A wonderously generic and juvenile place, that is. I may be biased towards the original characters to a large degree since I grew up with the show, but speaking from the point of view of a lifelong animation fan who watches kids shows on a regular basis, this is abysmal.
Of course the most glaring problem with the new series is the character design, it's the big thing that everyone complains about. To put it simply, they're creepy. Hyper-realistic eyes may look good on more complex and humanoid characters, but on the minimalist veggie bodies, they're oversized and dead looking. The old characters had large eyes as well, but they were more cartoony and simple, and despite the creator's claims, they were about ten times more expressive than the eyes of the new ones.
While the animation is the most obvious problem, the biggest one by far would be the complete lack of original writing. Every single episode so far has a story that you've seen a hundred times before, and nothing is done to make it more interesting, it's just the same, generic junk you see in every cheap cartoon ever.
In addition to the plots, the way certain characters are written bother me as well, particularly Larry. His iconic obliviousness has been replaced by what I can only describe as severe mental degradation. Larry is obviously still an "adult" cucumber, but he acts in a way more fitting to a small child. There is a way to make characters relatable to kids without them turning into childish morons. Need proof? Watch any classic VT movie and see how the silly, kid appeal character is supposed to be done.
The rest of the characters are as bland as streamed vegetables. The writers have tried to give some of the older characters with little personality to speak of from the classics (the female ones specifically) and in doing so either made them somehow even more one- dimensional (Petunias) or extremely annoying (Laura). Mr. Nezzer's new personality also really bothers me. They renamed him for absolutely no reason and turned him into a complete jerk. It was quite shocking to see the affable Nezzer cheer on a fight or give Larry and Laura an angry glare when they ask to pet his dog thing.
VeggieTales started out as the Christian answer to the mindless cartoons of the era and the cheesy Christian kids shows that were out at the time. The originals were full of wit and charm, and despite the primitive animation, people loved the series for its humor and utilization of classic stories from the Bible to give moral lessons to kids rather than just entertainment.
This show is the complete antithesis of that.
This show is annoying and obnoxious, it gets up in your face with its annoyance and obnoxiousness and doesn't let up until the credits roll. The jokes are dull and stupid, and you've seen them all before. The characters are unrecognizable and irritating. This show is like the equivalent to that one really annoying little cousin who tells you the same jokes you've heard a million times every time you meet and can never seem to shut up or sit still.
If, for some horrible reason, Phil Vischer had passed away after the release of Jonah, (not wishing death, I love you, Phil) he would be spinning his grave. This show fails on every single level, and I really do have a sneaking suspicion that he and Mike regret their involvement in it, because it goes against everything they worked so hard to create. Phil was once quoted as saying he felt as though VeggieTales was a failure at teaching what he wanted it to teach, (The Bible) so I wouldn't be surprised if his biggest motivation to help create this series was money rather than love and devotion
This show is terrible at everything it tries to do, and if I worked at Netflix I'd order it to be cancelled, but since I can't do that I'll just say this: don't watch this if you love the original series. You will be disappointed and angry. But if you want something for your kid to watch to keep him quiet for 22 minutes, be my guest. Just don't be surprised if he keeps having nightmares about giant, hyper-realistic cartoon produce coming to get him.
