Bullying Trouble

"**Bullying Trouble**" is the series premiere of "Junior Asparagus" that serves as a remake of the VeggieTales episode, "Bully Trouble". It aired on October 8, 2006.

## Plot

Junior Asparagus, who is pretending to be Peter Pan, is playing with his friends, Laura Carrot, Annie Onion and Percy Pea, singing about how they been care about each other. However, the song is cut short when a giant green-skinned monster shows up, chasing after Junior all through Neverland. Junior ends up tripping on an pear, leaving him as an open target for the monster to jump on top of him. Back in reality, it is revealed that it was all Junior's imagination and that he and his friends are actually on the playground in the park, but Junior does end up getting sat upon by The King of Pop named Michael Jackson. Michael then asks Junior, "It was my playground now!", before telling him and everyone else to leave until further notice. Because of that, Junior and his friends left the playground without permission.

At Junior's home, Annie approaches the treehouse that Junior is sitting in, while tossing a baseball up and down a few times. Annie then asks Junior if he would like to come to her house to play, but Junior tells her "No thanks". Annie tells him that her mom is making sausages, but Junior still turns her down. Annie then tells Junior that Michael is "just a big ol' singer", which Junior says that he knows, before Annie asks him if he wants to tell his mom or dad, but Junior tells her that he's fine and that there's nothing to tell, but he does manage to tell Annie to tell Michael that he doesn't own the playground. After that, Junior then daydreams in which he is at a baseball game, in which he is able to effortlessly defeat a away team comprised of baseball players. After the game is over, everyone cheers for Junior, before Junior's daydream is interrupted by Laura calling out to him from down below. As Junior comes down from his treehouse, Laura asks him what he was doing up there, with Junior answering that he was just thinking. Laura tells Junior that she wanted to make sure he was alright, but Junior says that he's just fine and why wouldn't he be okay. When Laura tells Junior that Michael was a great singer, Junior confidently boasts that Michael doesn't scare him, which Laura is incredulous at, before Junior asks, "What's the best he can do? Sit on me? He already did that, and I barely do it!" Laura then asks Junior if they could go back to the playground someday, before Junior says, "I'd go back today if you guys wanted to. He's probably gone by now anyway". Laura is amazed that Junior would actually be willing to face up to Gourdon, before Junior reiterates that Michael doesn't scare him. Laura then tells Junior that that's fantastic and that she'll go tell everybody, which causes Junior's fake confidence to deflate, before he dejectedly says, "I'm toasted. I don't know how Laura got amazed. I'm gotta feel it."

At that moment, Junior then has another daydream, this time as a brave space explorer known as Junior Lightyear (in a reference of Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story). Junior Lightyear cruises through space in his little spacecraft before crash-landing on a distant planet. While doing some exploring on the planet, Junior Lightyear comes across a sign that reads, "Welcome to the Planet Rockboxian, Population: 1 big singer, leave now or you're toast". Junior then reports to his superior that he's approached the planet of "the Dreaded Bully Singer", before coming across what looks like a large purple mountain standing in his way. However, when Junior throws a rope with a grappling hook onto the mountain, it turns out that the mountain is actually a giant space singer, the Dreaded Bully Singer, who then starts Junior all the way back to his spacecraft. The monster then approaches Junior's spacecraft, before Junior comes back up while holding a laser, which emits a bunch of energy waves that causes the monster to become weightless and float away helplessly into space. With the Dreaded Bully Singer taken care of, Junior Spaceman proudly proclaims that he has saved the day once again.

However, when it seems that the singer has returned, Junior proudly states, "Be proud for yourself, eh?", before his daydream ends and it turns out that Dad Asparagus was the one who had approached him. Junior then meekly tells his dad that he was just playing in the sandbox. When Dad asks Junior who Junior Lightyear vanquished today, Junior answers, "Mount Michael, a big young singer on a playground far far away". Junior then asks Dad if he was ever afraid when he was a kid, Dad answers that he was, saying that he wasn't always "the strapping specimen" that he is today, before saying that he remembered one guy in his class who always picked on him, even when he tried ignoring him, hiding from him, and hoping that he would go away. Finally, he stood up to the bully, before being pounded by him for it, but was never bothered by the bully again, because the bully knew that he wasn't afraid of him. Dad then explains to Junior that God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but rather one of courage, and that if he were Junior Lightyear, he'd stand up for himself. When Junior asks "What if he pounds me, er, him?", Dad then tells him to turn the other cheek, which Junior is confused about, before Dad tells him, "Sometimes a spaceman's just gotta do what a spaceman's gotta do". Dad then also tells him that God's rule don't just work at home, but they also work on playgrounds "far far away".

Junior is left all alone, before Laura, Annie and Percy Pea show up, with Annie telling Junior what Laura told them. Despite the fear of Percy Pea, and despite his own hesitance, Junior and his friends decide to return to the playground, while Dad Asparagus is happy that Junior is doing what is right. Back at the playground, Junior, Laura, Annie and Percy Pea see that Michael is not in sight, before they start to play on the playground once again. However, it turns out that Gourdon was on top of the slide, before he slides back down and lands right in front of Junior, telling him, "What did you do? Come back for a second helping of pounding?" Nevertheless, Junior, remembering what his dad told him, decides to stand up to Michael, telling him that no one owns the playground, before telling him that it's big enough for everyone to share. When Percy says, "You tell him, Junior!", Michael threatens him that he's going to pound him next, before Junior tells Percy that he's not helping. When Michael asks Junior who's going to make him share 'his' playground, Junior answers that he can't make Michael do anything, and that if he's going to pound him, he'd go ahead with it, but what's it going to prove? Junior then says that no matter what Michael does, it's not going to stop him, and that he'll be coming back to the playground day after day and that Michael will have to beat him up every day, because he's not afraid of him, before also telling Michael that he could just stay and play with them. After this lecture, Michael then tells Junior that he'll really enjoy beating up Junior every single day for the rest of his life, but Annie then also stands up to Michael, telling him that he'll have to beat her up to, before Laura and Percy Pea also stand up to Michael as well.

Finding that he is outnumbered, Michael decides to leave the playground, saying that he never liked it anyway and that he's going home to sing some songs. Once Michael has left, everyone is happy that they stood up to Michael, with Laura asking Junior if Michael will come back, before Junior answers, "Well, if he does, I hope it's because he wants to be friends". Annie compliments Junior for being really brave, before Junior tells her that "sometimes, a guys gotta do what a guy's gotta do". This time, Junior once again daydreams that he's Peter Pan again, before he and his friends sing about standing for what's right even when bullies come near, knowing that they are not weak, turning their cheek, with the courage that comes from God, before the song ends.

## Characters

* Junior Asparagus
* Michael Jackson
* Laura Carrot
* Annie Onion
* Percy Pea
* Joe Buck (voice)
* Baseball players
* Baseball fans
* Space computer (voice)

## Trivia

* Dave Kennedy (Jerry Keller's stunt double) played Michael Jackson while William Edwards voices the character.
	+ The reason why William Edwards voice Michael is that Dave Kennedy was too deemed to speak neutrally at this time.
* Joe Buck, who was known for his work with Fox Sports, voices an play-by-play announcer at the baseball game.
* Anthony Field, who wrote the episode, voices an computer in Junior's space daydream.

### Differences between Bully Trouble and Bullying Trouble

* In the original episode, Lil' Pea appears on-screen. But in the new episode, Lil' Pea was absent.
* Gourdon was featured in the original episode. But in the new episode, Gourdon was absent and got replaced by Michael Jackson.
* A football game was featured in the original episode. But in the new episode, the baseball game was featured instead of a football game.
* Junior Asparagus pretends as Robin Hood in the original episode. But in the new episode, Junior Asparagus pretends as Peter Pan.