Phil Vischer is back with “What’s in the Bible” DVDs

What’s in the Bible? is a new DVD series from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer designed to walk kids and families through the entire Bible. The 13 DVD-series will release beginning March 1, 2010.  Most will remember that in 1990, 24-year-old computer-animator Phil Vischer who was attending Park Community Church, sat down with Mike Nawrocki to create a group of characters that could teach Christian values to kids in a delightfully different way. A tomato named Bob and a cucumber named Larry were born. VeggieTales would go on to revolutionize Christian filmmaking, selling more than 50 million videosand placing Phil’s faith-filled stories in one in every three American households with young children.

The creators of Veggie Tales, Phil Vischer, Kurt Heinecke and Mike Nawrocki all attended Park COmmunity Church in the early 1990’s and many of the early character voices are played by Park people, including Kristin Blegen, Dan Anderson, Mike Sage, and Jim Poole, who is a co-founder of Steep Theater in Chicago. Park has had a long history of excellence in the arts and we are glad to see our alumni creating such excellent work!

Phil continues to pursue innovative new ways to integrate faith and storytelling through his new company, Jellyfish Labs. His projects include Jelly Telly, which provides faith-based daily programming via the internet at JellyTelly.com.  This new 13 DVD series i big nes.  Phil says on his blog:

We’re also launching the most ambitious educational project I’ve ever been involved in.  I’ve always wanted to try to teach Christianity in the same way Walt Disney taught America about space travel and “Our Friend the Atom” on TV in the 50s and 60s, or the same way Carl Sagan taught America about “The Cosmos” on PBS in the 80s.  But going bankrupt with VeggieTales and other things kept putting that goal off.  But no more!  (He says, rising from his desk and thrusting a finger up into the air.)

We have begun production on a 13-DVD series starring all the characters from JellyTelly that will walk kids all the way through the Bible – from Genesis to Revelation – and explain our faith and what it means to live it.  The project is called “What’s in the Bible?” and we will bring it to market with Tyndale House Publishers, the folks that brought us the Living Bible, as well as all those early Focus on the Family videos like McGee & Me and Last Chance Detectives.

I am monstrously excited about this project, because we’re attempting to do something no one has really done before.  We taught a lot of Bible stories over the years with VeggieTales, but we never really taught the Bible.  I mean, the whole thing.  Where did it come from?  What does it mean?  How does it affect our lives?  And that’s what we’re going to do with “What’s in the Bible?” – hosted by Buck Denver and friends, as well as, ahem, yours truly.  (Yes, I’m going to be in it, too.  It seemed like at certain points we need a real person talking about God.)  I’ve just finished writing the first two DVDs, which are now in production and will, God willing, be out in Christian bookstores March 1st.  So mark your calendars!