About five years ago, my mom went to visit my sister in Virginia and came home babbling something about waltzing with potatoes and how there was this talking tomato and I really had to hear the “Song of the Cebu” and I would just love it. For a little while I thought she had picked up some strain of strange Virginian flu and should be quarantined until the delirium passed, but then she put in the video “Josh and the Big Wall” and I had a chance to figure out what on earth she was talking about.
VeggieTales is the brain child of creator Phil Vischer, a man with a dream. With all the focus on materialism in the world today, he was concerned that our children have a lack of entertainment that steers them toward self-esteem and away from selfishness. With that in mind, he and some friends created VeggieTales, a series of shows for children with a Christian theme and a clever presentation. Quoted from the VeggieTales website: “The world is full of media companies that are out to make a buck. The world desperately needs a media company that is out to make a difference.” Although Vischer no longer owns VeggieTales, the mission remains the same.
The entire show takes place on a kitchen counter. In charge is Bob, a tomato, voiced by Vischer himself. His sidekick is Larry the Cucumber, voiced by friend Mike Nawrocki. Each show begins with Bob reading a letter written by a viewer asking for advice, and the vegetables act out a Bible story to illustrate a good answer to the question. In more recent episodes, the veggies have branched out to include parodies of Gilbert and Sullivan operas, Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and Indiana Jones movies, but the theme is always the same – “God made you special and He loves you very much.”
Now that I have seen these movies, I understand what my mother was talking about. A combination of wacky antics, hysterical humor, and touching spiritual moments combine to make VeggieTales a must-see.
Over the next few weeks I’ll be reviewing these family-friendly videos in the hopes that you, too, will smile when you see a squash. And just for the record, I do waltz with potatoes. Just ask the produce manager at my grocery store.
Related Blogs:
VeggieTales: The Complete Silly Song Collection
VeggieTales: The Complete Silly Song Collection part two
VeggieTales Controversy Has Parents Steamed