Revelations: A VeggieTales Short Film

Uploaded by DJ Sprouts on behalf of ChenArchive.
Revelations is a short film written and directed by Phil Vischer of Big Idea Entertainment. The animation was finished in April of 1997 and it was intended to be an exclusive showing for Seattle's first Masters of Animation festival. It is now considered lost media as no recordings, audio demos, or even storyboard pieces have been revealed, part of the reason being that no flash photography or video was to be taken during each film's display, according to the rules of the festival. All that has been found from the short is a screenshot of the production reel and the movie's full script, including the entirety of the plot and dialogue. The runtime of the film is approximately 10 minutes in length, and it has been confirmed that part of the visual effects were later reused for The End of Silliness from 1998.
It is rumored that Henry Shoulders, a reporter for The Seattle Times newspaper, questioned Phil Vischer on his decision to release the film after the festival ended, to which he replied that it was "too real for the youth" and it was created for experimental purposes.
The following is a full synopsis of the movie's script, unedited.
The featurette would begin with its production reel, showing the studio name, the time amount, and the title of the short being "SSF97 - 'Revelations'." The screen would then cut to a fade-in sequence of the kitchen counter, with Bob and Larry looking at the screen. The two would do their usual greeting, introducing themselves before discussing what will happen in the show. However, this time, Bob stuttered for a moment, realizing that he didn't get a letter from anyone yet. Bob turns to Larry, asking him if he knows what they'll be doing today with a confused tone, to which he responds with no. Bob even goes off-screen, stating that he will just check the letter box and pull something last minute. After a few seconds of looking, a confused Bob comes back to Larry and says that there is nothing there. That is when one of the French peas come in, with a hat and broom. Bob asks the French pea why no one is in the kitchen to do the show, to which the pea responds by saying the show was delayed next week and he is just there to clean up. Bob asks why they couldn't have the show today, and the pea says that everyone is sick with turkey pox. The pea then advises Bob and Larry to go home and do what they usually do on a lazy day. Bob and Larry then look at each other for a moment, before looking back at the screen with an eyebrow raised. A moment of silence occurs for what feels like ten seconds before Bob breaks the silence by saying he'll go get something to eat from Burger Bell, and asking Larry if he wants anything. Larry then says he's okay and he'll head back home.
The scene then fades to Larry walking into a small living room, and a short montage with lazy piano music plays for at least forty seconds. This montage consists of Larry reading a book, watching a movie with a plush manatee, and drinking glasses of milk. The montage ends and the scene cuts to him trying to stay awake, but eventually falling asleep on his couch, dropping the manatee plush in the process. The scene then slowly zooms in on Larry's face, the background swirling up in the process with sound effects of violent violin riffs playing along with it. Then, the dream begins.
Larry opens his eyes, only to be greeted to nothing but gray smoke. He was floating in air and there seemed to be no ground below him. Larry panics and scans the area, calling out for Bob or Archibald to no avail. After a moment of panic, The smoke darkens and a hole is ripped from the sky, causing a burst of colorful light to shine through. Two colossal-sized hands would slowly come into view before Larry's very eyes, and a low, reassuring voice could be heard. It is revealed that the hands belong to God Himself, to which Larry slowly calms down, his pupils dilating to a full size. Larry speaks out in an unusually quiet tone.
"G-god... is that you?"
God speaks out to Larry, telling him how happy he has made Him from the countless hard work he put into teaching His children. Larry, for the first time in the entire series, cries tears of awe at the sight, before thanking God and asking Him why he came to him. God tells Larry about Jesus Christ's second coming, that the end times are nearing, and how every day, people stray further from His light. Once Larry hears God's mention about the end times, he asks what he's talking about. God then tells Larry to do the best he can to save his children because there is still one thing that many of them do not know, including him.
God then snaps his fingers and pulls his hands back in the hole of the smoke clouds. Various imagery is then shown to Larry, consisting of the following:
- Hundreds of people (not vegetables, people) floating into the sky, getting higher each second. This is meant to symbolize the Rapture.
- People with the Sigil of Baphomet (pentagrams), or the "mark of the beast" carved in their foreheads.
- The birth of the antichrist and the desecration of one of the Jewish temples, along with nations falling and turning against Israel, resulting in a full-on war.
- Earthquakes, famines, and epidemics in various parts of earth, killing millions.
- A visualization of Hell. Lakes of fire flow through, with people burning alive. The screams of these people echo throughout and some have their skeletons showing, skin melting and all. It is rumored that some of these screams were voiced by individuals found on the street.
Larry, horrified by the events being shown to him, shrieks and gasps vigorously, with the camera slowly zooming in on his face. The corners of his eyes turn red from the disturbing sight, and he begins to beg God to let him go. Larry shakes his head as fast as he possibly can, hyperventilating by the minute, before letting out one final scream.
The scene quickly fades into Larry's living room, with him screaming in his sleep, and Bob shaking him around, trying to wake him up. Larry jolts awake, his eyes bloodshot and looking all around the room. Bob says that he came back from Burger Bell to find him having a bad dream, and asks if he is alright. Larry is seen gasping for air, before telling Bob that he's going back to the kitchen counter to "warn them." Bob, puzzled, tells Larry to calm down and just tell him what's wrong, but Larry doesn't listen to him and runs out of the house, Bob following him in pursuit. The scene cuts back to the kitchen counter, with Larry quickly running in, looking around for the audience frantically. Bob comes in, telling Larry that it hasn't even been an hour since he left to get food and that he needs to go back home and rest some more. Larry once again doesn't listen to him, and looks back at the camera, staring directly at it. He then quickly runs (or in this case, bounces) up to the camera and speaks to the audience in an alarmed voice.
"KIDS! ASK YOUR PARENTS TO PRAY WITH YOU! PRAY FOR FORGIVENESS, BEG FOR IT, ANYTHING! ARMAGEDDON WILL COME! ARMAGEDDON WILL-"
An enclosing circle sequence comes by, slowly surrounding Larry's face, not even allowing him to finish what he was saying. Once the screen is fully black, the credits appear on the screen, detailing everyone who helped with the film, before it cuts to black, promptly ending the short.
To this day, Revelations is entirely lost and has never been shown to the public again as of late 2023, with the co-creator of VeggieTales, Mike Nawrocki, confirming in an interview that it's only for internal use within Big Idea Entertainment, and that there is no plan for a reshowing anytime soon.
Category:VeggieTales
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