Mike Nawrocki

Last updated
Mike Nawrocki
Born
Michael Louis Nawrocki

(1966-07-08) July 8, 1966 (age 57)
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Alma mater St. Paul Bible College
University of Illinois
Occupation(s)Executive Vice President and co-founder of Big Idea Entertainment
Visiting Professor at Lipscomb University [1]
Years active1989–present
Notable work
Spouse
Lisa Klepp
(m. 1995)
[2]
Children2
Website https://www.lipscomb.edu/directory/nawrocki-mike
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-nawrocki-450b465

Michael Louis Nawrocki (born July 8, 1966) is an American animator, filmmaker, teacher, and voice actor best known as the co-creator of the Christian video series, VeggieTales where he voiced Larry the Cucumber. [3] [4] He voiced many other main characters on the show, including Jerry Gourd, and Jean-Claude Pea, and other various characters, is the co-founder of Big Idea Entertainment alongside Phil Vischer, and currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the company. [5] He has directed several of their productions, including the award-winning Silly Songs with Larry segments from VeggieTales.

Contents

Life and career

Nawrocki originally wanted a career in the medical field, and studied at St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College) where he met Phil Vischer while serving on a puppet ministry. [6] Nawrocki later enrolled at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and joined Vischer at GRAFx, Nawrocki helped to finance his education by taking a job with Renaissance Video, a video production facility where he gained experience in video production and animation and later worked for Post Effects and Film and Tape Works.

Nawrocki graduated from UIC in 1992 with a BS in biology and a BA in history.[ citation needed ]

In 1993, Nawrocki left Film & Tape Works, a company that had purchased GRAFx Studios, and his future in medicine to join Vischer and founded Big Idea Productions. [7] After Big Idea's liquidation in 2003, Nawrocki reactivated the company in 2004. [8]

On September 30, 2008, Big Idea Entertainment appointed Nawrocki to the position of Executive Vice President.

In 2014, DreamWorks Classics, the parent company of Big Idea, signed an exclusive deal with Netflix to produce and distribute VeggieTales in the House . Nawrocki was signed on to continue voicing most of his characters. [9]

Revival of VeggieTales

In March 2019, Nawrocki's partner Phil Vischer announced on his Twitter that he had re-teamed with Nawrocki at TBN to revive the VeggieTales series. Just like previously, Vischer and Nawrocki would return to voice their characters and also work as writers for the new show. [10]

Awards

YearAwardNominated workResult
1997Animated Short Film or Video World's Children's Prize Foundation's Children's Jury AwardVery Silly SongsWon
1997Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award A Very Veggie ChristmasWon
1998Long Form Music Video of the Year GMA Dove Award A Very Silly Sing AlongWon
2000Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award Larry-Boy: The SoundtrackWon
2001Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award A Queen, A King, and A Very Blue Berry - VeggieTunes;Won
2003Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award Jonah, A Veggie Tales Movie Original SoundtrackWon
2004Long Form Music Video of the Year GMA Dove Award Belly ButtonNominated
2007Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award VeggieTales Worship SongsWon
2014Children's Album of the Year GMA Dove Award 25 Favorite Bible Songs - Veggie TalesWon

Published works

Filmography

YearTitleVoice roleCrew role, notes
1993–2015 VeggieTales series Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean-Claude Pea, QWERTY, Scallion 2, Oscar, The Peach, Additional VoicesDirect-to-video series
Director, producer, writer, composer, score, executive producer
2000–03, 2006–08 3-2-1 Penguins! VacuumTV series
Developer, writer
2002 Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie Larry the Cucumber, Dad Asparagus, Jean Claude Pea, Jerry Gourd, Self-Help Tape Voice, Cockney Pea 1, Whooping BBQ PeaFeature film
Director, writer, composer
2002–03 Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures Larry-Boy/LarryTV series
2008 The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie Elliot ( Larry the Cucumber ), Theater Foe (Jerry Gourd), Pirate Jean Claude Pea, Pirate with Dummy, Pirate Spy Sidekick, Rock Monster FatherFeature film
Director, producer
2014–2016 VeggieTales in the House Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, Officer Wedge, Additional VoicesNetflix TV series
2017 VeggieTales in the City Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, Officer Wedge, Additional VoicesNetflix TV series
2019-2022 The VeggieTales Show Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, Lil' Pea, Qwerty, Mother Nezzer, Scallion 2, Scallion 3, Additional VoicesWriter, Composer
2020-21 Esme & Roy Writer (2 episodes)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (song)</span> 2002 single by Relient K

"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" is a single released by Christian rock band Relient K. It is a cover of the song of the same name written by Michael Nawrocki and Kurt Heinecke that was originally performed by the cast of VeggieTales in the video Very Silly Songs! (1997). It was later included in several other videos and in the 2004 audio album, Veggie Rocks!. Relient K's version was used in trailers for VeggieTales movie The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie which was released on January 11, 2008. The song also briefly plays before "Rock Monster", when the cast is being credited.

The 34th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 10, 2003 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2002. The show was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by CeCe Winans and Steven Curtis Chapman.

Phillip Roger Vischer is an American filmmaker, animator, author, puppeteer, and voice actor. He is the creator of the computer-animated video series VeggieTales alongside Mike Nawrocki. He provided the voice of Bob the Tomato and about half of the other characters in the series. Currently, he owns a small film business, Jellyfish Labs, based in Wheaton, Illinois.

Silly Songs with Larry is a regular feature segment in Big Idea's cartoon series VeggieTales. Often secular, they generally consist of Larry the Cucumber singing a humorous novelty song either alone or with some of the other Veggie characters. Occasionally, another character, like Mr. Lunt, Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, Laura Carrot, Archibald Asparagus, Oscar the Polish Caterer, and the French Peas Jean-Claude and Philippe, or an ensemble is featured in Larry's place. The Silly Songs have proven to be a very popular part of the show and have also prompted the release of several "sing-along" and compilation videos of these segments, some wrapped with new material that threads them into a fresh context. Some of the silly songs have been nominated for a GMA Dove Award.

<i>The Pirates Who Dont Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie</i> 2008 American film

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2008 American computer-animated family adventure comedy film directed by Mike Nawrocki, written by Phil Vischer, produced by Big Idea and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the second of the two theatrical films to feature characters from the VeggieTales video series following Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie in 2002, and is the only VeggieTales media that deviates from its usual messages about Christianity and biblical morals.

<i>Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie</i> 2002 American film

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2002 American animated Christian musical comedy adventure film produced by Big Idea Productions and released by Artisan Entertainment through its F·H·E Pictures label. It is the first of the two theatrical feature films in the VeggieTales series, before The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008). The themes for the film are compassion and mercy, using two stories as illustrations linked by the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, who were first seen in the Silly Song of the same name in Very Silly Songs!. The first story takes place in the current day and concerns a mishap with Bob the Tomato and Dad Asparagus on the way to a concert; the second, set in ancient times, is based directly on the biblical story of Jonah. Through both stories, compassion and mercy play a role in giving people a second chance.

<i>The Star of Christmas</i> 2002 film

The Star of Christmas is a 2002 American animated film and is the eighteenth episode of the VeggieTales animated series and the second holiday special. It was released on October 26, 2002 in the United States and Canada and released internationally between November and December 2002 and re-released on October 5, 2004, in Holiday Double Feature with its earlier episode The Toy that Saved Christmas. Like the other holiday episodes, it has no usual ”A Lesson in...” subtitle and the countertops. The film's message is that the true Star of Christmas is Jesus Christ. The movie emphasizes that the tale of Jesus Christ's birth is the epitome of real love and should, therefore, serve as society's model for how to love others.

Kurt Henry Heinecke is an American composer, musician, songwriter, photographer, and voice actor. He was the music director at Big Idea Entertainment, creators of the computer-animated VeggieTales. He is the Assistant Artistic Director at Music City Strings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian media</span> Multimedia genre and format featuring Christian morals

Christian media, alternatively referred to as inspirational, faith and family, or simply Christian, is a cross-media genre that features a Christian message or moral. Several creative studios and mass media formats are considered to be aspects of Christian media, including media organizations, a characteristic film industry, musical genres, radio formats, TV formats, and subgenres.

The following is a list of albums released with songs from or based on the animated series VeggieTales.

VeggieTales is an American Christian CGI-animated series and franchise for children created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series stars Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber leading a variety of fruit and vegetable characters as they retell stories from the Bible and parody pop culture while also teaching life lessons according to a biblical world view.

Boyz in the Sink is a fictional band of VeggieTales characters who first appeared in the 2003 Silly Songs with Larry segment of The Ballad of Little Joe. The band subsequently appeared in 2007's Moe and the Big Exit and 2012's If I Sang A Silly Song and Robin Good and The Not-So-Merry Men.

Minno is an online subscription-based streaming media provider created by Erick Goss and Dan Raines. It specializes in Christian programming for children. Subscribers have access to over 2,300 episodes from 130 shows. Video is made available through applications for smartphones, tablets, and popular streaming devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Chromecast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Idea Entertainment</span> American Christian animation production company

Big Idea Productions, LLC is an American animation production company, best known for its animated VeggieTales series of Christian-themed home videos.

<i>Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures</i> Animated series

Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures is an American direct-to-video animated children’s series developed by Tom Bancroft as a spin-off of the VeggieTales franchise created by Big Idea Entertainment. The first video titled "Larryboy and the Angry Eyebrows", was released on March 16, 2002. The videos came to an end with "The Good, The Bad and the Eggly!", released on June 10, 2003, due to Big Idea's bankruptcy. Unlike its predecessor VeggieTales, which was animated in CGI using Softimage 3D and later Autodesk Maya, LarryBoy was animated in 2D animation using Adobe Flash. From September 2006 to November 2009, NBC aired the content of all four videos on its Qubo block alongside airings of VeggieTales videos. Each video contains two segments, a twenty-minute long segment and a seven-minute short segment.

<i>VeggieTales in the House</i> American animated childrens television series

VeggieTales in the House is an American animated sitcom developed by Doug TenNapel and produced by Big Idea Entertainment, and animated by Bardel Entertainment. It picks up after VeggieTales, a Christian-themed video and film series, featuring anthropomorphic vegetables.

<i>VeggieTales in the City</i> 2017 American television series

VeggieTales in the City is an American animated sitcom produced by Big Idea Entertainment. The series is a sequel to VeggieTales in the House. It premiered on Netflix on February 24, 2017 with the release of 13 episodes. A second season was released on September 15, 2017. The series was removed from Netflix on September 16, 2023.

<i>The VeggieTales Show</i> Television series

The VeggieTales Show is an American Christian computer-animated television series created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. The series served as a revival and sequel of the American Christian computer-animated franchise VeggieTales. It was produced through the partnerships of TBN, NBCUniversal, Big Idea Entertainment, and Trilogy Animation, and ran from October 22, 2019, to April 1, 2022.

References

  1. "Mike Nawrocki CINEMATIC ARTS Visiting Professor". www.lipscomb.edu.
  2. "Mike Nawrocki Official Facebook Page - About". facebook.com.
  3. "Mike Nawrocki of VeggieTales". First Person Interview with Wayne Shepherd. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  4. Filby, Julie (November 20, 2013). "Virtuous veggies 'leaf' big impression". Denver Catholic. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  5. "Bloomberg Business Profile". Bloomberg . August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  6. "'Veggie' Sprouts In Mainstream". Billboard. 30 May 1998. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  7. Easley, Michael (December 9, 2014). "Michael Easley inContext interview with Mike Nawrocki". Michael Easley inContext. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  8. Pistorius, Martin (May 1, 2004). "Running Out of Miracles". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  9. Kessel, Jaclyn (2014-11-14). "EXCLUSIVE: Mike Nawrocki of 'VeggieTales In The House' Talks Series Netflix Reboot". Decider | Where To Stream Movies & Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, HBO Go. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  10. Vischer, Phil (2019-03-28). "Correction - TBN is licensing VT from Universal... they didn't buy it. Bob and Larry still live with Shrek and Donkey and Minions. BUT... TBN is producing new eps and Mike and I are writing!https://twitter.com/ericmetaxas/status/1111281056013967360 …". @philvischer. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  11. "COMPLETE THE DEAD SEA SQUIRRELS BOOK SERIES IN ORDER". www.secondsale.com.