By India McCarty
VEGGIETALES co-creator Mike Nawrocki says it’s “just incredible” to see the impact his show has had on people around the world.
“VEGGIETALES was the very first computer-animated series to come out,” he told the “Jesus Calling” podcast. “We [he and co-creator Phil Vischer] sold the show by taking out ads in Christian parenting magazines to advertise these VHS tapes.”
While the pair didn’t get many orders, one of those orders was from Word Records, which was preparing to launch a kids label. A few months later, Nawrocki and Vischer signed a distribution deal with Word.
“We never knew that, obviously, it would get as big as it did,” Nawrocki marveled.
In addition to creating the show, Nawrocki voiced Larry the Cucumber, a character he said was important for kids to “fall in love” with.
“They love this character, they trust this character and they care what the character has to say about God making them special and loving them very much,” he explained. “It’s just incredible to see how God used that in ways that we could have never imagined before.”
That connection to the characters doesn’t wear off once a viewer is all grown up, according to Nawrocki.
“I run into young adults all the time now, and the line that I’ll get from them is, ‘VEGGIETALES was my childhood,’” he shared. “That is just such a powerful thing to hear that the stories we told affected them so much and that it was so much a part of how they grew up, which is just really humbling to see that.”
Now, Nawrocki impacts a new generation with THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS, an animated kids show based on the children’s book series he authored.
“I just wanted an opportunity to tell more New Testament stories to kids in a really fun way,” he told The Christian Post. “One of the lines we drew in the sand very early on with VEGGIETALES was to never depict Jesus as a vegetable, we just thought that would be too irreverent. So while we told Old Testament stories and some New Testament stories, I wanted a way to delve deeper into the life and ministry of Jesus while keeping things fun and engaging for kids.”
In an interview with Animation Magazine, Nawrocki said he was “thrilled” with the show, sharing, “I think it will stand out with its unique blend of humor, music, adventure and heart.”
“I think this is a great opportunity just to share the gospel with kids, so I’m just over the moon,” Nawrocki told Movieguide®.
Nawrocki has touched the hearts and minds of kids all over the world with VEGGIETALES and will certainly impact today’s generation the same way with THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS.
Read Next: From VeggieTales to Dead Sea Squirrels: Mike Nawrocki’s Latest Creation!
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