A Tribute To VeggieTales
If you grew up in a Christian household during the 1990s or 2000s, odds are there is a certain animated children's show that you're quite familiar with. A show that's been billed as "Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun" with the ways that it teaches children stories and lessons from the Bible and signs off with the message "God made you special and He loves you very much". At the same time though, this show would get silly (they literally had a segment for "silly songs") and creative with the way stories were told. To copy off its theme song, there truly never has been a show quite like VeggieTales.
A lot of beauty can be found in ordinary things. It's that type of beauty that can make the ordinary extraordinary. There's probably a lot of parents out there that never imagined that there kids would learn about God, the Bible, and biblical values from...talking vegetables and fruits. Then again, God works in mysterious ways, including teaching children Sunday morning values through a tomato, a cucumber, and their friends. One other interesting tidbit about the show: VeggieTales was created by a Bible college dropout. God has a sense of humor, too.
As a general background and overview, VeggieTales was first started in the early 1990s by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. Where's God When I'm S-Scared, the firs VeggieTales video, came out in 1993, where children learned that God is bigger than the boogeyman, godzilla, or the monsters on TV. VeggieTales took off from there, going on to produce countless shows, 2 full-length movies, a Netflix series, and so much more. There's a lot more behind-the-scenes and history about the show that's worth reading about that details the highs and lows of the show, its company, and its creators (Phil Vischer's Me, Myself & Bob is a good read on this). Recently, it was announced that VeggieTales was being revived after a hiatus. The VeggieTales Show will air on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) this fall and it is said that it will stay true to the original episodes versus newer editions such as the Netflix series.
VeggieTales stars Bob the Tomato, the straight-man and natural leader, and Larry the Cucumber, the lovable, silly, co-host with Bob that had his own "Silly Songs with Larry" segment. Then, of course, there were characters like Junior Asparagus, Jimmy and the Jerry, the always-hungry gourds, Archibald, the refined, British asparagus, and so many more. True to form, a lot of stories were adaptations from the Bible, such as David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion's Den, Joshua leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In other instances, although the stories themselves were not from the Bible, they would teach values from the Bible such as loving your neighbor, thankfulness, and sharing. There was even the special adaptation of David and Bathsheeba in the form of a king obsessed with rubber duckies. Well played, VeggieTales.
Over the course of the show, VeggieTales would have its special segments such as "Silly Songs with Larry", the part of show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song. In special instances, there was "Classy Songs with Larry" and even "His Cheeseburger," Mr. Lunt's famous love song. The show would always begin with Bob and Larry introducing the show and end with a "What have we learned" segment, where Bob and Larry would get interrupted by a song and then share a Bible verse to tie the lesson and story together.
As I've gotten older (and have recently found myself listening to Silly Songs), I've come to appreciate VeggieTales all the more. One reason why the show's endured so much success was because it was different - as the song goes, there had never been a show quite like it. When Biblical values were coupled with a mix of silliness and pop culture references, VeggieTales created a show that kids and parents could enjoy (and a show that parents could comfortably let their kids watch). In the process, millions of families learned about God and the Bible and laughed along the way. For someone like me, that's just about the perfect combination. It's funny how I can go to church on Sundays to this day and a handful of people can recite songs like "God is bigger than the boogeyman" and similar references to the show.
Part of my enjoyment of VeggieTales comes from small moments growing up. I can remember when the "Easter Bunny" paid the visit in the form of a new VeggieTales video like Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed. There was also a game my siblings and I would play where two of us would go upstairs and one of us would hide these VeggieTales (that were similar to Beanie Babies) downstairs and we would have to look for them. This, of course, led to an incident where one of the French peas ended up in a pan. To this day, the pea in the pan is an inside joke with us. Another inside joke that my sister and I have to this day stems from a Larry Boy episode. There was a villain that had a sidekick named Lampy (that was literally a lamp) and when he did his villain dance he'd say "dance with me, Lampy". Every once in a while, one of us will say "dance with me, Lampy" in homage to the show.
When it comes to people I would love to meet one day, Phil Vischer certainly cracks that list. It would a joy to thank him for the way he's brought joy, laughter, and biblical values to so many people's lives, including mine. For those that may not know, Vischer voices a handful of the characters, including Bob the Tomato, Pa Grape, Mr. Lunt, Archibald Asparagus, and Jimmy Gourd (Mike Nawrocki, the co-creator, voices Larry the Cucumber and Jerry Gourd). Though I haven't watched a newer VeggieTales episode in years, I do look forward to what they have in store with The VeggieTales Show. In God's perfect time, there also may come a day where I find myself sitting down with children of my own and watching VeggieTales with them. In the meantime though, I'll be forever thankful for the way an anthropomorphic cast of animated vegetables and fruits (oddly enough, it's called VeggieTales and the biggest stars are technically fruits, but FruitTales sounds like a brand of gummy snacks) have helped others know God. Thank you, VeggieTales!
A lot of beauty can be found in ordinary things. It's that type of beauty that can make the ordinary extraordinary. There's probably a lot of parents out there that never imagined that there kids would learn about God, the Bible, and biblical values from...talking vegetables and fruits. Then again, God works in mysterious ways, including teaching children Sunday morning values through a tomato, a cucumber, and their friends. One other interesting tidbit about the show: VeggieTales was created by a Bible college dropout. God has a sense of humor, too.
As a general background and overview, VeggieTales was first started in the early 1990s by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. Where's God When I'm S-Scared, the firs VeggieTales video, came out in 1993, where children learned that God is bigger than the boogeyman, godzilla, or the monsters on TV. VeggieTales took off from there, going on to produce countless shows, 2 full-length movies, a Netflix series, and so much more. There's a lot more behind-the-scenes and history about the show that's worth reading about that details the highs and lows of the show, its company, and its creators (Phil Vischer's Me, Myself & Bob is a good read on this). Recently, it was announced that VeggieTales was being revived after a hiatus. The VeggieTales Show will air on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) this fall and it is said that it will stay true to the original episodes versus newer editions such as the Netflix series.
VeggieTales stars Bob the Tomato, the straight-man and natural leader, and Larry the Cucumber, the lovable, silly, co-host with Bob that had his own "Silly Songs with Larry" segment. Then, of course, there were characters like Junior Asparagus, Jimmy and the Jerry, the always-hungry gourds, Archibald, the refined, British asparagus, and so many more. True to form, a lot of stories were adaptations from the Bible, such as David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lion's Den, Joshua leading the Israelites to the Promised Land, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In other instances, although the stories themselves were not from the Bible, they would teach values from the Bible such as loving your neighbor, thankfulness, and sharing. There was even the special adaptation of David and Bathsheeba in the form of a king obsessed with rubber duckies. Well played, VeggieTales.
Over the course of the show, VeggieTales would have its special segments such as "Silly Songs with Larry", the part of show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song. In special instances, there was "Classy Songs with Larry" and even "His Cheeseburger," Mr. Lunt's famous love song. The show would always begin with Bob and Larry introducing the show and end with a "What have we learned" segment, where Bob and Larry would get interrupted by a song and then share a Bible verse to tie the lesson and story together.
As I've gotten older (and have recently found myself listening to Silly Songs), I've come to appreciate VeggieTales all the more. One reason why the show's endured so much success was because it was different - as the song goes, there had never been a show quite like it. When Biblical values were coupled with a mix of silliness and pop culture references, VeggieTales created a show that kids and parents could enjoy (and a show that parents could comfortably let their kids watch). In the process, millions of families learned about God and the Bible and laughed along the way. For someone like me, that's just about the perfect combination. It's funny how I can go to church on Sundays to this day and a handful of people can recite songs like "God is bigger than the boogeyman" and similar references to the show.
Part of my enjoyment of VeggieTales comes from small moments growing up. I can remember when the "Easter Bunny" paid the visit in the form of a new VeggieTales video like Larry Boy and the Rumor Weed. There was also a game my siblings and I would play where two of us would go upstairs and one of us would hide these VeggieTales (that were similar to Beanie Babies) downstairs and we would have to look for them. This, of course, led to an incident where one of the French peas ended up in a pan. To this day, the pea in the pan is an inside joke with us. Another inside joke that my sister and I have to this day stems from a Larry Boy episode. There was a villain that had a sidekick named Lampy (that was literally a lamp) and when he did his villain dance he'd say "dance with me, Lampy". Every once in a while, one of us will say "dance with me, Lampy" in homage to the show.
When it comes to people I would love to meet one day, Phil Vischer certainly cracks that list. It would a joy to thank him for the way he's brought joy, laughter, and biblical values to so many people's lives, including mine. For those that may not know, Vischer voices a handful of the characters, including Bob the Tomato, Pa Grape, Mr. Lunt, Archibald Asparagus, and Jimmy Gourd (Mike Nawrocki, the co-creator, voices Larry the Cucumber and Jerry Gourd). Though I haven't watched a newer VeggieTales episode in years, I do look forward to what they have in store with The VeggieTales Show. In God's perfect time, there also may come a day where I find myself sitting down with children of my own and watching VeggieTales with them. In the meantime though, I'll be forever thankful for the way an anthropomorphic cast of animated vegetables and fruits (oddly enough, it's called VeggieTales and the biggest stars are technically fruits, but FruitTales sounds like a brand of gummy snacks) have helped others know God. Thank you, VeggieTales!
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| Me, Myself, & Bob - Good read about Phil Vischer's life and VeggieTales! |
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