Greetings and salutations, my friends.

This is your top-of-the-line film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.

Today, I'm gonna give you guys my fourth take on an installment of the VeggieTales franchise: "Esther, the Girl Who Became Queen".

Aside from this episode special being a VeggieTales-telling of Esther from the Bible, I don't believe giving a summary of it would be necessary. After all, what would be the point in doing so?

A long while after I completed my review of "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie", I frequently brainstormed which installment of the VeggieTales franchise I wanted to analyze next. And as I thought about which one to choose, "Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen" was the VeggieTales installment that came to my mind the most.

And I really can't lie, "Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen" was an episode special I fondly grew up with. I frequently watched it whenever I played the "Heroes of the Bible" VHS tape back when my family and I had a VCR, which came as a three-combo with "Daniel and the Lion's Den" and "Dave and the Giant Pickle". It was also how I learned about the actual Book of Esther from the Bible, and even today, I still have fond memories of the times I'd watch the special. Looking back, there were also several moments from Esther that I found to be incredibly meme-worthy too.

In order to rewatch Esther, I bought one the VeggieTales "Bible Heroes" 4-Movie collection DVD packs, mostly because I only have a DVD & Blu-ray player for watching physical copies of stuff with. And in preparation for reviewing this special, I watched it four times to get the gears in my head going and be absolutely sure on what I thought of it.

Coming from a guy who saw this special more than once this year, I'm proud to say that "Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen" is truly one of the VeggieTales franchise's best installments. And with good reason too!

For instance, the direction by Mike Nawrocki, and the story by him and Phil Vischer, were fantastic!

Not long after I last watched this special, I decided to do a look-back on the Book of Esther, and when I did...I noted that this episode was incredibly faithful to the actual biblical passages! In this case, despite the dark and mature aspects of the story being exchanged for humor and family-friendliness, every event and situation depicted was directly based on what's written in the chapter; and it was true to the story's spirit as well.

Among the examples is the part where the Peaoni Brothers try to assassinate the king. At first, I wasn't sure if an attempted assassination on King Xerxes happened in the actual story. When I did my look-back, though, I found that the aforementioned scene was directly based on when two army officers conspired to kill Xerxes and takeover the kingdom, until Mordecai finds out and informs Esther, who later warns the king. Afterwards, the king sentences the two officers to be executed.

Outside of this, the comedy throughout this special was hysterical to watch. Every joke and humorous moment had an innocence that was easily worthy of a laugh, and the best part is that Nawrocki and company weren't trying too hard to make it funny. The dramatic, emotional, and heartfelt aspects were well-worked too, and so were the themes and morals this special had about bravery and doing what's right.

The animation was astonishing, if I may add.

Just like with "The Toy that Saved Christmas", Nawrocki and the animators made excellent use of their budget and clearly put a lot of hard-work in bringing this special to life. The character animations were lively and smooth-flowing, and the settings were gorgeous to look at. Everything about the overall visualization also carried a quality reminiscent of a theatrical animated film, and it matched perfectly with the biblical spirit of the story.

The music by Kurt Heinecke and Phil Vischer was magnificent, if I may add. And so were the individual songs by Vischer and Nawrocki.

Heinecke and Fischer's score throughout Esther was truly enchanting to listen to, and not just because of the melodies they created either. Their music contained a heart and emotion that made the melodies humanly-inspired, and they matched with the story's tone and setting brilliantly. And the songs...man, they're literally some of the most mesmerizing musical numbers I've ever heard. My particular favorites were "The Battle Is Not Ours" and "Haman's Song", because they each had lyrics and beats that were all-things fun.

Finally, the voice acting, characters, and character development were stupendous.

When it came to the choices of casting Pa Grape as Mordecai, Mr. Lunt as Haman, and Mr. Nezzar as King Xerxes, I thought that each character fit their respective role like a glove. All three of them brought the right personality and presence to the parts, and Phil Vischer's performances as each individual character was absolutely smashing.

Plus, the narration by Eric Metaxas was spectacular. Not only was his voice captivating, but he incorporated an amazing amount of personality and humor in telling the story. The most interesting thing about Metaxas's narration for this special, though, is that it carried an everyman-quality that was surprisingly natural and relaxed.

But, if I were to choose who gave the best performance in this special, it'd be Jessica Kaplan as Esther. Her performance had a warmth and purity that captured Esther's personality and kindness, and she incorporated so much emotion and depth that her portrayal could easily melt the heart. These factors in question were ones I equally felt with Esther's singing voice: Pamela Thomas.

As for Esther herself, she was a wonderful focus. Not only did Nawrocki and company successfully display Esther as the Bible-equivalent of female empowerment, but her character development throughout the story & her accomplishments in the end are ones that I believe people of all ages should learn from. Especially considering where the world currently is in this day and age.

I would also like to add that the show team's decision to have the role of Esther be played by a new and original vegetable character was an excellent course to take. It added on to how unique "Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen" was as a member of the VeggieTales franchise, and it clearly allowed the team and Jessica Kaplan room to really shape the character.

In conclusion, "Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen" is without a doubt one of the best members in the VeggieTales franchise. It has all the qualities needed to be worth watching, and it provides as a wonderfully creative and fun way of being introduced to the Book of Esther.

So, I rate "Esther: The Girl Who Became Queen" a solid five out of five stars.