Veggie Tales: Rack, Shack and Benny

Introduction

Back in 1993 Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki founded Big Idea Productions. They formed this company for the purpose of promoting good values through children’s media.

They felt that if the irresponsible use of media could cause problems, then the positive use of media through morals-building stories could have the opposite effect. This is outlined in their mission statement, found at http://www.bigidea.com/company/about/mission.htm--

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What We Believe
· The irresponsible use of popular media (TV, film, music, etc.) has had a profoundly negative impact on America's moral and spiritual health
· The same media, used responsibly, can have an equally positive impact
· The best way to improve people's lives is to promote biblical values and encourage spiritual growth
Our Core Values
· Personal and corporate integrity
· Creative excellence and design innovation in all we do
· The prioritization of people over products and profits
Our Core Purpose
· To markedly enhance the moral and spiritual fabric of our society through creative media
Our 20-Year Goal
· To build Big Idea into the most trusted of the top four family media brands
Most major media companies today name shareholder value or profitability as their top priority. At Big Idea, our priorities are: people first, products second, profits third. Profiting is like breathing. As humans, we must breathe to live, but we do not live to breathe. As a company, Big Idea must profit to exist, but we will not exist merely to profit. Achieving our goal of building a top four family media brand takes a tremendous amount of capital, but we will never sacrifice the needs of kids or of our employees simply to increase our wealth.
The world is full of media companies that are out to make a buck. The world desperately needs a media company that is out to make a difference.
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I include this (as copied directly from the abovementioned site) because it is so much a part of why my family supports Big Idea Productions, and—more specifically—Veggie Tales.

The Veggie Tales

Veggie Tales are a series of Christian kids’ videos. They take Bible stories (or sometimes just Biblical principles) and turn them into entertaining and educational kids’ videos that children will want to watch over and over.

They use vegetables in place of people, and the sheer silliness makes them instant hits with almost all children.

For goodness sake, an asparagus that’s a Good Samaritan or King David?!?! A cucumber that fights rumors?!?! How much sillier can it get?

In addition, these videos give kids real-life examples of how to handle certain situations when they arise.

Okay, Okay, I’ll Tell You About Rack, Shack and Benny!

In this particular Veggie Tale the creative minds at Big Idea Productions turn the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--whose faith saved them from perishing in the fiery furnace--into the tale of Rack, Shack and Benny—three workers in a chocolate factory who must stand up to their dictatorial boss and the pressure of their co-workers.

Rack (Bob the Tomato), Shack (Junior Asparagus) and Benny (Larry the Cucumber) work in a chocolate factory, and in honor of the sale of the two millionth chocolate bunny the owner allows his employees to eat as many chocolate bunnies as they want in a 30 minute period.

Most of the employees gorge themselves to sickness, but Rack, Shack and Benny eat only one a piece, remembering that their parents told them that too many sweets were not good for them. The excuse of their parents not being there was dismissed by the fact that while their parents aren’t there, the things they have been taught are there and must be respected. Because of their refusal to gorge themselves, they are the only workers not laying around sick after the 30 minutes is over and are chosen to be Junior Executives.

Mr. Nezer, the owner of the Nezer Chocolate Factory, loves his chocolate bunnies very much. He decides that he wants all of his workers to love the bunny as much as he does, so he decides to create a 90-foot tall chocolate bunny. He tells his Junior Executives that at the unveiling that all employees will be required to bow down and sing “The Bunny Song.” The bunny song consists of lyrics glorifying the chocolate bunnies.

Excerpt:
The bunny, the bunny
Oh, I love the bunny.
I don’t love my soup
Or my bread,
Just the bunny.
The bunny, the bunny
Yeah, I love the bunny.
I’d give everything that I have for the bunny.

I don’t want no health food
When it’s time to feed.
A big bag o’ bunnies
Is all that I need.

As you can see, the lyrics of this song go against what Rack, Shack, and Benny know to be true and right, and they know that they cannot bow to the chocolate bunny nor sing the song.

As punishment for their defiance, Mr. Nezer decides that Rack, Shack, and Benny must be thrown into the fiery furnace that is used to melt down the bad bunnies.

After a chase seen in which Laura Carrot tries to save her buddies, they are dumped into the furnace. Mr. Nezer’s henchman looks into the furnace and notices that there is one more man in the furnace than they threw in and that none of them are burning up.

Mr. Nezer realizes his mistake and Rack, Shack and Benny are allowed to come out of the furnace. He repents of his actions and asks for forgiveness.

My Thoughts

I think that this story has some wonderful lessons for children.

The most obvious lesson is that overindulging of sweets isn’t healthy. Even young children will grasp this lesson.

Next, the children will learn that it is okay to stand up for what you believe is right, even if all your friends are going along. That’s a tougher lesson, and it may not be as easy for younger children to understand.

This movie also teaches that God can help you endure anything (standing with the Veggies in the furnace).

Finally, this movie models a person being shown the error of their ways and repenting for their wrong doings. This is a good thing to have modeled for children, as it is a tough lesson to learn.

Larry’s Silly Song

There is an intermission in the story called Larry’s Silly Songs, which is the part of almost all Veggie Tale movies where Larry sings a silly song.

In this particular video, the song is “The Dance of the Cucumber.” Larry sings a very silly song about a singing and dancing cucumber in Spanish while Bob the Tomato translates.

The song is very funny, including when Larry likens the smoothness of his movements to “butter on a bald monkey.”

Recommendation

This movie is an absolute ‘must-have’ for every Christian household with small children. This is an entertaining way to teach your children about how to handle peer pressure.

This is also a ‘must-have’ story for all Jewish households with small children. While not all Veggie Tales are compatible with the Jewish faith (they are produced by a Christian company), the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego is an Old Testament story accepted by Jews as well as Christians.

Even if you aren’t a Christian, as long as you aren’t offended by Biblical references you may also want to include this movie in your video collection. It is a great teaching tool for peer pressure situations.