Lettuce Worship
Frederica Mathewes-Green on Bible Lessons for the Disney Generation
Just at the moment my first grandchild was placed in my arms, my cell phone rang—and it was Big Idea, Inc., the Veggie Tales company, asking my help in discerning whether to expand into different media. That’s always struck me as a curious synchronicity: My family tree was putting forth its newest branch, and there was the world of children’s entertainment, ready to follow them every day of their lives.
But I handed off the child and took the phone call, and after some more conversation said yes to the invitation. They eventually said no to the project, but in the meantime I had the opportunity to observe a lot of talented people working at a high pitch of creativity.
Over the course of a year, I made regular visits to Big Idea’s headquarters, located in a shopping mall in a suburb west of Chicago. The space had previously been a department store, and the expansive interior, complete with escalators, had been repainted whimsically (lots of purple); the cubicles of the mostly young Evangelicals on staff were playfully festooned.
Big Idea’s first feature-length movie was then in production, and I was able to get a first-hand look at the storyboards for Larry the Cucumber’s portrayal of the prophet Jonah. Another part of the team was developing a series for older kids, graduates of the Veggies, titled 3-2-1 Penguins! I recall seeing video clips of several proposed designs for the penguins’ rocketship, and marveling at how real, how malleable, this new-fangled computer animation was. It was delightful to be on the fringes of an undertaking so full of talent, energy, and enthusiasm.
Original & Charming
I soon discovered that my new Big Idea connection was easily the most impressive item on my resume. Folks who were not interested in my commentaries on NPR or speeches at Yale would say, “ Veggie Tales? Really?” followed by, “Do you do one of the voices?” (I didn’t, though there was talk early on about my suitability for a certain eggplant.)
There was plenty about Big Idea to make me proud of the association. A lot of Christian entertainment is crummy. It’s saccharine, forced, imitative, and executed on the cheap. Big Idea was doing something original and charming.
The cartoons also represented a flag planted at the center of the battlefield for children’s attention. Today’s kids are swamped by electronic videos and cartoons; isn’t it a good thing if some excellent Christian entertainment gets in there, too? People who would otherwise never encounter a Bible verse were absorbing bits of the gospel through the videos.
That’s all something to cheer, isn’t it? Maybe. I felt a couple of twinges.
For one thing, I regretted that it wasn’t the stories themselves that engaged children (and adults), but the humor and excitement—the entertainment. The Bible is full of great stories, but kids today are swimming in enticing stories. Veggie Tales succeed because they are funny and well done, not because kids find a story from the Bible more fascinating than tales about Cinderella or Spiderman.
Frederica Mathewes-Green is a columnist for Beliefnet.com and a contributor to the Christian Millennial History Project multi-volume series. Her books include At the Corner of East and Now (Putnam), The Illumined Heart (Paraclete Press), and The Open Door: Entering the Sanctuary of Icons and Prayer (Paraclete Press). She lives in Linthicum, Maryland, with her husband Fr. Gregory, pastor of Holy Cross Orthodox Church. They have three children and three grandchildren.
A Journal of Mere Christianity—Delivered to Your Door
- Essays on theology, culture, and the Church
- Contributors from across the Christian traditions
Six print issues (one year) of Touchstone, plus full online access and PDF downloads for only $39.95.
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95.
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on bible from the online archives
5.3—Summer 1992
Everything You Need to Know About Morality & the Bible by David Mills
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
31.4—July/August 2018
on the Brevity & Theology of Her Recorded Words by Judith Anderson
more from the online archives
35.2—Mar/Apr 2022
on Fatigued Christians Deciding to Engage the Culture by Keith Lowery
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
