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VeggieTales is a series of children's computer animated cartoons produced by Big Idea Productions conveying Christian ideals to children via humorous, anthropomorphic vegetable-shaped characters. VeggieTales was co-created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. It was the first American video series to be completely computer-animated. VeggieTales have also been released as books, a movie, and many other branded items such as toys and clothing.

Brief History

The first VeggieTales video was released in 1993, and was the U.S.'s first completely computer animated video widely distributed in VHS format. Since then, the VeggieTales videos have sold well over 50 million copies. In addition to the videos, there are also books, games, and the ubiquitous plush toys which accompany nearly anything beloved by children. Big Idea went bankrupt in 2003 after they released Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. The company was bought out of bankruptcy by Classic Media, L.L.C. in 2003 and was moved to Franklin, Tennessee in 2004.

Most VeggieTales videos follow a set pattern. The presenters (Bob and Larry) set up a moral situation, often arising from a letter from a viewer at home. There is then a discussion among several of the main characters as to how this is best answered. Inevitably, they get to the point where they "roll the video". There is usually an intermission for a "Silly Song With Larry", and at the end the presenters return to wrap up the moral lesson with an applicable "memory verse" as delivered from QWERTY, the computer.

The internal stories themselves are often based on biblical or famous literary stories, sometimes transferred to a different setting (for example, Madame Blueberry clearly draws inspiration from Madame Bovary, while Sumo of the Opera teaches about perseverance by retelling Rocky mixed with The Karate Kid and The Mikado.)

Violent, sexual, or otherwise inappropriate content in the source material is often replaced with something innocuous. For example, in King George and the Ducky, a retelling of the story of David and Bathsheba, Bathsheba is replaced by a rubber duck whose original owner falls victim to a food fight. Another example is in The Ballad of Little Joe, a retelling of the story of Joseph, where, instead of Potiphar's wife attempting to get him to have an affair with her, she tries to get him to steal a bag of gold.

Smart Place for Kids

Smart Place for Kids is the name of the children's programming endeavor involving three broadcast networks, a new digital television network, and numerous children's entertainment producers.

On May 8, 2006, ION Media Networks, NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment's Nelvana, Scholastic Books, and Classic Media and its Big Idea Productions unit announced plans to launch a new children's entertainment endeavor spread across all medium platforms, including video-on-demand on digital cable and an interactive web page.

The primary goal for Smart Place will be to "champion literacy and values in the children's television category." * The endeavor will utilize ION's digital broadcast outlets, the educational, literary, and creative assets of Scholastic, and the combined content libraries and production facilities of Nelvana, Classic Media, Big Idea, and NBC Universal, which will also dedicate their weekend morning lineups to Smart Place. More than 1,000 half-hours of children's programming, including a new, original series from each of the partners per year, will air throughout the year. Details for the new series will be announced later.

Smart Place will air weekdays on i and Saturday mornings on NBC beginning in September, Telemundo on Saturday beginning in October and Sunday mornings beginning in January 2007, and a 24-hour digital television network carried on one of i's digital channels which will launch on September 2, 2006, the first Saturday in September.

See also

Official Press Release at ION's website

Videos

Sing-Along Videos

  • Very Silly Songs! 1996
  • The End Of Silliness? 1998
  • The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown 2001
  • Jonah Sing-Along Songs and More! 2002

Special Videos

Compilation Videos

  • Heroes of the Bible - Vol. 1 (also known as Lions, Shepards, and Queens (Oh, My!)) 2001
  • Heroes of the Bible - Vol. 2 (also known as Stand Up, Stand Tall, Stand Strong!) 2001
  • Holiday Double Feature 2004

Released Feature Length Films

Boxed Sets

  • Bumblyburg Super-Hero Value Pack 2004
  • The Complete Silly Song Collection 2004

DVDs to be released

Movies to be released

Unproduced Script

Major Characters

VeggieTales has a continuous back story that all of the cartoons are actually teleplays, performed by various vegetables and fruit that live together on the same kitchen countertop. Some of these characters have "real names", and take on various roles in the teleplays, although they will also frequently appear as themselves. These "regulars" were established in the very earliest videos.

  • Bob the Tomato: Host of "VeggieTales" and the straight man of the comedy troupe. Bob usually appears as the narrator or as himself, although he occasionally plays a role in the teleplays. His lead role as "Cavis Appythart" in The Star of Christmas and An Easter Carol has been his largest part to date. Bob is voiced by VeggieTales founder Phil Vischer, who sees Bob as his alter-ego.

  • Larry the Cucumber: Co-host of "VeggieTales" and the comedy star of the series. Larry is often cast as the lead in the teleplays. His superhero alter ego, Larry-Boy, had a short lived spin-off cartoon series called LarryBoy - The Cartoon Adventures. Larry is the regular star of a "show within the show", "Silly Songs with Larry". Larry is voiced by Mike Nawrocki.

  • Archibald Asparagus: A very British stuffed shirt, who is constantly trying to bring "high culture" to the otherwise lowbrow humour that VeggieTales represents. He somewhat grudgingly plays the title role in the cinematic release Jonah - A VeggieTales Movie. Patterned after the Monty Python's Flying Circus character "The Colonel" (a stuffy army officer played by Graham Chapman who occasionally appeared out of nowhere to order the end of a sketch), Archibald often takes Larry to task for being too silly, especially in the early videos. On the video Lyle the Kindly Viking, Archibald is given the opportunity the host the show, but much to his chagrin, the show devolves into sophomoric parodies of Shakespeare and Gilbert and Sullivan. However his constant pleas for culture seem to be rubbing off on the rest of the gang, resulting in some very "respectable" videos such as The Star of Christmas and An Easter Carol, an adaptation of the Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. Archibald is also voiced by Vischer.

  • Junior Asparagus: Five-year-old Junior Asparagus is one of the most active co-stars of the VeggieTales series. Junior is a typical playful child, but also is wise beyond his years, taking the lead role in several videos. Junior also has a loving relationship with his parents, who also appear in several of the videos. Junior is voiced by Lisa Vischer, wife of Phil Vischer.

  • Laura Carrot: Junior Asparagus' best friend. She has two younger siblings, Lenny Carrot and Baby Lou. She can be whiny at times, but when her friends are in trouble, she tries to do all that she can. She used to be voiced by Kristen Blegen but is now portrayed by Jackie Ritz.

  • Percy Pea: One of Junior's friends, and is a bit odd. He also appears coming out of Movie Premeirs with his little brother in Boy

  • Jimmy and Jerry Gourd: A secondary comic duo. While Bob and Larry can be considered animated versions of Abbott and Costello, Jimmy (orange gourd) and Jerry (yellow gourd) might more closely resemble Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Both appeared together in Are You My Neighbor? (their debut); Jimmy is a member of the boy band, 'Boyz in the Sink' (The Ballad of Little Joe). Jimmy and Jerry are played by Vischer and Nawrocki.

  • Madame Blueberry: A French-accented berry who plays roles that generally reflect an aberration of Christian morals (such as greed or jealousy). Often she possesses a hidden agenda of some sort. Her first appearance was in the title role of Madame Blueberry herself, though in subsequent appearances played other roles (Miss Kitty in Little Joe and Nona in Duke And The Great Pie War. She is often portraye dby Jackie Ritz.

  • Nebby K. Nezzer: A large zucchini with a southern accent. His name is a play on the name of the ancient Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Mr. Nezzer is often cast as the antagonist (e.g., the evil toymaker in The Toy That Saved Christmas, the evil chocolate maker in Rack, Shack, and Benny, and the greedy Viking chief in Lyle The Kindly Viking), but always learns a lesson at the end. He is voiced by Vischer.

  • Mr. Lunt: A decorative gourd who grew up in New Jersey and speaks with a Mexican-Spanish accent. He often appears as Mr. Nezzer's assistant. Mr. Lunt also frequently appears as part of "The Pirates who Don't Do Anything", and even once got his own Silly Song ("His Cheeseburger") and starred in another ("His Belly Button"). That song and Lord of the Beans (where he appears as a Gollum-like character) as well as Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush are the only times we ever see Mr. Lunt without a hat, although we still do not see his eyes. Mr. Lunt is voiced by Vischer.

  • The French Peas: Spoofs of the taunting French soldiers from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The main two peas are Jean Claude and Phillippe, who narrate The tale of Madame Blueberry (voiced by Nawrocki and Vischer, respectively). The other French peas fill in as Joe's brothers in The Ballad of Little Joe, and as many other extras. All the peas are played by Vischer and Nawrocki (with the exception of Christofee Pea, who is played by Chris Olsen).

  • Pa Grape: Appearing initially as a country yokel, Pa has evolved into a wise patriarchal character. Confusingly, he has espoused Christmas and faith in Jesus, though he sometimes sports a Yiddish accent, even once exclaiming "oy, vey"! Voiced by Vischer.

  • Sweet Sweet Petunia: A rhubarb who first appeared in Duke and the Great Pie War. She later appeared in The Search for Samson's Hairbrush and will also appear in Larry-Boy and the Bad Apple. She is played Cydney Trent.

  • QWERTY: A living computer that delivers the memory verses from the Bible. Named after the first six letters on a standard keyboard.

  • A trio of scallions who appear in supporting roles and who have never been given names (as pointed out in the silly song "Larry's High Silk Hat" from Lyle the Kindly Viking). They are voiced by Vischer, Nawrocki, and Mike Sage.
  • Khalil the Caterpillar: A caterpillar-worm creature with a Hindi accent and a red turban. He is most notable for his appearance in A VeggieTales Movie. He also made a cameo as a rapbreak singer in the Boyz in the Sink song in The Ballad of Little Joe and voiced a sock puppet character named Lutfi in Sumo of the Opera. Khalil is played by Tim Hodge.

Spin Offs

Trivia

  • The Larry-Boy Cartoon series was the only Big Idea video that exclusively used traditional 2D animation. According to Vischer, in addition to 3-2-1 Penguins, this project was started as a means to provide additional funding to the company during production budget overruns of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.

  • The name of the computer, QWERTY, comes from the first six letters in the second row of a computer's keyboard (which are, from left to right, QWERTYUIOP).

  • At the end of most VeggieTales videos, we hear a humorous little ditty entitled "What Have We Learned?". Bob the Tomato originally hated the tune, since it always interrupted him. Later, he grew to like the song as much as Larry did. In more recent episodes, however, it seems that Bob has gone back to hating the song.

  • Since the release of King George and the Ducky, the show started to be animated with the 3D software Maya.

  • The video "The Toy that Saved Christmas" was the first Veggietales episode to feature limbed characters.

Parodies

  • There have been three appearances of VeggieTales on The Simpsons.

1. Season 12 Episode 9, entitled "HOMR," the Simpson family visits an animation convention and Bob and Larry are shown on one of the booths. Original air date: January 7, 2001

2. Season 15 Episode 5, entitled, "The Fat and the Furriest," Homer, Bart and Lisa are walking outside of the "Sprawl-Mart," and in the front window are a cluster of television sets. On the TV sets a cucumber Moses says, "Mighty Yamses, we are weary of building your food pyramid. Let my pickles go!" To which Homer comments, "Mmmm...Moses." Original Airdate: November 30, 2003

3. Season 16 Episode 9, entitled, "Pranksta Rap," the Simpsons' dog has swallowed the TV remote and every time he barks the channel changes. After one of his barks the channel changes to a program called, "The Salad of the Christ," in which a peach is in the Christ position, carrying the cross upon his back and carrot guards are whipping him. Original Airdate: February 13, 2005

Video games

External links

Animated television series | Christian art | Children's literature | Christian animation

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "VeggieTales".

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