美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Tis In Season: A Harvest Of New VeggieTales, In Time For Christmas

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

If you were a kid growing up in the '90s or the parent of a '90s kid, then you might remember Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VEGGIETALES THEME SONG")

PHIL VISCHER: (As Bob the Tomato, singing) If you like to talk to tomatoes, if a squash can make you smile...

GARCIA-NAVARRO: They were the stars of "VeggieTales," a computer-animated¹ Christian² cartoon series, and they're returning to TV this week. Lee Hale of member station KUER's "Preach" podcast has the story of how Bob and Larry came to be and why they went away in the first place.

LEE HALE, BYLINE³: The creator of "VeggieTales" is Phil Vischer. He's also the voice of Bob the Tomato. And he first met co-creator Mike Nawrocki, aka Larry the Cucumber, at auditions⁴ for their Bible college puppet team.

VISCHER: Mike and I discovered we had a very similar sense of humor, and so we really connected.

HALE: After leaving Crown College in Minnesota, they moved to Chicago and started toying around with computer animation⁵. This is the late '80s. Nawrocki says they were at the right place at the right time.

MIKE NAWROCKI: We thought, well, what if we combined what we did with puppets with this new technology?

HALE: Most early computer animation was rigid⁶, making it difficult for human characters to move naturally. So Vischer had an idea.

VISCHER: I need naked, bald, limbless characters.

HALE: And so the "VeggieTales" were born.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "VEGGIETALES")

VISCHER: (As Bob the Tomato) I'm Bob the Tomato.

NAWROCKI: (As Larry the Cucumber) And I'm Larry the Cucumber.

HALE: Vischer quit his job in video production to pursue this dream of making "VeggieTales." But it was a tough sell to investors⁷. A year in, he was feeling stuck and broke.

VISCHER: We came down to our literal last $10 and discovered that we were out of dog food.

HALE: Vischer handed the $10 to his wife, and she headed to the store.

VISCHER: And I'm sitting at the dining room table just depressed⁸ and thinking what a fool I am. I misheard God.

HALE: Then he opened the mail and found an anonymous⁹ cashier's check for $400.

VISCHER: It was like God just walked into the door and sat down next to me and said, I did call you to do this, and I am in it with you.

HALE: Within just a few years, "VeggieTales'" popularity was skyrocketing.

VISCHER: We were showing up on the bestselling charts for all of video, not just for Christian video. To me, that was indication that God wanted me to build something huge.

HALE: Like an animated feature film about the story of Jonah. You know that guy from the Bible who wasn't listening to God and ended up getting swallowed by a giant fish?

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Big Idea's "Jonah," a "VeggieTales" movie, only in theaters, 2002.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) Holy mackerel.

HALE: They sunk millions into the project. By the night of the film's premiere, Vischer realized they'd spent more than they should have.

VISCHER: I was fighting back tears because we'd already realized what trouble we were in and that the next morning, I was going to have to lay off half of the studio.

HALE: To make matters worse, "VeggieTales" got sued by none other than...

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I LOVE YOU")

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) I love you. You love me. We're...

HALE: ...Barney the Dinosaur¹⁰. Well, to be fair, it was Barney's parent company Lyrick. A lawsuit¹¹ over distribution rights led to them losing ownership of the "VeggieTales" characters, which then passed through a number of different hands - NBC, DreamWorks, Netflix. Those companies often scrubbed out or shied away from religious messages. But the new "VeggieTales" show premieres this Tuesday on the Trinity Broadcasting Network with a Christmas special.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "VEGGIETALES")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters, singing) We are wise men from afar. We are following a star.

HALE: And for the first time in a long time, Vischer and Nawrocki, aka Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber, are back in the writers room together to tell a new generation of kids...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "VEGGIETALES")

VISCHER: (As Bob the Tomato) God made you special, and he loves you very much.

HALE: For NPR News, I'm Lee Hale.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VEGGIETALES THEME SONG")

VISCHER: (As Bob the Tomato) Broccoli¹², celery, got to be...

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (Singing) VeggieTales.

1 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 auditions   

n.（对拟做演员、歌手、乐师等人的）试听，试音( audition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Find modeling auditions, casting calls& acting auditions, all in one place. 找一个立体感试听，铸造呼叫和表演试听一体的地方。 来自互联网
• We are now about to start auditions to find a touring guitarist. 我们现在准备找一个新的吉他手。 来自互联网

5 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

6 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

10 dinosaur   

n.恐龙

参考例句：

• Are you trying to tell me that David was attacked by a dinosaur?你是想要告诉我大卫被一支恐龙所攻击？
• He stared at the faithful miniature of the dinosaur.他凝视著精确的恐龙缩小模型。

11 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

12 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。