About a dozen years ago, I first fell under the spell of VeggieTales,
the computer-animated brainchild of Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. This
video series, since expanded to include books, toys, CDs and all sorts
of other tie-in products, not to mention a couple of feature films,
bears the slogan “Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun.” Vischer
and Nawrocki, who were practically the only staff when they first
created Big Idea, have described their unique brand of storytelling as
what might happen if Monty Python took over your Sunday school class.
Each video, ranging between half an hour and 45 minutes in length, has a
particular theme and usually adapts a Bible story or a classic work of
literature or pop culture in order to get a particular message across.
The very first episode, Where’s God When I’m S-scared?, does both, incorporating the story of Daniel in the lions’ den as well as a spoof of Frankenstein. The next episodes feature parodies of The Grapes of Wrath, Gilligan’s Island and Star Trek,
along with a Dr. Seuss-influenced adaptation of the parable of the Good
Samaritan. More recently, this hobbit lover was ecstatic to see them
take on Tolkien with Lord of the Beans. Each installment has been rich with memorable characters, zany humor, excellent animation and important lessons.
In the fall of 2000, I was a sophomore in college. It had been four
years since my theology teacher, Father Santor, had introduced my
classmates and me to the Veggies, but my enthusiasm had not waned. That
Christmas, I received a Hallmark ornament featuring Bob the Tomato and
Larry the Cucumber, the Bert and Ernie-ish hosts of most of the
episodes, and the stars of many of the stories. Bob is squat, red,
practical and slightly ill-tempered. Larry is tall, green, enthusiastic
and just plain silly. Though they appear to be the same basic age, Larry
acts like a big kid all of the time. He even has his own Silly Songs
With Larry segment, arguably the most popular element of most episodes.
This ornament captures a moment from The Toy That Saved Christmas,
VeggieTales’ first Christmas special, in which Mr. Nezzer, the go-to
character for clueless / nefarious bosses, is a toy manufacturer doing
his very best to spread the cheery message “Christmas is when you get
stuff!” Poking fun at commercialism and such Christmas toy crazes as
Tickle-Me Elmo, this special introduces a toy named Buzz-Saw Louie who
rebels against his programming and joins Bob and Larry in a race to
remind the world what Christmas is really all about.
Bob and
Larry cruise along on a curvy blue sled, which is about two and a half
inches long. Two-inch tall Larry is right up at the front, his shiny
black pupils glistening in his big white eyes as scenery whizzes past.
Larry is all wrapped up in a red scarf, and fluffy red earmuffs
connected by a black headband rest upon his head. His little round nose
hovers just above his mouth, which is black, with the exception of his
single white tooth, and is curved into an exhilarated smile. Larry is
having the time of his life.
Behind him, Bob is not so
thrilled. If you’ve seen the video, you’ll most likely hear him rattling
off his dry complaints as he leans over to peer ahead. He was hoping
for a nice cozy evening at home playing Mousetrap, and instead he got
dragged into this. He, too, has large eyes with shiny black pupils, but
instead of excited, he looks worried, with his eyelids raised high in
apprehension. He too has a little ball of a nose, but it’s red instead
of green, and the mouth underneath it is a tiny black circle of concern.
The only clothing Bob wears is a festive knit cap with green and red
stripes and a green pom-pom. On the side of his head is the gold ring
for the ornament hook.
Bob and Larry sit perfectly well on a
flat surface, but unless you have a diorama for them - a nice snowy
landscape would be ideal - you’ll really want to hang them on the tree,
where they will hang at a slight tilt and give the appearance that they
really are sledding. They look wonderfully festive among the branches,
and I always smile when I see them. Over the years, I’ve made several
VeggieTales decorations of my own, but nothing beats the real thing. If
you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile, you’ll
want to add Bob and Larry to your ornament collection.
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