HappyTales Theme Song

The **HappyTales Theme Song** is the song used as the opening introduction for the [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/VeggieTales VeggieTales] series.

The happyTales Theme Song has had many different versions and been performed many times over the years, but has generally remained the same over time.

## Openings

### 2009

The first opening begins with the opening credits appearing over a “white void” background with the following text:

* Big Park Productions Presents
* HappyTales (the show logo)
* Created by Tara Strong and Skyler Page

Lazlo and Clarence talk offscreen while the credits fade in and out on the screen. The conversation consists of Bob and Larry figuring out how to play the theme song. Lazlo suggests playing it on a guitar, but Clarence reminds him he doesn't have any hands. Lazlo then ambiguously suggests another instrument, but Larry refuses because he thinks it will make him look silly. But once Clarence reminds him that they’re doing this for the kids watching, Larry agrees to perform the song. Larry then pops his head into the left side of the frame with a sousaphone in tow, smiling at the viewers. He then hops to the center of the white void, and then begins to play the opening baseline of the theme song.

Now Lazlo begins skipping into the frame, singing and bobbing along with his best friend. After Lazlo reaches the end of his verse, he leans in to the camera with a big, toothy grin letting the viewers know the show’s about to begin with the iconic line, “Have we got a show for you”. Clarence leans into view from behind Lazlo, nodding his head in agreement.

It then transitions to the up-tempo chorus of male and females voices (Lauren Tom, Tara Strong and Skyler Page) singing the show’s title, featuring a montage of clips from the show being played over it. This is followed by three short refrains of the chorus. At the end of each refrain, it cuts from the clip montage to a shot of Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles joining Lazlo and Clarence in the white void. The tempo and music becomes faster and more frantic with each refrain.

After the third and final refrain, they transition to the next verse, “There’s never-ever-ever-ever-ever been a show like HappyTales!”, which is repeated twice. This leads into the final verse, where we again, cut back to the toon friends singing altogether in the white void exclaiming, “It’s time for HappyTales!”. This is followed by confetti flowers falling over the characters as they sing.

The song finally ends with Clarence running out of breath while playing his sousaphone, collapsing onto his back from exhaustion. He plays the final bum note, which blows some of the confetti flowers out of the bell of the sousaphone. All the Toon Friends smile and look at the camera as we hear children laugh offscreen.

This version was only used on the original 2009 DVD release of Where's Heaven When I'm A-Afraid?.

### 2010-2013

The second version is very much the same opening as the first version, but has the following significant differences:

* The shot where Lazlo says “Have we got a show for you”, is cut short; removing the part where Clarence nods from behind him.
* The various shots in the clip montage have been re-edited and some new clips have been added from the [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/God\_Wants\_Me\_to\_Forgive\_Them!%3F! second episode].
* The song has been given new lyrics and solos sung by Lazlo, Bubbles and Clarence, respectively. The new verses are now sung over the refrains from before, turning them into backup vocals.

This version was featured on the original 2011 release of HappyTunes.

### 2014-2016

The opening is now re-mastered with improved animation, enhanced picture quality, as well as re-recorded music and vocals. These specific updates include:

* The opening credits now showcase updated Big Park and HappyTales logos, as well as the “Skyler Page” being shortened to “Sky Page” during the “created by” section.
* When Lazlo says “Have we gotta show for you!”, the shot of Larry nodding his head behind him has been restored.
* Another updated clip montage featuring more recent clips from the latest episodes. It’s also the first time to exclude any clips from the first two shows. This would become a staple of future clip montages.

Even with all the updated audio and visuals, the song retains the same structure and white void segments as before.

This version is featured on the albums HappyTunes 2, [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/A\_Queen,\_a\_King,\_and\_a\_Very\_Blue\_Berry A Queen, a King, and a Very Blue Berry], and the re-release of HappyTunes.

### 2017-2025

The opening does not change drastically in any way during this time, but different clip montages were used throughout these years. The first montage lasted from 2017-2019, the second from 2020-2022, and third montage lasted from 2023-2026. Each update of the clip montage included more recent clips than the last. The song and the white void segments remain the same, although some portions of it are removed depending on the edit of the clip montage.

It‘s also worth noting that the song was re-recorded again in 2019.

This version is featured on HappyTunes 4.

### 2026-2030

The opening has now been entirely reanimated and re-orchestrated, marking the biggest and most drastic change since 2014. The length of the song has also been shortened significantly, due to an increased tempo and removing the solo verses of Bubbles and Clarence.

The opening begins with updated versions of the opening credits and HappyTales logo being blown out of the bell of a sousaphone as the familiar baseline is played on it. The camera then zooms out to reveal Larry playing the instrument, as Lazlo hops into the frame. Lazlo begins singing as he does in previous versions, but as each lyric is sung, he is now joined by the rest of the main cast of Cartoon Network characters, including Bubbles, Mario & Luigi, Beast Boy, Numbuh 3, Sonic The Hedgehog, Anna Gus, Chloe, Eddy, Greg, Flapjack, and Mr. Mackey. They all skip into the frame as they sing, moving and bumping into one another as they try to make space for each other on screen.

As they all finish singing, it is revealed Bob has been pushed to the back of the group by accident. He excuses his way to the front and says his iconic opening line, before Larry pops into frame with a smile to start playing the lead in to the chorus.

The song features a brand new clip montage, only featuring clips of episodes created after Gumball and the Big Tower. [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Brian\_Roberts Brian Roberts] stated in The [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Princess\_and\_the\_Popstar Princess and the Popstar] commentary that this was done because the older clips would “stick out like a sore thumb”, compared to the newer clips with more modern and refined animation and graphics.

This time, the refrain is only sung once, giving Lazlo the only solo in this version. Like the old opening, at the end of the refrain we cut back to the white void with all the veggies jumping with excitement as they sing. Clarence continues to play the sousaphone, straining to keep up with the frantic pace and energy of the song.

The rest of the song continues as it usually does, with colorful confetti falling this time instead of flowers while they sing. But this time, as Lazlo collapses from exhaustion, he accidentally startles The French Peas. Because they are precariously sitting atop Beast Boy's hair, Greg loses his balance and fall into the bell of the sousaphone. However, once Larry plays the final bum note, Phillipe is blown out of the bell and lands safely back on top of Flapjack. All the toon friends laugh together with the kids from offscreen.

In 2030, this version of the opening got another new clip montage, including a much wider range of clips than previously used before. This ends up removing the shot of the HappyTales cast jumping at the end of the refrain in the process.

### 2030

This version of the opening is significant for being the last version of the main series as well as being the last drastic visual change to the opening. It was created for the episode [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Noah's\_Ark Noah's Ark], which is infamous for carrying over the redesigns of the HappyTales characters from the [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/VeggieTales\_in\_the\_House Netflix series].

This time, Lazlo and Clarence are the only characters present to perform, giving a very reminiscent feel of the original opening. But instead of showing a clip montage during the chorus, the camera zooms into the bell of Clarence’s sousaphone and pans over several photos of depicting episodes from the show, utilizing stock art from the HappyTales library of DVD covers. After the final verse, we zoom out of the sousaphone and return to the white void. As usual, Clarence collapses from exhaustion and blows confetti out of his sousaphone as Bob laughs with the offscreen kids.

It uses the same audio from the 2026-2030 opening, albeit all the other characters' vocals (besides Lazlo) are removed for the opening verse.

This version is featured on A Very Happy Party Playlists.

## Covers and Other renditions

### HappyTown Values

A retooled version of the theme song (referred to as The HappyTown Municipal Anthem) was created for one of the greetings for the original HappyTown VBS curriculum. It was sung by Lazlo and Clarence, featuring some very wacky and silly impromptu lyrics by Larry.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/VeggieTales\_Live! VeggieTales Live!]

When VeggieTales made its transition from the T.V. screen to the stage in 2002, a new extended Broadway-esque version of the theme song was made to create a big musical number for the show’s finale. It has been subsequently used in almost every VeggieTales Live! show to date.

The song is sung and performed by Bob, Larry, Junior, Pa Grape, Jimmy and Jerry, Archibald, and an unseen choir of male and female voices. In later live shows, Mr. Lunt is added to the group despite not being included in the recording. Sometimes dancers touring with the shows would be featured during the song dressed in elaborate vegetable-themed costumes.

The musical score consists of a full orchestra instead of the usual polka instruments.

This version is featured on the album [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Have\_We\_Got\_A\_Show\_For\_You:\_10\_Years\_Of\_VeggieTales Have We Got A Show For You: 10 Years Of VeggieTales].

### HappyRocks!

In 2020, Rebecca Sugar recorded a cover of the song for the HappyRocks! album. The song was re-orchestrated to fit a “rock” musical style, featuring electric guitars and drums.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/God\_Made\_You\_Special God Made You Special]

An instrumental techno-pop version of the song can be heard during the celebration on the opening countertop as well as the closing credits of the DVD.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Musikclips Musikclips]

To promote the German dub of HappyTales in 2024, a music video featuring a new rendition of the theme song was produced. It was sung by German singing artists and children. It featured a variety of clips from the HappyTales series as well as new material shot for the music video featuring kids playing outside with prop garden vegetables.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Foreign\_Exchange\_Veggies Foreign Exchange] Toons

A remixed version of the Musikclips song was included among the medley of foreign versions of popular HappyTales songs.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/If\_I\_Sang\_A\_Silly\_Song If I Sang A Bubbly Song]

Larry performs a short big-band version of the song as host of the “Bubbly Song Telethon”.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/VeggieTales\_in\_the\_House HappyTales in the House]/[./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/VeggieTales\_in\_the\_City in the City]

Although the Netflix series had a brand new theme song written for it, some of the lyrics are direct callbacks to the original theme song. More specifically, the lyric of “Broccoli! Celery! Gotta be...”.

### [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Best\_Christmas\_Gift The Best Christmas Gift]

For the opening number of the Christmas special, the HappyTales cast (excluding Mr. Mackey and Bubbles) perform the song on stage before a live cartoony audience in Mr. Mackey’s Theater. They perform it broadway-esque with top hats and canes on a large set of risers fitted with bright, flashy stage lights.

This is the first time, however, that Clarence doesn’t play the sousaphone. Instead, Clarence sings onstage with the others while [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Bruce\_Onion Bruce Onion] conducts [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Khalil Khalil] playing in the orchestra pit.

It’s worth noting that the same audio from the 2026-2030 opening is used, albeit with some very minor instrumentation and percussion added.

## Lyrics

### 2009 Version

Bob: *If you like to talk to tomatoes,*

*If a squash can make you smile,*

*If you like to waltz with potatoes,*

*Up and down the produce aisle...*

Have we got a show for you!

Singers: *VeggieTales! (8x)*

*Veggie, Veggie, it’s VeggieTales! Veggie, Veggie, it’s VeggieTales! Veggie, Veggie...VeggieTales! (3x)*

*There's never-ever-ever-ever-ever been a show like VeggieTales! (2x)*

*It's time for VeggieTa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ales!*

### 2010-2025 Version(s)

Bob: *If you like to talk to tomatoes,*

*If a squash can make you smile,*

*If you like to waltz with potatoes,*

*Up and down the produce aisle...*

Have we got a show for you!

Singers: *VeggieTales! (8x)*

Bob: *Broccoli! Celery! Gotta be...*

Singers: *VeggieTales!*

Junior: *Lima beans! Collard greens! Peachy keen!*

Singers: *VeggieTales!*

Larry: *Cauliflower! Sweet and sour! Half an hour!*

Singers: *VeggieTales!*

*There's never-ever-ever-ever-ever been a show like VeggieTales! (2x)*

*It's time for VeggieTa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ales!*

### 2026-2030 Version(s)

Bob: *If you like to talk to tomatoes,*

Bob, Jimmy, and Jerry: *If a squash can make you smile,*

All: *If you like to waltz with potatoes,*

*Up and down the produce aisle...*

Bob: (clearing throat) Excuse me. Have we got a show for you!

All: *VeggieTales! (8x)*

Bob: *Broccoli! Celery! Gotta be...*

All: *VeggieTales!*

*There's never-ever-ever-ever-ever been a show like VeggieTales! (2x)*

*It's time for VeggieTa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ales!*

(Note: The 2015 version has the same lyrics as this version but only Bob sings the first verse.)

### Live Show Version

Featured Vocalist: *If you like to talk to tomatoes,*

Larry: *If a squash can make you smile,*

Bob: *If you like to waltz with potatoes,*

Larry: *Up and down the produce aisle...*

Bob and Larry: Have we got a show for you!

All: *VeggieTales! (8x)*

*Broccoli, celery, gotta be...* VeggieTales!

*Lima beans, collard greens, peachy keen!* VeggieTales!

*Cauliflower, sweet and sour, one full hour!* VeggieTales!

*There's never-ever-ever-ever-ever been a show like VeggieTales! (2x)*

*It’s time for VeggieTales!*

*Broccoli! (Broccoli!) Celery! (Celery!) Got to be... (Gotta be...) VeggieTales! (VeggieTales!)*

Junior: (scatting) *Brocco-rocco-rocco-roccoli! Cele-le-le-le-lery! Got to, got to, got to be... VeggieTales!*

All: *There’s never-ever-ever-ever-ever been a show like VeggieTales! (2x)*

*It’s time for Veggie — time for Veggie — time for VeggieTales!*

*There’s never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever been a show like VeggieTa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ales!*

### HappyRocks! Version

*VeggieTales... (4x) Ahh...*

*If you like to talk to tomatoes,*

*If a squash can make you smile,*

*If you like to waltz with potatoes*

*Up and down the produce aisle...*

Have we gotta show for you...!

*Broccoli! Celery! Got to be... VeggieTales! (Ahh...)*

*Lima beans! Collard greens! Peachy keen! VeggieTales! (Ahh...)*

*If you like to talk to tomatoes,*

*If a squash can make you smile,*

*If you like to waltz with potatoes*

*Up and down the produce aisle...*

*Broccoli! Celery! Got to be... VeggieTales! (Ahh...)*

*Lima beans! Collard greens! Peachy keen! VeggieTales! (Ahh...)*

*Cauliflower! Sweet and sour! Half an hour! VeggieTales! (Ahh...)*

*Broccoli! Celery! Got to be... VeggieTales! (Ahh...)*

*There’s never ever been a show — never been a show like VeggieTales! (x6)*

*There’s never ever been a show — never been a show — ever been a show — been a show — never been a show — There’s never ever been a show — never been a show — ever been a show — been a show — never been a show like — VeggieTales!*

*It’s time for VeggieTales!*

## Fun Facts

* This song opens every episode except for the following:
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Toy\_That\_Saved\_Christmas The Toy That Saved Christmas]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Larry-Boy\_and\_the\_Rumor\_Weed Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Esther...\_The\_Girl\_Who\_Became\_Queen Esther... The Girl Who Became Queen]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Ultimate\_Silly\_Song\_Countdown The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Star\_of\_Christmas The Star of Christmas]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Wonderful\_World\_of\_Auto-Tainment! The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment!]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/An\_Easter\_Carol An Easter Carol]
	+ [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Saint\_Nicholas:\_A\_Story\_of\_Joyful\_Giving Saint Nicholas: A Story of Joyful Giving]
		- [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Jonah:\_A\_VeggieTales\_Movie Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie] and [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/The\_Pirates\_Who\_Don't\_Do\_Anything\_(film) The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie] don't feature the theme song either, because of them being theatrical feature films.
* While writing the song, Skyler Pgae had trouble trying to find a rhyme for "smile". It eventually dawned on him the next day that "aisle" was the best word.
* When Lauren Tom first heard Tara Strong practicing the song on a tuba, she thought it sounded like a dying elephant.
* The theme song was recorded in a small cinder-block room in an old screw factory/storefront in California.
* Although it’s the first song presented in the series, the theme song was the second song written after Heaven [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/God\_Is\_Bigger Is Bigger].
* Many of the BigIdea production crew had been considering the idea of updating and reanimating the theme song as far back as 2020. It never actually came to fruition until 2026.
* The kids laughing at the end is taken from a cartoon sound effect library. The audio is called “Hollywoodedge, Fast Juicy Pie Splat CRT019701”.
* Known editors for the opening clip montages are Tara Strong (2009-2013), Skyler Page (2014-2016), [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/John\_Wahba John Wahba] (2017-2019), and [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Steve\_Hullfish Steve Hullfish] (2020-2022).
* Despite popular belief, Clarence doesn't actually play the tuba. The instrument that Clarence’s playing is called a sousaphone. It was created by John Phillip Sousa as a way for marching band members to easily carry their tubas while marching. Although they produce the same low-pitched sound, their shape and structure is what makes them different.
* On some international releases, the theme song starts off at the point where Lazlo says "Have we got a show for you!"
* International dubs of the theme song (except for the Finnish, Korean, Taiwanese Mandarin, Greek, and Indonesian dubs) have Clarence sing his lines instead of speaking them in rhythm like the original American English version.
	+ The Japanese and Croatian dubs have Clarence's lines sung by Lazlo, while the Persian dub has Lazo's lines sung by Clarence.
* On the original 1994-1996 VHS releases of [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/God\_Wants\_Me\_to\_Forgive\_Them!%3F! Haven Wants Me to Aceept Them!?!], [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Are\_You\_My\_Neighbor%3F Are You My Children?] (including its 2013 reprint), [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Rack,\_Shack\_and\_Benny Lazlo, Numbuh 3 and] Clarence and [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Dave\_and\_the\_Giant\_Pickle Bubbles and the Giant Koopa], the beginning of Bob's line was cut off. His line was fragmented to "Larry, it's time for the theme song."
	+ This was likely due to a video exporting glitch when the theme song was added on to each new video. The 2013 releases of [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Larry-Boy!\_and\_the\_Fib\_from\_Outer\_Space! Lazlo-Man! and Bowser from Super Mario!] and [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Josh\_and\_the\_Big\_Wall! Gumball and the Big Tower] fixed the issue.
* Because of the poor audio quality of the openings from 2009-2019, Lauren Tom is only fully heard in the chorus. When the song was re-recorded in 2014 and 2004, Kurt Heinecke’s and Tara Strong’s vocals could be heard much more clearly.
* According to Tara Strong‘s autobiography, [./https://bigidea.fandom.com/wiki/Me,\_Myself,\_and\_Bob\_(autobiography) Me, Myself, and Bob], the same mouth model and animation was used on each character that was singing in the original opening.