Product Description

Larry. Bob. Archibald. These Veggie Tales stars are the most famous vegetables you'll ever eat. Oops, meet. Their antics are known around the world. But so much of the Veggie Tale story hasn't been told. In Me, Myself, and Bob, Phil Vischer, founder of Big Idea and creator of Veggie Tales, gives a behind-the-scenes look at his not-so-funny journey with the loveable veggies. From famed creator to bankrupt dreamer, Vischer shares his story of trial and ultimate triumph as God inspired him with one big idea after another.

Product Details

From Publishers Weekly
Have you ever been tempted to start your own business? First read this cautionary tale, especially if you think your ideas come from God. Vischer, a pioneer in computerized animation and creator of Veggie Tales, proves that a pathetically skinny, shy techno-geek can be hilarious even when describing his headlong plunge into bankruptcy. In 1989, "with an unflappable 'How hard could it be' attitude," the 22-year-old entrepreneur launched his dream of creating high-quality Christian entertainment by founding the company that would become Big Idea Productions. Thirteen stressful years later, he was featured in a People magazine cover story—"small town kid kicked out of Bible college and down to his last ten bucks creates talking vegetables and hits it big, selling 40 million videos!"—shortly before firing half his staff in an unsuccessful attempt to avert disaster. While Vischer accepts the blame for the collapse ("my strengths built Big Idea, and my weaknesses brought it down"), he also details various unnamed executives' incompetence. One question haunted him: if he was doing God's work, why didn't God rescue his company? Concluding his story of spiritual inspiration and heartbreak, Vischer draws lessons from his experience for anyone who has ever lost a dream. (Jan. 9)
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Customer Reviews

An Inspirational Story of "Failure" In The Eyes of the World, That Lead to "Success" in the Eyes of God
This book had to have been an exercise in humility to write. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Phil Vischer after reading his story. My wife and I learned about the Veggie Tales in the late 90's after receiving a recommendation from some of our friends. We've been fans ever since and have 3 kids who have all grown up with Bob, Larry, and the Veggie crew. It's hard to believe so much was going on (good and bac) behind the scenes at Big Idea as we all laughed and sang along with the Veggies at home.

A great story about one man's Christian journey through the world of business and his growing relationship with God! As an entrepreneur in the early stages of several companies, the lessons taught are invaluable. As a Christian who is always dreaming, setting goals, and striving for worldly "success" this book has made me step back and re-evaluate my life and relationship with Him.

On business, Phil talks about the early stages in computer animation world in which he was a revolutionary. He teaches about money and cash flow in relation to running a company. He discusses leadership and his struggle to run a profitable "Christian" company in a secular world with non-believers all around. What's amazing to me that through it all, this is not a book that points blame anywhere but the on it's author. In fact, the names of anyone in which others might have placed blame are not ever mentioned!

On Christianity, it's inspirational to read a true story showing the Christian walk and struggle illustrated by Henry Blackaby in his devotional study Experiencing God. Blackaby writes, "If you start something and it does not seem to go well, consider carefully that God, on purpose, may not be authenticating what you told the people because it did not come from Him, but from your own head. You may have wanted to do something outstanding for God and forgot that God does not want that. He wants you to be available to Him, and more important, to be obedient to Him."

What a powerful book! A must read for Veggie Tales fans, Christians, and business people alike. Lessons to be learned by all.

Blew me away... Best Business Book I've Ever Read
I just got finished reading this and was totally blown away. I really appreciated his honesty and openness about what happened to Big Idea and this reaffirmed my feelings about the other so-called business books out there: it's easy to look like a genius when you study successful companies and draw contrasts, but the same methods don't work for every company.

Phil is a great storyteller, and I'm pleased to have been let into his world for a few hours.

Fun, entertaining, illuminating
Raised as I was on Sesame Street, it took me several episodes before I realized, "Hey, there are no females here. Isn't this show about good role models?" (VeggieTales came out the same year CTW launched Zoe, Sesame Street's first popular female muppet, to great fanfare.)

But the Veggies were fun so I continued to watch, as Bob, Larry, Pa Grape, Junior Asparagus, Mr. Nezzer, Mr. Lunt, Jim and Jerry all got personalities and subtexts. Poor Little Laura remained a whiner. Junior's mom hardly gets to speak. And Esther? A one-note.

So I was interested: Did some executives force Vischer onto this lopsided stage, or did it just happen? And the answer is: he really is that way.

He says that when he and his now wife (wife of 16 years, no doubt happy) found they were expecting, she "had" to drop out of college in her freshman year. We are just supposed to accept that. As it takes longer than one school year to go through a pregnancy, he didn't mention any complications, and this was the '80s, not the fifties, I found that puzzling. He just as cavalierly dismisses her singing aspirations--again, this is the '80s.

Again and again, his theme is that "kids" and "families" need good examples. This is good. He condemns Madonna. Understandable. And it doesn't occur to him that some kids might be females who need good examples, and that families might include women. Interestingly, Vischer even quotes the Bible to explain creating Bob: (paraphrasing) The Cucumber came first, but he was alone, and that was not good. So I created a sidekick.

Wait a minute, didn't the original tale mean creating a ...?

There are many intentionally laugh out loud moments in this book, and some that I think occurred by accident. After working himself into a heart condition, he states that while his wife and in-laws played with the children, he went into his wife's childhood bedroom and started to sketch the Veggie Tales Theme Park. Shades of Harry Chapin, here.

I absolutely expected more about __valuing__ his wife and children. It would have been possible to do that without compromising privacy. But they barely get a mention.

But, to be fair, all that is puzzlement at the man. To review the book, I have to say it was well-written, humorous, and told a great deal about the writer and his philosophies. He is absolutely driven to create, and does so, despite odds. He gives as clear, and as beautifully written, an account of how CG changed the entertainment scene as I could ever hope to see.(Vischer covers so much material it would have been helpful to have had an index.)

He is true to his vision as long as he is able, and doesn't let failure tear his faith apart.