It didn\u2019t take long for Phil Vischer to create the following prime directive for his computer-animation studio: \u201cWe will not portray Jesus as a vegetable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The folks at Big Idea Productions will do just about anything for a laugh when creating their VeggieTales versions of Bible stories. But Vischer is committed to keeping a safety zone between the sacred and the hip, even while Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and friends storm the kid-video castles of Disney, Viacom, Newscorp and Time Warner Inc.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a biblical core to the stories we tell and people have to know that will always be there,\u201d said Vischer. \u201cSo the major plot points are sacred, but we get to have fun with the details. People have to understand that we\u2019re not competing with Sunday school. We\u2019re competing with Saturday morning television. We\u2019re in a different ball game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
So the Bible remains the Bible. But Joshua is a cucumber in a robe and green peas carry the Ark of the Covenant around Jericho while grape slushees rain down from the walls. A tiny asparagus named Dave spins a slingshot around his head and slays Goliath the pickle. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego survive the fiery furnace of a candy czar who wants them to worship a towering chocolate bunny. Virtual vegetables prance through music videos that are as bizarre as the regular music videos they are mocking.<\/p>\n\n
The result is a phenomenon that has Christian bookstore owners dividing life into two eras \u2013 \u201cB.V.\u201d and \u201cA.V.\u201d Big Idea Productions has sold 6 million half-hour videos, with 4 million units shipping in 1998 \u2013 the first year of a distribution pact with Lyrick Studios that put VeggieTales in WalMart, Target and other secular outlets. An 11th video release, \u201cSilly Songs 2: The End of Silliness?\u201d, goes on sale this weekend.<\/p>\n\n
Meanwhile, Vischer is taking calls from movie studios and cable bosses. The Veggies make their TV debut on Dec. 19 in a primetime PaxTV special built around the company\u2019s \u201cThe Toy that Saved Christmas\u201d video.<\/p>\n\n
It was back in 1991 that Vischer got tired of making Pop Tarts dance, beer bottles spin and graphics sparkle for corporate clients in Chicago. Using funds from family and friends, the Bible-college reject began creating vegetables that told Bible stories, after deciding that candy bars might worry parents. Either way, it was cheaper to animate figures with no limbs. Today, Big Idea has about 70 employees, but Vischer said he isn\u2019t sure about that number since he keeps running into new people in the hallways.<\/p>\n\n
Some major VeggieTales influences are obvious, such as Dr. Seuss and Monty Python. Some are less obvious, such as communications theorist Neil Postman\u2019s classic \u201cThe Disappearance of Childhood\u201d and the work of media entrepreneur Bob Briner, who chides modern Christians for abandoning work in art and culture.<\/p>\n\n
While it would be hard to push a creed in a for-profit company, Big Idea isn\u2019t ashamed of its big ideas. Its mission statement includes a list of blunt \u201cwe believe\u201d statements, such as: \u201cPopular media, used irresponsibly, have had a profoundly negative impact on America\u2019s moral and spiritual health.\u201d Company goals include enhancing \u201cthe moral and spiritual fabric of our society\u201d and leading \u201ca revolution reintroducing Christian values into popular media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Vischer doesn\u2019t hide the fact that he wants to create a recognizable, quality brand name with clout \u2014 like Nike, Starbucks, \u201cTouched By An Angel\u201d and, yes, Disney. But this takes time. Most attempts to promote faith in the marketplace have taken a one-shot, zap-them-with-the-Gospel approach.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like, \u2018Bonk!\u2019 We hit people in the head with a Christian brick and, when it bounces off, we can\u2019t understand why it didn\u2019t work,\u201d he said. \u201cOf course, we also used up all our money making that one brick and we can\u2019t buy anymore air time or tell anymore stories because we haven\u2019t created a real company that makes money so that we can stay in the game for the long haul. So we throw our brick and quit.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWhat we want is for people to fall in love with our characters and grow up with them. We want to have a lasting impact.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It didn\u2019t take long for Phil Vischer to create the following prime directive for his computer-animation studio: \u201cWe will not portray Jesus as a vegetable.\u201d The folks at Big Idea Productions will do just about anything for a laugh when creating their VeggieTales versions of Bible stories. But Vischer is committed to keeping a safety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n