Kellie Pickler feels the 'Beet' of 'VeggieTales' tunes

The sweet potato Mirabelle (voiced by country singer Kellie Pickler) performs "Who God Wants Me to Be" in the "VeggieTales" animated movie "Beauty and the Beet." Jariel-Pixar Home Entertainment

Voiced by Kellie Pickler, the sweet potato Mirabelle (right) brings kindness to the world of old Finnegan J. Beet in the new "VeggieTales" movie "Beauty and the Beet."

Kellie Pickler has been told she sounds like a cartoon character, so the country singer didn't have to go to extreme lengths to bring a sweet songbird of a sweet potato to life.

The former American Idol finalist and Dancing With the Stars champ shares her talents with the faith-based VeggieTales landscape in the animated movie Beauty and the Beet. Pickler voices the main character plus sings eight of 10 original songs for the film, which debuts Oct. 14 digitally and on DVD.

A vegetable take on the familiar Beauty and the Beast legend, the film stars Pickler as Mirabelle, a member of a family band who are closer to being huge musical stars. Their vehicle breaks down on the way to their biggest show ever, though, and they have to stay at a rundown mountain resort.

The owner is a bitter guy named Finnegan J. Beet, who trades room and board for Mirabelle and her family's cleaning and cooking skills. She is nice to everyone, even old Mr. Beet when he's mean and nasty to them.

Pickler is a fan of VeggieTales' penchant for relatable underlying messages, and the new movie's lesson is one about the greatness of unconditional love.

Mirabelle's compassion and heart reminded her of the grandmother who raised Pickler in her hometown of Albemarle, N.C.

"She was a little spitfire and so is Mirabelle," Pickler says. "She has such a beautiful and forgiving heart where she will let things go. With the Beet, he has been hurt, and sometimes hurt people hurt people. Regardless of how rude or mean Mr. Beet was, Mirabelle has this patience and grace for him. She tries to understand.

"She ends up saying, 'The way you're acting is not right. You're being a bully.' But everyone has a story, everyone comes from somewhere and everyone's been hurt."

Pickler had always wanted to do animation work, and the process was fascinating for her, she says. "I didn't realize there were scientists who are behind the animation creation. It's pretty fascinating and tricky. I had the easy part. All I had to do was read the lines."

Kellie Pickler feels her "VeggieTales" sweet potato shared some key traits, especially compassion and a lot of love, with the grandmother who raised her.(Photo: Mark Zaleski/Jariel-Pixar)

To capture Mirabelle's personality, Pickler played up her normal down-home twang a little bit more than usual. Keeping the attention span of kids is key for all things VeggieTales, so she focused on performing "the way you would talk to a child if you were being silly and trying to make them laugh," she explains. "You have to remember, OK, adults are not generally the primary age group who's watching this."

The 28-year-old Southern singer is currently finishing up a tour as well as in the process of writing and picking songs for her next album, a follow-up to last year's The Woman I Am.

The early stages of a new record can sometimes be the most difficult part, which is why she was grateful that her VeggieTales gig came with a slew of catchy, ready-made tunes such as Who God Wants Me to Be.

She still has some of them stuck in her head, and they're safe for kids — unlike some popular songs kids love even though the lyrics can sometimes be a bit questionable for the little ones.

"I've seen that happen with my younger brother, and I'm like, 'You don't even know what that means.' And he's like, 'I don't care,' " Pickler says with a laugh.

She promises that with her Veggie tunes, "you don't have to worry about anything unexpected."