • In one shot, Annie is shown with no mouth.
  • After most of the stuff falls out of Madame's house, both Bob and Madame Blueberry appear smaller than how they appeared in the previous shot.
  • The air compressor clips through the wall when it flies out the door. Also, in the same shot, one of the wood supports for the house glitches a bit.
  • When Madame's house is flying, there is a black hole in the middle of the bottom of the house.
  • When Junior and Annie are shown singing at the end, the plate of pie is missing from the picnic table and then it reappears. They also change positions between shots.
  • Still waters are shown.
  • Bob and Larry are crying without any tears showing from their eyes.
  • In the Brazilian Portuguese Audio News dub of the episode, after the second half of the What Have We Learned song plays and after Bob takes a deep breath, Jean-Claude does not say "Well?", although his mouth moves as he did.
  • In the VHS release, during the Stuff Mart scene, before it fades to the food court, the closed captioning shows Jean Claude's "After awhile, Madame started to feel a little tired from shopping so hard. So, she decided to take a short break," but was muted out.

Inside References

Real-World References

  • Jerry Lewis, born in Newark, New Jersey, was an American comedian and actor, known for his works such as 1963's "The Nutty Professor." He was very popular among the French, and known currently for hosting telethons supporting the Muscular Dystrophy Association. He passed away on August 20th, 2017, more than 19 years and nearly a month after this episode released.
  • The way that Jean Claude narrates some parts in rhyme is a similar manner towards the Madeline series (a children's series about a little girl in France, and the narrator would rhyme in a dime).
  • Denny's is an American table service diner-style restaurant chain founded at Lakewood, California and headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
  • Jeep is a car brand owned by car manufacturer Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
  • Junior mentions the train that he wanted was a Casey Junior Deluxe working lights and real live stock smell. It sounds similar to the circus train from Disney's Dumbo.
  • The design of Annie's parents was based on that of Phil Vischer and Lisa Vischer. Annie is voiced by their real-life daughter, Shelby Vischer.
  • Jerry's car seen in the Silly Song segment is modeled after a Ford Festiva that Mike Nawrocki rode at the time.
  • The Franklin Mint was a Pennsylvania mint that produced silverware.

Fast Forward

  • The Thankfulness Song would later be used in the Why We Do What We Do promo, as Big Idea's "theme song."
  • The instrumental rendition of His Cheeseburger that plays when the camera pans back from the rotating hot dogs would be used in The Ballad of Little Joe during the beginning countertop scene.
  • The third episode of LarryBoy: The Cartoon Adventures would teach a lesson about the dangers of greediness and use Ecclesiastes 5:10.
  • Larry would later say "What does it mean" Again.

Transcript

Credits

Gallery

MadameBlueberryLogo
MadameBlueberryTitleCard

VeggieTales episodes
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