Silly Songs with Larry

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Silly Songs with Larry is a regular feature segment in Big Idea's CGI cartoon series, VeggieTales . Often secular, they generally consist of Larry the Cucumber singing a humorous child's 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. [1]

Contents

Segment structure

Sometimes, a Silly Song is introduced with a static picture of Larry. Then, an unseen narrator, sometimes Archibald, says the following: "And now it's time for Silly Songs with Larry, the part of the show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song." However, this format is used loosely; sometimes, it is renamed, adapted to the context of the episode, or eschewed altogether.

The Silly Song, if present, always appears in the middle of an episode, usually at a cliffhanger moment or between two separate segments, and usually has nothing to do with the episode storyline. The segment occurs on the familiar countertop, which opens and closes some episodes, or is presented in another setting off the countertop. In some videos, the background scenery often appears as a stage set, behind which electrical outlets and ceramic tile can be seen.

The song is stopped and replaced on a few occasions before it can even begin. Sometimes, when this occurs, the original song's brief images are intentionally more outlandish than usual, leaving the audience to wonder what it might have been. Examples of this happening include The Ballad of Little Joe , Madame Blueberry , Lyle the Kindly Viking , Moe and the Big Exit , Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Rescue , and MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle .

Unless pre-empted or replaced by another character, the segment typically ends with the same unseen narrator saying, "This has been Silly Songs with Larry. Tune in next time to hear Larry say/sing...."

History

Phil Vischer wrote in his book, Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables, that when he created the Silly Songs section of the first show ( Where's God When I'm S-Scared? ), he never intended it to be a recurring segment, but after complaints from viewers about the lack of the segment in the second show ( God Wants Me to Forgive Them!?! ), he suggested that Mike Nawrocki write more Silly Songs for future shows. [2] Since the third show ( Are You My Neighbor ), the segment has returned. [3]

Mike Nawrocki has written and directed a majority of the silly songs for the past 20 years. Kurt Heinecke has served as producer and composer for nearly all of the ridiculous songs of the past 20 years. [4] Christian songwriter Steve Taylor wrote the 2009 silly song entitled "Sippy Cup." [5]

Many of the Silly Songs such as ''The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything'', ''His Cheeseburger'', ''The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps'', and ''Belly Button'' have been nominated for several GMA Dove Award including best music video of the year. [1]

The segment was briefly discontinued after the original series ended in 2015 and was not featured in the Dreamworks spinoff series VeggieTales in the House (2014-2016) or VeggieTales in the City (2017). On his podcast (entitled The Holy Post) in late spring of 2019, Phil Vischer announced that the silly song segment will be returning with new songs in the new series The VeggieTales Show (which premiered in October 2019). [6]

Songs

VeggieTales (1993-2015)

The VeggieTales Show (2019–present)

Unreleased Silly Songs

Albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US
Indie

[11]
US
Kid

[11]
And Now It's Time for Silly Songs with Larry
  • Released September 18, 2001
  • Labels: Action Music
132
25 Favorite Silly Songs!
  • Released: July 16, 2011
25

Videos

TitleYear
A Very Silly Sing-Along! 1997
Silly Sing-Along 2: The End of Silliness?!? 1998
The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown 2001
If I Sang A Sly Song2012
Silly Songs With Larry: The Complete Collection2015

Related Research Articles

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.

<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 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.

<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. Written and directed by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki in their feature directorial debuts, 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).

<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 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.

"The Silly Song", also known as "The Dwarfs' Yodel Song", is a song from Walt Disney's 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs sung by Otis Harlan, Billy Gilbert, Pinto Colvig, Roy Atwell, and Scotty Mattraw. This features an instrument septet. The Seven Dwarfs yodel in this song. The melody is taken from the Irish folk song "Peggy Lettermore".

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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.

The 29th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 25, 1997, recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1996. The show was held at the Nashville Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Gary Chapman and CeCe Winans.

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

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.

<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. LarryBoy also currently streams on Yippee TV, a Christian-based American children’s subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. 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 comedy Christian television series developed by Doug TenNapel and produced by Big Idea Entertainment, and animated by Bardel Entertainment. It picks up after the original series, VeggieTales and stars many of the same cast members as in the first series, with additional ones such as Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen, Kel Mitchell, China Anne McClain, Maurice LaMarche, Tony Hale, and Jon Heder.

Michael Louis Nawrocki 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. 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. He has directed several of their productions, including the award-winning Silly Songs with Larry segments from VeggieTales.

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

VeggieTales in the City is an American animated comedy Christian television series produced by Big Idea Entertainment. The series is a sequel to VeggieTales in the House and it premiered on Netflix on June 15, 2017 with the release of 13 episodes. A second season was released on December 30, 2017. The series was removed by Netflix on July 3, 2022.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yippee TV</span> American subscription video streaming service

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References

  1. 1 2 "Past Winners | The 50th Annual GMA Dove Awards" . Retrieved 2019-08-16.
  2. Vischer, Phil (2008). p. 105-106.
  3. Vischer, Phil (2008). p. 107.
  4. Vischer, Phil. (2008) [2006]. Me, myself, & Bob : a true story about God, dreams, and talking vegetables. T. Nelson. ISBN   9781595551221. OCLC   799058621.
  5. VeggieTales: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella (Audio Commentary), archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2019-08-16
  6. More Details on 'The VeggieTales Show', archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2019-08-16
  7. VeggieTales – Credits Song , retrieved 2019-05-08
  8. "Rock Monster lyrics by VeggieTales from The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything - A Veggietales Movie soundtrack". www.stlyrics.com. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  9. The VeggieTales Show (March 26, 2020). "Larry's First Silly Song - The VeggieTales Show | A LifeTime Supply of Joy". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  10. The Ultimate Unofficial VeggieTales Channel! (2024-10-19). VeggieTales- Tornado Hunters . Retrieved 2024-10-19 via YouTube.
  11. 1 2 VeggieTales – Awards. Allmusic . Rovi Corporation. Accessed on August 2, 2013.

Further reading