Phillip Roger Vischer (born June 16, 1966) is an American filmmaker, author, speaker, podcast host, animator, musician, puppeteer, and voice actor who created the computer-animated video series ''
VeggieTales
''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retell ...
'' alongside
Mike Nawrocki
Michael Lewis Nawrocki (born July 8, 1966) is an American director, animator, writer, lyricist, and voice actor best known as the co-creator of the long-running, Christian video series, ''VeggieTales'' where he voiced Larry the Cucumber. He voic ...
. He provided the voice of
Bob the Tomato
This is a list of characters that appear in the ''VeggieTales'' franchise.
Primary characters Bob the Tomato
Bob the Tomato (introduced 1993) is the friendly but slightly high-strung host of ''VeggieTales''. Creator Phil Vischer has often cite ...
and about half of the other characters in the series. Currently, he owns a small film business, Jellyfish Labs, based in Wheaton, Illinois.
Early life and education
Phil Vischer was born June 16, 1966 in
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...
, United States, and grew up in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. For three semesters, Vischer attended St. Paul Bible College (currently known as
Crown College); around that time, he also worked at a small Christian video production company.
Career
According to Vischer's 2005 autobiography, ''Me Myself and Bob'', Vischer and his longtime friend Mike Nawrocki founded Big Idea Productions in the late 1980s as GRAFx Studios. It started out as a small business that used computer animation to make its films. Eventually, Phil Vischer and Nawrocki created
VeggieTales
''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retell ...
and renamed the company to Big Idea Productions. The "Big Idea" for Vischer, was to teach children about right-from-wrong using God's messages from the Bible. The characters they came up with were Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber. They chose vegetables to serve as the characters because they were easier to animate than human characters. A normal segment of VeggieTales would begin with both talking vegetables on a countertop receiving a letter from someone asking about a particular Christian topic (selfishness, fear, lying, sharing, etcetera) followed by two short stories about the topic. In the middle of the segment would be a
silly song. Not only would Vischer and Nawrocki serve as the producers and directors of the show, but they would also voice most of the characters in the franchise (the most by Vischer).
The studio's first big creation was 1993
direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...
VeggieTales episode ''"Where's God When I'm S-Scared?"'' which was released on home video in late 1993. Big Idea's next video was ''"God Wants Me To Forgive Them?!?"'' which was released in 1994 and included the help of their first professional voice actor Jeff Morrow. In 1995, the series' third video, ''"Are You My Neighbor?"'', was released and VeggieTales continued releasing at least one video per year and even released their own newsletter called ''"What's the Big Idea?"''. The series was an enormous hit and, by the late-1990s, had earned the company millions of dollars every year.
By 1999, Vischer slowly found himself running a company that was losing money due to a variety of circumstances.
Their series continued being a hit in the market, but Vischer's decision to take out a loan and produce their first full-length film, ''
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie'', caused the company to slowly fall apart financially. To make things worse, Big Idea's termination of their association with their long-time distributor
Lyrick Studios
Lyrick Studios, formerly The Lyons Group, was an American video production and distribution company based in Allen, Texas best known for their flagship property '' Barney & Friends''.
The company was known for producing and distributing telev ...
(the company behind
Barney & Friends
''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomo ...
and
Wishbone
Wishbone commonly refers to:
* Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs
Wishbone may also refer to:
* Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company
* Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football
* Wish ...
), caused Lyrick's parent company,
HiT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment Limited (commonly written as HiT) was a British-American entertainment company founded in 1982 as Henson International Television, the international distribution arm of The Jim Henson Company, by Jim Henson, Peter Orton, and Sop ...
to file a lawsuit against the company for ''"breach-of-contract"''.
Vischer offered to settle with HiT for $500,000 but, HiT declined and the case went to trial after the judge denied Big Idea's motion for
summary judgement
may refer to:
* Abstract (summary), shortening a passage or a write-up without changing its meaning but by using different words and sentences
* Epitome, a summary or miniature form
* Abridgement, the act of reducing a written work into a sho ...
. A jury ultimately ruled against Big Idea in 2003, awarding HiT & Lyrick $11M. Although the verdict was later overturned on appeal, the damage was done and Big Idea filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy in summer of 2003. After Big Idea was purchased by Classic Media in 2004, Vischer further worked on VeggieTales under contract as a writer until 2009 (and continued to provide the voice of Bob and others until 2017, when his contract ended). Soon after Vischer's departure, VeggieTales was cancelled.
After bankruptcy
After selling Big Idea, Phil Vischer took two years off to recuperate. He then started a brand-new production studio called Jellyfish Labs in order to launch his new business vision;
JellyTelly, which he intended to be ''"a Nickelodeon for Christians."'' Phil Vischer said in his book that he believed that his heart had turned from God while being CEO of Big Idea and that the company's fall was a "wake-up call" and, because of this, Vischer limits his own power at Jellyfish Labs and allows God to "guide the company."
In Late 2009, Vischer began production on a new spin-off series of his puppet show from JellyTelly entitled "What's in the Bible". "What's in the Bible" is a 13-DVD series that walks children through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. According to Vischer,"What's in the Bible" teaches "Christianity in the same way Walt Disney taught America about space travel and "Our Friend the Atom" on TV in the 50s and 60s, and the same way Carl Sagan taught America about "The Cosmos" on PBS in the 80s". Vischer hired renowned YouTubers
Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal to write, sing, and perform several songs about the books of the Bible for the series. The series was distributed by Tyndale House Publishers. The 13 episodes of "What's in the Bible " were released between March of 2010 to March of 2014.
Beginning in 2012, Vischer began to host ''The Holy Post Podcast'' (formerly ''The Phil Vischer Podcast''), a weekly podcast discussing life, pop-culture, media, and theology through the use of humor in what he characterizes as a "post-Christian" American culture. The podcast, co-hosted by writer and former ''Christianity Today'' editor Skye Jethani and documentary producer & voiceover actress Christian Taylor, provides thorough critiques of American Christians' engagement with politics and the public square. It regularly ranks in the top 100 podcasts.
In June 2020, Phil Vischer launched a video streaming service named MrPhil.TV. He said he launched the streaming service one month early due to the Covid-19 pandemic. MrPhil.TV features non-VeggieTales content that Vischer created, including The Mr Phil Show (created for Right Now Media), and What's In The Bible. Vischer said that he had to pay for the ability to upload What's In The Bible, since he had sold it to another party.
Revival of ''VeggieTales''
In March of 2019, Phil Vischer announced on his Twitter that he had re-teamed with his longtime partner
Mike Nawrocki
Michael Lewis Nawrocki (born July 8, 1966) is an American director, animator, writer, lyricist, and voice actor best known as the co-creator of the long-running, Christian video series, ''VeggieTales'' where he voiced Larry the Cucumber. He voic ...
at
TBN to revive the ''VeggieTales'' series. Just like previously, Vischer and Nawrocki would return to voice their characters and also work as writers for the new show. It marked the first time that Vischer had any control of the franchise since selling Big Idea at the end of 2003. At first, Vischer declined involvement in the TBN reboot until he realized that TBN intended to continue the concept of the original VeggieTales direct-to-video series, before it became a
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to:
* DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin
** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio
** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
franchise.
In 2021, Vischer announced on Twitter that he and Nawrocki had departed from the franchise after being denied greater creative control by Big Idea Entertainment and claimed that the unit was looking to recast their characters.
Voice acting
As the co-creator of ''VeggieTales'', alongside
Mike Nawrocki
Michael Lewis Nawrocki (born July 8, 1966) is an American director, animator, writer, lyricist, and voice actor best known as the co-creator of the long-running, Christian video series, ''VeggieTales'' where he voiced Larry the Cucumber. He voic ...
, he has voiced hundreds of characters. Among them being;
Bob the Tomato
This is a list of characters that appear in the ''VeggieTales'' franchise.
Primary characters Bob the Tomato
Bob the Tomato (introduced 1993) is the friendly but slightly high-strung host of ''VeggieTales''. Creator Phil Vischer has often cite ...
,
Archibald Asparagus
This is a list of characters that appear in the ''VeggieTales'' franchise.
Primary characters Bob the Tomato
Bob the Tomato (introduced 1993) is the friendly but slightly high-strung host of ''VeggieTales''. Creator Phil Vischer has often cited ...
,
Pa Grape
This is a list of characters that appear in the ''VeggieTales'' franchise.
Primary characters Bob the Tomato
Bob the Tomato (introduced 1993) is the friendly but slightly high-strung host of ''VeggieTales''. Creator Phil Vischer has often cited ...
,
Mr. Lunt,
Jimmy Gourd,
Mr. Nezzer,
Philippe Pea and several others.
With
JellyTelly he has been the puppeteer and voice of several characters including Buck Denver, Captain Pete, Helen Rosenfiddle, Sunday School Lady, and others.
Personal life
Vischer currently lives in
Wheaton, Illinois
Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...
, located approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. His wife Lisa provides voices to several characters in the ''VeggieTales'' series, most notably Junior Asparagus. They have three children.
Filmography
Published works
Books by Phil Vischer include the following:
*''Junior's Colors'' (1997)
*''How Many Veggies?'' (1997)
*''Pa Grape's Shapes'' (1997)
*''Bob & Larry's ABC's'' (1997)
*''The Story of Flibber-o-Loo'' (1997)
*''
Rack, Shack and Benny
This is a list of VHS and DVD releases of the animated children's television series ''VeggieTales''.
Videos
Original videos (1993–2015)
Theatrical films
Compilation videos
Collections
# ''Lessons From The Sock Drawer'' ...
'' (1997)
*''
Dave and the Giant Pickle
This is a list of VHS and DVD releases of the animated children's television series '' VeggieTales''.
Videos
Original videos (1993–2015)
Theatrical films
Compilation videos
Collections
# ''Lessons From The Sock Drawer'' ...
'' (1997)
*''
Larry-Boy! And the Fib from Outer Space!'' (1997)
*''Archibald's Opposites'' (1998)
*''Time for Tom'' (1998)
*''
A Snoodle's Tale'' (2004)
*''Sidney & Norman: A Tale of Two Pigs'' (2005)
*''Me, Myself, & Bob'' (2006)
*''47 Beavers On the Big Blue Sea'' (2007)
*''I Thank God for This Day'' (2012)
*''Why Do We Call it Christmas?'' (2014)
*''What is Easter?'' (2015)
*''The Laugh and Learn Bible For Kids (2019)''
*''The Laugh and Learn Bible For Little Ones (2020)''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vischer, Phil
1966 births
Living people
American Christian writers
Members of the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Animators from Iowa
American animated film producers
American puppeteers
American male voice actors
People from Muscatine, Iowa
Writers from Wheaton, Illinois
Actors from Wheaton, Illinois
Crown College (Minnesota) alumni
American animated film directors
American Christians
21st-century Christians
20th-century Christians
American evangelicals