Mike Nawrocki | |
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Born | Michael Louis Nawrocki July 8, 1966 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 active | 1989–present |
Notable work | |
Spouse | Lisa Klepp (m. 1995) |
Children | 2 |
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.
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]
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]
Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
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1997 | Animated Short Film or Video World's Children's Prize Foundation's Children's Jury Award | Very Silly Songs | Won |
1997 | Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award | A Very Veggie Christmas | Won |
1998 | Long Form Music Video of the Year GMA Dove Award | A Very Silly Sing Along | Won |
2000 | Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award | Larry-Boy: The Soundtrack | Won |
2001 | Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award | A Queen, A King, and A Very Blue Berry - VeggieTunes; | Won |
2003 | Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award | Jonah, A Veggie Tales Movie Original Soundtrack | Won |
2004 | Long Form Music Video of the Year GMA Dove Award | Belly Button | Nominated |
2007 | Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award | VeggieTales Worship Songs | Won |
2014 | Children's Album of the Year GMA Dove Award | 25 Favorite Bible Songs - Veggie Tales | Won |
Year | Title | Voice role | Crew role, notes |
---|---|---|---|
1993–2015 | VeggieTales series | Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean-Claude Pea, QWERTY, Scallion 2, Oscar, The Peach, Additional Voices | Direct-to-video series Director, producer, writer, composer, score, executive producer |
2000–03, 2006–08 | 3-2-1 Penguins! | Vacuum | TV 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 Pea | Feature film Director, writer, composer |
2002–03 | Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures | Larry-Boy/Larry | TV 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 Father | Feature film Director, producer |
2014–2016 | VeggieTales in the House | Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, Officer Wedge, Additional Voices | Netflix TV series |
2017 | VeggieTales in the City | Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, Officer Wedge, Additional Voices | Netflix 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 Voices | Writer, Composer |
2020-21 | Esme & Roy | Writer (2 episodes) | |
TBA | The Phil & Mike Show [12] | Mike |
"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 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.
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2008 American 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 does not explicitly mention God or Biblical morals. However, several scenes parallel Scripture, such as characters not knowing when the King will return.
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.
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 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 animated VeggieTales. He is the Assistant Artistic Director at Music City Strings.
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.
Big Idea Productions, LLC was an American animation production company and is currently an in-name only unit, best known for its animated VeggieTales series of Christian-themed home videos.
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.
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.
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.
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.