Christian Entertainment Review - July 2008 - (Page CER-12)

+product profile ‘VEGGIE TALES’ 15 YEARS SHOWS NO SIGNS OF WILTING AFTER By ANNE SHERBER hile most 15-year-old vegetables would certainly be showing signs of age, the salad-ready stars of Big Idea’s best-selling animated series “VeggieTales” have sold millions of DVDs, books and albums without so much as a wrinkle. The property was born when series cocreator, writer and director Mike Nawrocki, along with creative partner Phil Vischer, saw that rare thing in the world of entertainment and merchandising: an unfilled niche. They recognized a need for preschool programming that included lessons that reinforced Christian values and ideals. But, according to Nawrocki, the series’ central conceit, animated vegetables that act out stories and lessons from the Bible, came after a creative misstep. “Computer animation was in its infancy,” he recalls. “This was two years before Toy Story came out.” Because they planned to use computers to animate the programs, the characters had to be simple and easily drawn. The pair originally planned to use candy bars as the program’s stars. “But one day, Phil’s wife said ‘Don’t you think that moms would want their kids to W learn from healthier food?’ So we switched to vegetables,” Nawrocki says. According to Leslie Ferrell, interim GM of Big Idea, that decision, coupled with the creators’ desire to tell fun, engaging stories with Bible lessons to preschoolers, produced programming for which parents were hungry. Although 78% of Americans claim to be churchgoers, notes Ferrell, there was little or nothing available to parents who wanted programming for their small children that reinforced the lessons of Christianity. “When we released the first ‘VeggieTales’ video, there was not product that was offering faith-based lessons,“ she recalls. By remaining true to the program’s message, Big Idea has been able to “be clear about who we are,” says Ferrell, who notes about 75% of the product is faith-based. Parents, and, by extension, retailers, which now include Christian booksellers as well as mass merchants such as Wal-Mart and Target, can be confident that “VeggieTales” reinforces Christian values in an age-appropriate way. Nawrocki says that many of the programs’ lessons reach across religious divides. “I like to describe the type of storytelling that we do as ‘there is a God who made us and loves us and wants a relationship with us.’” He says that because “VeggieTales” is aimed at 3- and 4-year-olds, many of the themes are universal. “One of the fortunate things for us is, because we are a preschool brand, we are talking about things that all parents want their kids to learn about,” he says. “When it comes to the trickier doctrinal issues, we don’t need to talk about those to 4-year-olds.” To celebrate the property’s anniversary, Big Idea has some big plans. Aug. 19 Big Idea and video distribution partner Genius Products will release a special 15th anniversary DVD of the first “VeggieTales” animated video, Where’s God When I’m S-Scared? According to Ferrell, many fans were introduced to the title on VHS, and the remastered DVD enlivens the whole program. Nawrocki also has big plans for the vegetables. Until now, Bob and Larry have been confined to the kitchen counter. But Nawrocki says there are plans to bring the Veggies “out into the house and into the neighborhood, and have them interact with live-action characters.” Nawrocki says that the creative team has been looking at cultural icons to discover new material for the Bob and Larry canon. July 12 Big Idea and Genius Products release Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue (DVD $14.99). 12 CHRISTIAN ENTERTAINMENT REVIEW / JULY 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Christian Entertainment Review - July 2008

Christian Entertainment Review - July 2008 Contents Product Profile - C.S. Lewis' Magical World of Narnia Continues to Entertain and Inspire Audiences Product Review - VeggieTales Celebrates 15 Years of Wholesome Edutainment for Preschoolers Reviews New Releases

Christian Entertainment Review - July 2008

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