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By Julie | August 30, 2007
I’m sure most of you have heard of VeggieTales
. The animated vegetables who talk, sing, dance, use pop culture references, and teach kids biblical values. My oldest son was nearly two when I saw my first Veggie: Madame Blueberry. Our pastor was dumbfounded we’d never seen them. He went through their collection of extra’s, plopped four in our hands and told us to enjoy. We were excited for our son, we were shocked to enjoy them as adults. This happened during the time Marc was rethinking atheism and wondering if he’d been wrong about God. As the show ended Marc looked at me confused and said, “A thankful heart is a happy heart?”
I became a Christian at the age of nine. I’d heard such sentiments the majority of my life and taken them as fact. Until Marc questioned it, I never noticed how many people don’t understand, or believe, a thankful heart really is a happy heart.
A few months later Marc asked for the latest VeggieTales, Duke and the Great Pie War, for Father’s Day. A couple weeks later he was baptized. VeggieTales is not the reason for his conversion, but it helped. Marc loves comedy. He saw Christianity as stuffy, where people had conversations like, “Oh yeah, well how about Jude 2:1!” Then, the room full of people would burst out laughing in recognition of an inside joke and he’d sit quiet feeling stupid. He wondered if he became a Christian if the fun in his life would end. I said, “But you think I’m fun and I’ve been a Christian longer then I’ve known you.” He just thought I was anti-typical. But VeggieTales made him think there might be a possibility Christians could actually like fun!
As good as the VeggieTales movies are, Big Idea, the company that owns them, has an even greater Christian story, as written by the company’s creator, Phil Vischer in the book, Me, Myself, and Bob. The book describes the rise and his fall of the company as it went from million dollar profits to bankruptcy. Even then, God had big things in mind for Big Idea and Phil Vischer. The book’s section describing the soul searching and contemplation Mr. Vischer went through after losing his company was incredibly moving and inspiring. After his ordeal, Mr. Vischer was ready to give up on writing. Then God gave it back in the form of a story, Sidney and Norman, a children’s book with one of the best messages I’ve ever read. Mr.Vischer then formed the company Jellyfish. If you like to laugh, check out his hysterical “Jelly News” at jellyfishland.com. Phil Vischer still does some writing and voice work for Big Idea.
Big Idea is even more popular since its bankruptcy a few years ago. In the fall of 2006 NBC started running VeggiesTales in a Saturday morning block. When Marc and I first saw them on TV, we were disgusted by edits to take God out. A few weeks later we saw no edits at all. Others had been upset, and complained to NBC. I guess you have to tell a network it’s ok to mention God these days, who knew? In 2008, Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie will be released in theatres. IMBD credits Vil Phischer as the writer.
How often does a company go bankrupt, get bought out, and the creator who lost it still gets to do the job he felt God gifted him to do, for the very company he lost because of the bankruptcy? When God’s at work, crazy things happen.
My Favorite VeggiesTales:
Madam Blueberry, because a thankful heart really is a helpful heart. Watching Marc for a couple weeks after he learned, and applied it, I saw a happier man who smiled a lot more. Plus, you have to laugh at the ‘bungee’ song. (Bungee, bungee, bungee bungee bungee, here we go bungee. Come on!)
Rack, Shack, and Benny. My son was barely two when he learned his first song, found in this movie. He’d run through the house singing, Stand up. Stand up. What you believe in. God! He back you up! He missed a few of the words, but listening to him I was thankful for VeggieTales. With today’s influences he could’ve been singing something nasty, and I want him to know God backs him up. I also adore the song Good morning George. The lyrics are a little depressing, but you don’t notice so much because the tune is so fun.
A Snoodle’s Tale, my all time favorite. In the style of Dr Suess this story reminds us we will run into people who cut us down, and make us believe things about ourselves that simply are not true. But when one little Snoodle visits his creator, he finds his true worth and talents and goes back to the others lighter for having learned the truth. It may leave you feeling lighter too.
Have you watched your Veggie’s today?
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