The secret is out that Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer is back in the studio--his new Jellyfish Studios to be exact--with some projects up his sleeves. But what are these projects? And how did they get up Phil’s sleeves?
The first project you may have heard about was probably VeggieTales on NBC. In Spring of 2006, some friends from Big Idea asked us to help them bring VeggieTales to NBC. What a way to start! The idea was exciting and Phil went to work creating a world for Bob and Larry and their Saturday morning show. This time it would take place at Bob's house and it would host a variety of visitors such as Paco the Storytelling Mule, Archibald and his Big Book of Oddities and a few films from Pa Grape.
But how did Jellyfish pull it off? With only three people in the company, we needed some help. Phil handled the creative corner, Tim Johnson took care of business, Liz Thompson coordinated production and a fresh college graduate named Chad Voss joined the team as a digital editor and set builder. Four crazy people still wouldn’t be enough though, so while Phil worked on the new scripts, we contacted some old friends from Big Idea to help us bring it all to life. Jen Lynne Combs and Joe McFadden worked with Tom Danen Robert Ellis, Thom Falter and Nathan Tungseth to animate Bob and Larry. "Meanwhile" Bryan Ballinger and Steve Leeper created a fun look for Paco, Eric and Oed Ronne channeled a little Monty-Python for Archibald’s Big Book of Oddities, "and" Joe Sapulich designed Bob’s new house.
In the end, by some magical process we’re not quite sure of, a version of what we worked on ends up on a giant DVD player that transmits Bob and Larry into your house on Saturday mornings at 10am on NBC. At least that’s how they told us it worked. We’ve yet to find out any differently.
Long before VeggieTales and NBC came together, Phil was working on one of his first official Jellyfish creations: a tale about two pigs called Sidney and Norman. No not three pigs…that’s a different story. This tale is about a good pig named Norman who always seems to get things right and a messy pig named Sidney who has a bit more trouble getting things together. Norman looks down on Sidney for his messes and Sidney can’t help but look down on himself for the same reasons. That all changes one day when they both receive an invitation from God.
Phil worked with illustrator Justin Gerard who created the book’s amazing artwork.
Somehow 47 beavers have scrambled into the Jellyfish Press! Don’t worry. There’s no need to notify PETA. These beavers are the heroes of Phil’s next book 47 Beavers on the Big Blue Sea. This is the story of, you guessed it, 47 beavers who have been caught by Trapper Stu and must learn to work together to get out of their messy jam. Phil thought it would be fun if he sang the story for everyone to hear on a CD that will come with the book so after Phil wrote the words and melody, he handed it off to Chris Davis to transcribe and orchestrate the music. Chris has worked with Phil on many Veggie Tales projects including the VeggieTales NBC show. 47 Beavers makes its way to bookstores in March of 2007. Take a peak at some of the artwork for the book. Jared Chapman’s delightful illustrations bring Dana Thompson’s charmingly retro characters to life.
