News On Noah + Jaci Velasquez Interview!

Hey, Veggie fans! There's been quite a flurry of news coming out regarding the first DVD release of the new VT era, Noah's Ark! Read on for some of my own thoughts on this exciting next chapter!

Image credit: DWA TV PR

When I first heard that the next episode would be a new retelling of the Noah story, I was a little surprised; didn't they already retell this Bible story on Minnesota Cuke and the Search For Noah's Umbrella? On the commentary for that episode, it was stated that the Minnesota Cuke episodes worked well for retelling darker Bible stories (it's not all rainbows and fuzzy animals, you know), so I wasn't expecting them to try Noah again. But the more I've heard about this new approach, the more excited I am for it. Plus, the first VeggieTales movie concept before Jonah was about Noah's ark, so I'm curious if this episode will have any similarities to that earlier concept. But in any case, it's appropriate that this episode is going back to where the show began -- retelling Bible stories in a fun, fresh way! So, I can say with great certainty that Noah has me excited for more reasons than one.

The first thing that I'm definitely looking forward to is that they're doing this up as a musical. Of course, VT has always rocked at doing musicals, as no episode to date has been without a song (or two or three), but I think the boat-bound musical subgenre is an especially fun way to flip the story of Noah around a bit. A little less "doomsday" and a bit more "Anchors Aweigh"!

Another thing I'm very excited for is that this episode's got a couple of amazing voices on board: Wayne Brady and Jaci Velasquez! They will be playing Noah's son, Shem, and his wife, Sadie. I'm seriously excited, because Wayne Brady is a hilarious actor and an epic singer, and Jaci Velasquez is an amazing singer and radio show host! I love Shem and Sadie's character designs, and I think they'll fit in perfectly into the VT world. I really love how many great actors and singers have been showing up in VT lately, from Rob Paulsen and Tress MacNeille's roles on In the House to Terry Crews's stellar performance as Bruce Onion in Celery Night Fever! Phil and Mike can do perfectly on their own, but it's always great seeing the Veggie world expanded :)

And I'd be completely wrong if I didn't mention how adorable these animals are. I'm impressed since the massive amount of fur was apparently the reason why the Noah film didn't fly in the first place. I don't yet know what company's doing their animation, whether it will still be Huhu or if Bardel will take over. Bardel's work with furry creatures in DWA's Puss in Boots and King Julien series has proved to be awesome, so they'll look great if they go that route. Either way, I'm really glad that VT is in a place now where they try something technologically that they couldn't do ten years ago!

One of the things I'm most curious about with this new chapter is what the format will be like. I've already heard they're reanimating the original intro to fit the new style, so that's definitely going to be exciting to see come to life. Will they ever give Larry a break on that tuba so he doesn't nearly pass out? (Probably not!) In addition, we'll likely get to see the new countertop and hopefully Qwerty too (though I'm not entirely sure on this, considering there isn't a Qwerty in ITH's kitchen, but we'll have to wait and see). It'll be interesting to see how these new versions of the crew we've gotten to know in ITH will translate to a regular VT episode format.

Finally, I'm very much looking forward to seeing their spin on the lesson. Noah's Umbrella chose to talk about having the confidence to do what God wants us to do, while the new Noah is a lesson in trusting God. I really like the twist they've come up with... I could easily see Noah and his folks having some questions about God's plan in the midst of that massive flood. So, that really works well as this episode's moral, finding something unique to set it apart from the already awesome Minnesota Cuke.

And if nothing I've said has you pumped up yet, this interview with Sadie herself, Jaci Velasquez, ought to! (Thanks, DWA TV!) Read on.

Why did you want to make a VeggieTales movie?

VeggieTales is like the Mecca of our house – I’ve got two little boys, and they cannot get enough VeggieTales. So, to be a part of this is just a wonderful thing for me. My husband and I like to sing to our kids, but they could care less – it’s to the point where we’ll sing and practice a song with them while we’re giving them baths and they’ll plug their ears and say, “Mommy, Daddy! Stop!” To be part of VeggieTales and do something for the first time that my kids might actually enjoy is wonderful.

The story of Noah and his ark has been told many times. What makes the VeggieTales version different?

Well, I’m pretty sure it will be the only version with singing vegetables and a giant squid! I think it was pretty brave of VeggieTales to take on the story of Noah because it is so familiar – but they make it feel completely new. The animals are absolutely adorable, and there’s so much comedy; I’ve always thought VeggieTales movies were funny, but this one is really funny. They’ve also really discovered something important about the story, because Noah’s Ark is about patience, trusting and believing. Kids need to understand those things. Whatever we pour into our children is what will pour out of them – what they learn as children is what they will be as adults. We are planting seeds in their hearts and souls, and it’s important for them to understand that God has a purpose and a plan. We don’t always understand it, and we have to trust in it. That’s a big lesson, and Noah’s Ark helps parents start to teach it.

Who is your favorite VeggieTales character?

Sorry to be so typically “normal,” but it’s always Larry! I love Madame Blueberry, as well, but really… Larry. He just makes you happy. He makes you laugh. It’s like he’s every kid you’ve ever known, but he’s not – because he’s a vegetable!

Why do you think VeggieTales has been so popular for so long?

I think parents want good entertainment for their kids, especially in the world we live in. You know, human beings are born knowing how to do the wrong thing, but we need to be taught how to do the right thing, and what better way to do that than through entertainment? As a mom, I know that it can get really overwhelming to try to teach kids everything they need to know. You say prayers with them at night, you read books with them, you take them to Sunday school – but that’s only one day a week. So it helps to have entertainment that teaches them the truth and that teaches them fundamental things about life. As a parent, VeggieTales gives me such gratitude!

 

Definitely looking forward to seeing this one and talking about it in my review! Until then...

GMUS & <3sUVM

- Chandler

VeggieTales In The House & The New Character Designs

This past week, Big Idea made a huge reveal: a lineup of updated character designs! On top of that, they made the official announcement of the new Netflix series, VeggieTales in the House!

It's a lot to take in at once, I know. So, I decided to take a moment and discuss this new chapter in VeggieTales history.

First of all, in case you haven't seen it yet, please don't judge this new style unfairly. It absolutely breaks my heart when people needlessly complain when new VeggieTales episodes don't meet their expectations. I know you have a right to your opinions, but what's most important is, no matter what they do, VT will always be a show whose core goal is to spread the message of God's love to children (and everyone else). No amount of spiffy animation or updated character designs can change that! Because then it wouldn't be VeggieTales, right?

 

So, with that in mind, here's the main lineup of new looks!

Image credit: The Official VeggieTales Facebook Page

In a brief video on the VeggieTales Facebook page, Mike Nawrocki said that the characters were originally designed with the limitations of early 90's CGI, so the folks at Big Idea decided it was time to give them a modern update for today's generation. Still, I admit I was kind of shocked at first that they'd redesign the characters after all these years. especially thinking back on the epic moment in VT history when Phil Vischer first pieced Larry together (read more in Me, Myself, and Bob). But these new designs are actually really fun, and I imagine Mr. Vischer might've loved to have made them look something like this a long time ago. 

 

I remember when I first saw the newly redesigned Jimmy and Jerry, who were the first to be revealed on social media. At first, I wasn't sure what to think, as they were both familiar, yet very different. I mean... colored irises! Eyebrows! New textures! But then, taking a closer look, I saw Jerry's stem "cowlick" and my tune began to change. It was so funny and gave him so much personality! People have been having trouble telling the gourd brothers apart for years, and now there's no way anyone could do that with that simple, subtle addition! Plus, the eye colors are a useful hint as well :) 

 

And the rest of the characters look super fun and really cool in this new style! Junior looks more like a true asparagus! Laura is absolutely darling! Madame Blueberry looks fabulous as a brunette! Petunia's new look is gorgeous! Bob and Larry don't look too far from their old charming selves -- though Larry looks little extra "goofy"! (And I mean that in the best way!) I have yet to see what some of the other characters, like Pa, Lunt, Nezzer, and Archibald will look like. But I figure they'll do it right (well, as long as they don't decide to give Pa and Lunt eyes, but I think that's highly unlikely).

 

(Update 2/23/23: deep apologies to the character designers. As noted in a later post, Pa Grape was adorable with eyes!)

So, after the characters got reintroduced, another Facebook video message was posted with Mike Nawrocki and In the House's creator, Doug Tenapel, officially announcing the new Netflix series and reassuring fans that it would still have the heart and message that VT's had since the beginning. Now, I'd heard months ago through Animation Magazine that In the House would be one of several new DreamWorks-owned Netflix programs, and I was very intrigued about it. I haven't yet heard any further news on what the show will be like, but I have some ideas.

 

Remember the last time VeggieTales attempted to adapt to a TV series? It was fun, but it didn't really work in that format. So my assumption is, instead of just repackaging classic episodes, they'll make new, exclusive adventures. I also believe that, instead of doing the "answering-kids'-questions-with-a-story" style, they'll likely go the route of telling more sitcom-style stories, exploring these characters in their daily lives outside of the countertop!

 

I could easily see the veggies living in an apartment complex, where Bob and Larry are roommates, the Carrots and the Asparaguses (Asparagi?) live next door, Madame Blueberry is the rich lady who lives in the penthouse, Petunia is the quintessential girl-next-door, and Jimmy and Jerry are the goofy landlords! (Old-school fans will know what I'm talking about on that last one XD) Whatever the show structure looks like in the end, though, I really do love the idea of seeing these guys on a regular basis, with five new 22-minute episodes arriving every few months! 

 

I don't think this means that the normal 50-minute DVD releases will halt, just that they will be coming out alongside the new show. I just love seeing Big Idea expanding their lineup! Since 3-2-1 Penguins ended I've been missing seeing a little extra Big Idea magic, so I imagine In the House will fill that gap splendidly! The only thing I don't know is whether this character design will be specifically for In the House, or if all the episodes to come will be in this style. It's been said the new series will arrive in the fall, and we already know that the new DVD episode Beauty and the Beet will be coming out in October with the classic style. So, who knows? I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, I'm excited about it!

So, if your first instinct was, "it's different, so I don't like it," I hope I was able to give you a new perspective on this new era of VeggieTales. Join me in the VT revelry! And don't forget to start up that Netflix account! You can rewatch Where's God When I'm Scared and Sweetpea Beauty on there while you're waiting :D

GMUS & <3sUVM

- Chandler

The League Is Almost Here!

The latest VeggieTales video, entitled The League of Incredible Vegetables, hits Christian bookstores tomorrow! Until then, enjoy these videos relating to the new show.

The trailer:

The Veggies Get A New Owner... Again

Sorry for the lack of news lately. I've got a lot to catch up on, but for now I'm focusing on the most pressing bit of information.

Unfortunately, it's time once again to play Who Owns The Veggies Now. And this time, the winner this time around is... DreamWorks Animation. Yes, it's true. DreamWorks, the company that made movies such as How To Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda, is now planning to purchase Classic Media, the company that bought Big Idea in 2003. Before you freak out, you should go read this article by Christianity Today and see what Big Idea manager Leslie Ferrell had to say about this.

What does this mean for VeggieTales? The truth is, I don't really know. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Latest News 7/7/12

Hey everybody! Today I'm going to show you something that many of us were not looking forward to seeing- the new Silly Song, Best Friends Forever.

It's pretty much like I expected. Slightly annoying and a bit hard to follow. Still, it got actually got better with a second watch. A lot of little girls will probably like it.

According to this website, the band the Newsboys will be teaming with VeggieTales once again for the first time since their song In The Belly of the Whale. (EDIT: Scratch that, I forgot that they sang the chorus of the song Yo Ho Hero). The new song will be featured on the upcoming DVD The League of Incredible Vegetables. 

There's a new VeggieTales music album coming out this Fall called Bob and Larry Go Country! This new CD will feature the Veggie's takes on country songs, including Achy Breaky Heart, I Will Always Love You, Mommas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys, 9 to 5, Jesus Take the Wheel and Forever and Ever Amen, and several more. The album will be released on October 13th, 2012, the same day as The League of Incredible Vegetables.

New Trailer for The League of Incredible Vegetables

I didn't expect it to come until later this summer, but surprisingly enough, we have the first trailer for the first LarryBoy episode in six years, The League of Incredible Vegetables. Which, as another surprise, doesn't have the word LarryBoy in the title.

It looks amazing, doesn't it? I'm going to give it a quick review here.

0:05-0:13 Dr. Flurry looks really cool (no pun intended). He seems like the typical mad scientist kind of villain, but that's not something we've seen before in VeggieTales (except for in the 2D LarryBoy videos, perhaps). And he has penguin henchmen! How neat is that?

0:20-0:36 I really like these superhero costumes. They're pretty simple, but I guess I should have expected that. It seems like it would be difficult to design anything more complicated for a vegetable. And it wouldn't really be necessary anyway. The names of the superheros are pretty imaginative as well. I expected Bob to just be called The Red Wonder or Bobin like he called himself in LarryBoy and the Bad Apple. But nope, they decided to come up with something more creative and decided on the name Thingamabob, which was just genius.

0:37-0:39 The super vehicles. Let's see, we've got the LarryMobile, a helicopter thing which I'm assuming is Bob's, a shoe-car thing that is obviously Petunia's, and little car that could belong to either Junior or Lunt. Cool stuff. But where's the fifth one? It seems like the LarryCave is keeping its design from Bad Apple, which is good.

0:44-0:48 Wow, that logo looks awesome! And that is really all I can say about it.

Are you excited yet? Because I definitely am! This looks to be the best thing that the veggies have done in several years. And its coming to a store near you October 2012.

New Trailer for The Penniless Princess

Today we present the latest trailer for the newest addition to VeggieTales' "Just for Girls" series, The Penniless Princess.



I'll save my thoughts for some other time. But for now, I will say that it certainly looks interesting. I'm pretty excited about it.

ANNOUNCING "The Penniless Princess"

Today I'm here to tell you about a brand new DVD coming from VeggieTales this summer, called The Penniless Princess.



(Thanks to ThomasVeggieDramaFan on YouTube for the video.)

While I'm slightly annoyed that they're doing yet another princess episode, I love the story of The Little Princess, so I'm glad that they're doing this. I can't wait to see it! Of course, I'll keep you guys updated about it in the months to come. Happy Valentines Day!

Podcast #1: Leap Year, Bubble Rap and More

Today, I'm very excited to announce our brand new Countertop Podcast! In Episode 1, I talk about several new things, including the new short Larry's Leapin' Leap Year and the new Silly Song. You'll also have the pleasure of hearing me ramble about how much VeggieTales has changed over the past few years.

Click here to listen to and download this episode.

Larry's Leapin' Leap Year

Bubble Rap

One Year On The Countertop!

Yesterday marked a big milestone for us here on The Countertop- it was our one year anniversary of being on the internet and providing VeggieTales fans with the latest news and reviews! Before I get to the news that I want to tell you about, as part of our celebration, I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you who have supported us by keeping up with the blog over the past year. The fact that people even care to read this at all is a huge encouragement.

This past year has been a great start for us, and this coming year is going to be even better. One thing that will help make it so is feedback from you, our readers! So to help us get and listen to your feedback, we've set up a survey! We would love it if you could go here and help us out by taking the survey.

In other news, the new Silly Song DVD If I Sang A Silly Song is releasing tomorrow! A countdown of the best Silly Songs from the past two decades has been going on at veggietales.com/sillysong, and tomorrow you can go there and see the newest Silly Song which was made from an idea sent in by fans. You'll be able to see the entire countdown and the new Silly Song on If I Sang A Silly Song as well.

That's all for now. Again, thank you guys for supporting this blog over the last year. Be looking forward to some really great things coming from us in 2012.

Trailer For If I Sang a Silly Song

We now have the new trailer for the upcoming Silly Song DVD, If I Sang a Silly Song.

Robin Good Trailer, New LarryBoy Episode Plus More

Boy, it's been way too long since I gave you readers a new blog post. I was busy with a big writing project this past month, but now that it's done I can get back to bringing you all VeggieTales news and reviews. A lot has been happening in the veggie world lately, so I'll just go down the list.

First off, we have a brand new trailer for the upcoming show, Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men.



Looks pretty good, doesn't it? I'm looking forward to seeing it.

The Little Drummer Boy Is Released!

CORRECTION: The Little Drummer Boy will be released at other retailers on Tuesday, October 4th, not the 3rd, as I originally said.

I'm excited to announce that the newest VeggieTales Christmas episode, The Little Drummer Boy, comes out in Christian stores today and in other stores next Tuesday, October 4th and in Walmart October 24th. I will be picking it up soon, as well as the new VeggieTales Christmas album, Oh Holy Night.

Also, Big Idea released one of the bonus features from the DVD, showing how to make your own drum.



I'm not sure when I'll be able to review this new video, but you can expect a review of The Princes and the Popstar from me next Wednesday!

The Countertop Joins Twitter, Plus Other News

There have been times when I had something VeggieTales related that I wanted to say, but it just wasn't long enough to justify a blog post. For a long time now I've toyed around with the idea with opening a Twitter account for The Countertop so that I have a place to share these thoughts. Well, today I finally did it! You can now follow @CountertopTweets if you have a Twitter account, or you can simply keep up with our latest Tweets in the handy little widget up in the corner.

In other news, Ultimate Veggie (a VeggieTales fan website started back in the late 90s) was completely updated and relaunched. They've got tons of new features, and it's pretty awesome! You can check out the website at: www.ultimateveggie.com.

Recently, cookbook author Christy Jordan got to take a tour of Big Idea. You can read the full account of her visit and enter to win a copy of God Wants Me To Forgive Them? here. I must say, I'm rather jealous of her. I've always wanted to visit Big Idea and meet the people who make VeggieTales. Maybe someday...

New Silly Song: Christmas Party

And now we have the new Silly Song from the upcoming episode The Little Drummer Boy!

A Few Promos

This promo is for an organization called Mops:



Junior seems to have been in preschool for the past 18 years or so...

The next one is for two new DVDs coming out this fall called Larry Learns to Listen and Bob Lends a Helping Hand. Both of these stories are adapted from VeggieTales board books that were released several years ago. I'm not sure what I think of this idea, but it looks interesting. I'm very excited to see the Scallions and Frankencelery returning though.



And now for the one I've been waiting for, the one promoting the VeggieTales CDs at Chick-fi-la!

Trailer for The Little Drummer Boy

I was happy to get on YouTube today and see that the trailer for the new Christmas episode The Little Drummer Boy had been released.



I was slightly worried about how they would handle this story because of their "no Jesus as a vegetable" rule, but thankfully it seems that my worry was unnecessary. Tell me what you think!

Larry Returns from Tanzania and a NEW Silly Song Contest

Larry and his friends made it back safely from Tanzania last Sunday- be sure to check out pictures and videos from the trip on the VeggieTales Facebook page!

Now that Larry has returned from his trip, he's trying to come up with a new Silly Song, and he needs your help! Go to the VeggieTales Facebook page and leave a comment with your ideas for a new Silly Song! Your name will be featured in the credits of a new VeggieTales DVD called If I Sang a Silly Song, which will contain a bunch of the fan's favorite Silly Songs, including a NEW song that Larry will pick from your ideas!

Latest News

Hey Veggie fans! Sorry for the lack of updates lately. There really hasn't been any news to speak of, and reviews can take a while to write.

New Silly Song- Astonishing Wigs

The new Silly Song Astonishing Wigs from the upcoming episode The Princess and the Popstar has been released.



I personally don't find it that funny, except for the end of course. I seems to be another Pants, and I'll admit, I'm disappointed. Expect a thorough review after the release of The Princess and the Popstar.

So, what do you think?