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What? Kids wanting more Veggies?

VeggieTales, that is—filled with spiritual nutrients, too.

by Louise A. Ferrebee

I knew something was up when I tried to start a Cub Scout meeting with the pledge of allegiance and the boys instead belted out the VeggieTales® theme song, "If you want to talk with tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile. If you like to waltz with potatoes, up and down the produce aisle … "

In the months after the Cub Scout incident, I continued to witness bizarre manifestations of this craze that's sweeping the country:

—Mothers of a Las Vegas play group standing around a swimming pool in stifling heat, enthusiastically singing the VeggieTales tune, "God is Bigger than the Boogie Man."

—A group of Midwestern teen-agers on their way to a Washington, D.C., youth gathering holding a VeggieTales video marathon on their chartered bus.

—College students having preview parties for the latest VeggieTales video release.

—A 45-year-old man proudly wearing a Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato t-shirt in public.

The packaging on the VeggieTales videos clearly states the product is for ages 3 and up. Rarely has "and up" meant this much. Why is this computer-animated children's video series so hot—no matter how old you are?

The answer lies with creator Phil Vischer, who knows that teaching God's truths can be fun—you can laugh, you can be silly, you can spoof Star Trek—and the message can still have life-changing substance.

In the latest episode, Josh and the Big Wall, Vischer casts peas as the people of Jericho and has them dump Mr. Slushies on the Israelite vegetables (played by Larry, Bob, and the vegetable gang) who march around their city. Apparently, the public loves this wacky, wildly creative approach.

Pedaling his brains out
The name of Vischer's company, Big Idea Productions, Inc., is a clue to VeggieTales' success.

"Life is too short for small ideas," says Vischer with a laugh. When Vischer started in the business, he met several Christian artists and discussed the state of our culture and, in particular, the media. The conversations energized Vischer who then thought, "If God wants me to make a video in my spare bedroom that could sell and sit on a shelf next to a Disney video, then why shouldn't I try?"

The ideas at Big Idea Productions are big, and I mean BIG. Vischer doesn't limit his imagination to videos, plush toys, and t-shirts. "Why not a VeggieTales theme park some day!" he says with a sense of enthusiasm that makes you think the idea isn't all that outlandish.

"My overall life theme is 'God steers and I pedal,'" he says. "And I've never had a problem just pedaling my brains out with no idea of exactly where I'm going.

"I'm doing something you shouldn't be able to do—completely support a company off Christian children's videos, especially a company steeped in technology," he says. Without a doubt, he's proving that clever ideas and hard work can turn dreams into realities. Just glance at the Christian Booksellers Association bestseller video list—all seven VeggieTales videos are in the top 10.

The ride to the top has been bumpy, though. When I first interviewed Vischer just over two years ago, he was not certain his company would be in business two months down the road. Today, the Big Idea Productions staff has swelled from nine in late 1996 to thirty-five a year later.

Thinking like a mad scientist
The day I visited, half-unpacked boxes littered the floor of Vischer's downtown office, which overlooks the Chicago River. He hadn't had time to unpack from the move that put him and his staff in an office triple the size of their previous one.

"Ideally, Phil and I would like to be in an empty room and just create things," explains his wife, Lisa Vischer, who does the voice of Junior Asparagus and helps with the songwriting, script development, and editing. "In fact, according to one test Phil took, his personality was described as 'mad scientist.'"

"Yes, a mad scientist who would like to be locked up in the laboratory," Phil adds in half-jest. "I'd just slide something under the door when people came by." In addition to writing the video scripts, Phil has written seven VeggieTales books published by Thomas Nelson.

Phil does about half of the voices for the videos and often can't stop himself from spontaneously falling into character. "My seven-year-old daughter's most frequent statement to me is, 'Talk like a real dad,'" admits Phil.

---

"The technical excellence that people
are used to seeing from Disney or
Warner Brothers they will see here.

---

Clever characterizations and excellent animation aside, it's primarily the catchy lyrics that draw adults, as well as children, to the videos. They're silly but you can't help singing them over and over. Like the "Water Buffalo Song"— one of 12-plus songs Larry leads on A Very Silly Singalong video:

"Everybody's got a water buffalo. Yours is fast but mine is slow. Oh, where did we get them I don't know, but everybody's got a water buffalo."

After watching an episode, you wonder how the guy comes up with the stuff. Surprisingly, newlywed poverty had something to do with songs in the earlier episodes.

"The car we owned when Lisa and I were first married was so cheap it didn't even have a radio," recalls Phil. So, long drives to Minneapolis to visit Lisa's family gave them opportunities to sing.

One time, inspiration hit as the Vischers drove to church. Phil, without his everpresent tape recorder, asked Lisa, a talented vocalist, to hum the tune in her head during the entire church service. "I didn't hear a thing that day so that we could go home and record it, or we'd have lost the whole song," remembers Lisa. The "song" became the untitled tune that ends each episode.

"Larry's first silly song, 'The Water Buffalo Song,' popped into my head as I was walking through the Federal Building plaza in Chicago with a handful of tax forms," says Phil. "It just smacked me and I found myself on a city bus going up Michigan Avenue singing into my tape recorder hoping no one would notice."

On occasion, Phil's creative genius doesn't even allow for things like sleep. "A few years ago, we were on vacation in Florida and Phil got up at 1 a.m. and spent an hour in the bathroom with his tape recorder because the entire King Darius song, 'Oh, No,' was coming to him," remembers Lisa.

Such drive and creative energy have sparked tensions on occasion, the Vischers admit.

"A number of times, Lisa has said, 'Why couldn't you just be a banker and have a 9-to-5 job where you come home at the end of the day and don't have to think about work until the next morning,'" Phil confesses. "Most often, I get home, we eat dinner, get the kids to bed, and then I'm back to storyboarding while Lisa is cleaning the kitchen."

Vegetable evangelists?
Vischer is pleased that with his success has come the opportunity to share his vision for reaching people with God's truths in a media-oriented society.

"Ninety percent of Americans believe in God and are open to hearing truths about God, and yet only 10 percent of Americans actually shop in Christian bookstores," explains Vischer. "People are open to truth from God, but most aren't interested in religious products."

He has found a way to overcome that reluctance. Knowing that lives can change when they are brought in contact with God, Vischer wanted to share God's truths in an appealing way. "A person who isn't active in a church often finds that videos drenched in religion have very little appeal," he says. "But today's consumer shops by brand (Nike or Starbucks) rather than category (tennis shoes or coffee).

"People aren't attracted to the category (religious products), but they are attracted to Bob and Larry because VeggieTales is a brand," says Vischer, "and one that obviously doesn't look like a typical religious product. We are bringing people into Christian bookstores who have never been in one before because they received a video as a present and now want to find out where they can buy more."

People are also looking for superior quality, and Vischer wants to meet or exceed people's expectations. "The technical excellence that people are used to seeing from Disney or Warner Brothers they will see from us," he asserts.

Kids, as well as adults, are drawn to charming characters, imaginative music, and quirky scripts. "The puns are wonderful, and when I tell another parent about the tapes, just mentioning a few story titles like, The Gourds Must Be Crazy, is enough to get them to take a look," says one mother.

Vischer points out that his is not a Christian media company but rather a media company with a Christian worldview. In particular, Vischer has a zeal for the many people who are spiritually minded but lack direction.

"It's this segment that is the most vulnerable to the media," he explains. Many Christians are so attuned to what is right and wrong that they are often repelled by what Hollywood produces and strengthened in their resolve against the world, he says. But for those in the impressionable middle, Hollywood can be a magnet pulling them away from God.

Recently he received a letter showing how his work is drawing spiritually sensitive people to God.

"A teacher brought a VeggieTales video to school and a co-worker, a woman who wasn't a Christian but was giving a lot of thought to spiritual issues, asked to borrow the video," says Phil. "She watched it with her kids and the following day returned it to her co-worker saying, 'I think I need to learn more about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Bob and Larry.'" The woman later became a Christian.

Quirky is cool
Within the next year, VeggieTales will expand beyond the videos, much to the delight of Vischer for two reasons: first, a strong bottom line means the opportunity to create more videos, and, second, even more people may be reached with biblical truths.

"We're making a huge cloud of products," says Vischer. "On the outskirts of this cloud is stuff like pencil toppers, t-shirts, and rubber stamp kits, all without any spiritual content. They're fun products that attract people to our characters," he says. "However," he continues, "it will be these items that help draw people into the center of the cloud—the content carriers that include books, music, and videos."

Kids are inundated with sophisticated merchandise marketing where "cool" really counts and character immersion is the norm.

"Suppose a seven-year-old goes to a church soccer camp. He learns about God and soccer—he has a great time. At the end of the week, the boy gets a soccer ball with Bob and Larry on it. He shows it to his friends who say, 'Cool soccer ball—where'd ya get it?' When the boy answers, 'At church,' the friends say, 'No way!' Then they ask, 'Who's the cucumber?' At that point, the boy invites them over to see the video."

Who can argue with Vischer? Bob and Larry are opening doors. What was once seen only in church circles is going mainstream. Even Vischer did a double take when he noticed a businessman in the Chicago Loop sporting a Bob the Tomato tie in a fast food restaurant on the day I visited.

"Phil tends to be consumed by his vision," says his wife. "He's consumed with changing the world."

And if things continue the way they are, the world, at least the world of videos with wholesome messages, will never be the same.

A Christian Reader original article.

Crisp Q & A with Bob and Larry It's not often you can interview a celebrity cucumber and tomato. But recently the stars of VeggieTales were cornered and Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato proved remarkably down to earth. Now that VeggieTales is so popular, how do you balance your fame and your personal lives? BOB: Let me tell you, it isn't easy! It's gotten so bad, Larry can't even go to the supermarket anymore! Why? Autograph hounds? LARRY: No, "Salad Shooter" demonstrations. Gives me nightmares! Why do you do what you do? BOB: Media is the single most powerful influence on American morality, and I'm tired of waiting for the animal kingdom to use it wisely. LARRY: Sometimes, on the set, we get free donuts! Bob, what are the best and worst things about having a cucumber for a co-star? BOB: The best thing—we're complementary colors! The worst—he makes me look short. Larry, what are the best and worst things about starring with a tomato? LARRY: The best—he can't see my bald spot. The worst—he cries at catsup. What's the main message you want to communicate to kids through your videos? BOB: There are lots of lessons kids can learn—forgiveness, loving our neighbors, resisting peer pressure—but the most important theme is the one we repeat at the end of every show: "Remember, God made you special, and he loves you very much!" If every kid carries away nothing but the knowledge of God's love, we've done our jobs.

Copyright © 1998 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
Click here for reprint information.

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