Plus: Churches provide Halloween alternatives for varying reasons, aid groups protest national security approach to foreign aid, and other stories from online sources around the world.
Bankruptcy auction boosts price of Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber
As expected, the assets of Big Idea Productions, the Christian company that created the popular VeggieTales video series, were sold at auction yesterday to Classic Media LLC, which owns such characters as "Rocky and Bullwinkle," "Lassie," "The Lone Ranger," and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
Unexpected, however, was how much Classic Media ended up paying for the rights to Bob, Larry, and the rest of the animated cornucopia. Classic Media and Big Idea initially agreed on a $7.5 million deal, but bids by six other parties pushed the final price to $19.3 million, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Charles Schulman, Big Idea's bankruptcy attorney, said the final price means that, once the deal is completed in December, creditors will see payments "that no one in their wildest dreams thought would be possible." That's good news for the creditors: Big Idea has listed only $8 million in assets against more than $43 million in liabilities.
Big Idea COO Terry Pefanis says Classic Media "will continue the brand and continue to support the mission of the company." The specifics, including whether the creative team will stay on board, are still unclear.
More articlesChristianity and Halloween:
- Good vs. evil? | Local opinions vary on Halloween's place in schools, society (The Morning Sun, Pittsburg, Kan.)
- From scared to sacred | While devilish costumes and creepy themes still rule on Halloween, a growing movement seeks to zap the demons out of the holiday, and much of it appears to be church-based (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.)
- Attitudes on Halloween often ambivalent | Many churches discourage participation, while others view it as a day for children to simply have a bit of fun (Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.)
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