VeggieTales was conceived in July of 1993, based on a “big idea” by Phil Vischers (whose company is now called “Big Ideas Production”). The idea was to use animated cartoon vegetables to tell Bible stories to children in a humorous, contemporary way. Working on a limited budget, along with his co-founder, Mike Nawrocki, and Lisa Vischer, Phil’s wife, and with two volunteers with graphics experience, Mr. Vischers created in a few months the first VeggieTales video, called Where's God When I am Scared?

Phil is the voice of Bob the Tomato. Mike Nawrocki is the voice of Larry the Cucumber (and Larry's Superhero persona, "Larryboy"), and Lisa Vischer provides the voice of Junior Asparagus.

VeggieTales videos always have some underlying religious or moral lesson. They can be New Testament themes, Old Testament stories or morality tales about sins like greed, dishonesty, and so forth. The cartoons are faithful to the Biblical sources, but all stories are presented in a fanciful or contemporized fashion. The cartoon characters, extremely simple computer-generated figures and landscapes, engage in lots of silly behavior and fairly amusing repartee. Thankfully, this isn’t the Smurfs in bedouin robes. How Big Ideas makes use of the Biblical themes is probably best illustrated by an example:

Episode 4: Rack, Shack, and Benny

This video is based on the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the Book of Daniel, 3:1-29. Rack, Shack and Benny work in a candy factory which makes chocolate bunnies. One day the president of the company, Nebby K. Nezzer (King Nebuchadnezzer), to commemorate the millionth chocolate bunny sold, decides to let his workers eat as many bunnies as they want. Rack, Shack and Benny remember what their mommie told them about stuffing themselves with candy, and content themselves with just a little chocolate. When Mr. Nezzar orders everyone back to work, everyone else is sick, and only Rack, Shack and Benny get back to work. Mr. Nezzar promotes them to junior executives (cartoon vegetables look pretty silly wearing ties) and lets them in on his next scheme: he has created a ninety foot tall chocolate bunny, and plans to have his workers bow down to “the Bunny” and sing “the Bunny Song”.

The performance of “the Bunny Song” is delightful: I really like the close-harmony backup vocals by the Asparagus Singers, and Mr. Nezzar conveys a sufficiently frightening cartoon evil while singing the praises of being a couch potato (though I suppose in his case it would be more accurate to say “couch cucumber”) addicted to chocolate bunnies.

Rack, Shack and Benny, however, have moral qualms about idolizing a giant chocolate bunny, and refuse to bow and sing the song. Mr. Nezzar has them thrown in a factory furnace (where the “bad bunnies” are melted down) but, as in the Book of Daniel, they do not burn, God appears in the furnace ("there's four guys in there, and one of them's reeeal shiny") and makes Mr. Nezzar realize the error of his ways. Everyone lived happily ever after.

Frankly, I think this video depicts the Bible’s message about idolatry better than anything I’ve ever seen, and more clearly than any sermon I’ve ever heard. Dietary restrictions are not completely foreign to Judeo-Christianity, but the Bible itself does not contain any injunction against candy. Candy-worship, however, presented in a silly and exaggerated way serves to contemporize and illustrate the point well, which is to stand up for what you believe in, even when it is unpopular, because “God will back you up”.

THE BUNNY SONG

Mr. Nezzer:
The bunny, the bunny, oh, I love the bunny
I don't love my mom or my dad, just the bunny
The bunny, the bunny, oh, I love the bunny
I gave everything that I had for the bunny.

I don't want no health food when it's time to feed
A big bag o' bunnies is all that I need!
I don't want no buddies to come out and play
I'll sit on my sofa, eat bunnies all day.

I won't go to church! And I won't go to school!
That stuff is for sissies, but bunnies are cool!

Asparagus singers:
I don't want no pickles, I don't want no honey
I just want a plate and a fork and a bunny!
I don't want to tell you a joke that is funny
I just want a plate and a fork and a bunny!
I don't want a tissue when my nose is runny
I just want a plate and a fork and a bunny!
I don't want to play on a day that is sunny
I just want a plate and a fork and a bunny!

Mr. Nezzer:
The bunny, the bunny, oh, I love the bunny
I don't love my mom or my dad, just the bunny
The bunny, the bunny, oh, I love the bunny
I gave everything that I had for the bunny!

Words and Music by Phil Vischer

Source: Dozens of viewings of “Rack, Shack and Benny” (my kids’ favorite) and a handful of other VeggieTales videos.