Bob

**Bob the Tomato** is the host and the main protagonist of *VeggieTales*.

Since 1993, Bob is the bright red, round face of the *VeggieTales* franchise, alongside his best friend and show co-host, Larry. Although he is prone to frustration from his friends sometimes, Bob never gives up on his goal to teach kids about God.

## Bio

Bob first appeared in a 1992 screen test for *VeggieTales* called Take 38, where he attempted to do an inspirational Martin Luther King Jr. type speech to promote the idea of the new series to the viewer. Despite some silly interruptions from Larry the Cucumber, Bob was able to successfully get through his speech.

In 1993, Bob officially became the host of *VeggieTales* alongside his best friend, Larry. Since then, Bob has gone on to star in nearly every episode of the series.

Bob often takes on the role of storyteller and narrator, but has played a variety of roles and characters over the years. Some of his most memorable roles include Rack in *Rack, Shack and Benny*, The Skipper in *Larry's Lagoon*, Dr. Watson in *Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler*, ThingamaBob in *The League of Incredible Vegetables*, Tomato Sawyer in *Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Rescue*, and Cavis Appythart in both *The Star of Christmas* and *An Easter Carol*.

## Personality

Bob is very much an educator at heart, having been inspired by the famed children’s show host, Mister Rogers. He is relatively calm and nice to everyone he meets, always trying to do what’s right and be a good role model. Bob's ultimate goal in life is to help kids by teaching them valuable lessons and reminding them how much God loves and cares about them.

Bob works very hard trying to be a good leader and keep things running smoothly. But when push comes to shove, he can be very high-strung and extremely particular about how he wants things to go. Bob often clashes with his friends and peers, who don’t always share his specific vision or mindset. His low tolerance for silliness can often be an issue being paired up as the "straight man" to the goofy and absent-minded Larry.

Bob has been know to get upset when things go awry, becoming irritable and a bit of a control-freak to those around him. But once Bob calms down and makes things right with his friends, he’s able to be resilient with any issues he's facing and ultimately meet his rather ambitious goals.

## Physical Appearance

Bob is a bright red tomato. He has a short green stem and small green leaves sprouting out from the top of his head. His face consists of two egg-shaped eyes with black pupils and light red eyelids, an almost perfectly round nose (the same shade as his eyelids), and a flat, simple, cartoony mouth. Initially, Bob was a wider looking tomato and was more angular in shape. But as time went on, Bob lost that width, becoming almost perfectly round. Bob's leaves also originally looked more abstract, but eventually became more realistic around 1999-2000.

In *LarryBoy: The Cartoon Adventures*, Bob was among the few characters from the original *VeggieTales* series to be translated into 2D by artist Tom Bancroft. Here, Bob changes very little aside from the simplified "cartoony" style of the show. He wore a blue bowtie and white collar with a green eyeshade to fit into his role as Head Editor at the Daily Bumble news office.

For the 2014 series *VeggieTales in the House*, Bob was redesigned along with the rest of the *VeggieTales* cast. Here, he gained angular, black eyebrows and blue irises. His eyes are also further apart, and do not extrude from his face as much. His stem and leaves were also stylized to more closely resemble hair.Bob's mouth also gained such features as three-dimensional lips, a tongue, and teeth that could actually be seen every time he opens his mouth (unlike his original design).His body shape was altered as well, becoming wider and more angular again. His skin has also becomes more reflective and two-toned like an actual tomato. Bob's mouth also gained such features as a three-dimensional lips, a tongue, and teeth that could actually be seen every time he opens his mouth (unlike his original design).

Since 2019's *The VeggieTales Show*, Bob has reverted back to his original design, albeit with more detail like his previous design.

## Voice Actors

* Phil Vischer: *VeggieTales Promo: Take 38* (1992), *VeggieTales* (1993-2015), *VeggieTales Live!* (2002-2014), *Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie* (2002), *LarryBoy: The Cartoon Adventures* (2002-2003), *The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie* (2008), *VeggieTales in the House* (2014-2016)*, VeggieTales in the City* (2017), *The VeggieTales Show* (2019-present) and various other projects
* John Trauscht: *God Made You Special Live!* (2008)
* Joe Zieja: *Very Veggie Silly Stories* (2022-present)

## Fun Facts

* According to Bob's various official bios:
	+ His favorite Silly Songs are "Lance the Turtle" and "Larry's High Silk Hat" ("because he got to drive the trolley").
	+ His favorite TV show is Ken Burns' PBS special — "Tomatoes Who Changed the World".
	+ His favorite food is pasta with white sauce.
	+ His favorite pastime is practicing his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize.
	+ His favorite movie quote is "Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!" — from *The Wizard of Oz*.
	+ His favorite reading material is letters from Veggie fans.
	+ If he wasn’t an actor, he would be a doctor, a teacher, or a guidance counselor.
	+ Bob's favorite character roles are...
		- Rack in *Rack, Shack and Benny*
		- Madame Blueberry's Butler in *Madame Blueberry*
		- Ottar in *Lyle the Kindly Viking*
		- Tomato Sawyer in *Big River Rescue*
		- Cavis Appythart in both The Star of Christmas & *An Easter Carol*
		- ThingamaBob in *The League of Incredible Vegetables*
* In the Qubo series, Bob said he was allergic to shellfish.
* Characters often mistake Bob for having a fever or looking sunburned because the red shade of his skin.
	+ Subsequently, in *Bob’s Vacation*, Bob stated he has sensitive skin. This makes sense since tomatoes are highly fragile in real life.
* In *Moe and the Big Exit*, Bob faints at the sight of tomato juice in a similar way to people who faint at the sight of blood.
* Bob owns a lot of plants in his house. His most notable plant is his fern, Raymond.
* Initially, Phil Vischer considered naming Bob "Tommy the Tomato", but quickly decided it was too cutesy and stereotypical of a name for the character.
* The only VeggieTales project to date that Phil Vischer did not provide Bob’s voice for was *God Made You Special Live! (2008)*. John Trauscht voiced Bob as a result of Vischer having negotiation issues with his contract at the time.
* Bob is one of the only characters in the franchise who is a tomato. Bob, his parents, and Joe are the only tomatoes in the series to date.
* Given his size and shape, Bob appears to be a sub-variety of "Beefsteak" tomato called a "Hot House" tomato.
* He is probably related to Uncle Louie.