Big Idea Entertainment

Background: Founded in 1989 as "GRAFx Studios" by Phil Vischer, Big Idea Entertainment, LLC (officially established as "Big Idea Productions" in 1993) is an American animation production company best known for its Christian computer-animated series *VeggieTales*. In 2003, the company was acquired by Classic Media due to bankruptcy.

## 1st Logo (1993-1997)

Logo: Simply the text "Big Idea Productions" on a white background with "presents" under it.

Variant: This logo was used as an in-credit logo on *Where's God When I'm S-Scared?*, but the color was inverted. A similar variant is at the end of *God Wants Me to Forgive Them?!?!*, but this is a closing logo, without "presents" & this version has copyright info.

FX/SFX: None.

Cheesy Factor: This logo has not much to it, but this was their first logo.

Music/Sounds: None or the VeggieTales intro theme.

Availability: Seen in the intro on all VeggieTales videos from 1993 to 1997. The first tape to have this was the original 1993 VHS of *Where's God When I'm S-Scared?*, and the last tape was the original VHS of *Josh & The Big Wall!* from 1997.

Scare Factor: None.

## 2nd Logo (1995-2005/2006)

Logo: On a white background, we see the VeggieTales characters Bob and Larry (a tomato and a cucumber, respectively) in between the phrase "BIG IDEA" in Adobe Fangsong STD font. Larry is turned backwards and Bob is smiling. Then, Larry bumps the "G", causing it to turn into varying sizes. Larry looks at Bob and bumps into him as they face the screen, causing the "A" to move a bit. A copyright stamp appears below the logo, or sometimes not at all.

Trivia: The "FORE!" yelling sound heard on Universal Animation Studios-distributed shows can be found on the list of sound effects online, and was later uploaded on YouTube on March 24, 2013. Also, the appearance of the company's 2002 logo at the end of *Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler*, *Larryboy and the Bad Apple*, and *Gideon: Tuba Warrior* must have been a coincidence, because those VeggieTales videos at the time were animated by DKP Studios, in which most of the *VeggieTales* videos animated by DKP Studios contained the 1997 logo.

Variants:

* In some cases, a still shot of the 1997 logo is already formed, but no copyright stamp is present. This still version can be found on all *VeggieTales* videos from February 1997 to June 1999.
* The logo's animation may start when Bob and Larry look at each other. Also, a larger and bolder 1998 copyright stamp appears below the finished logo. This variant of the 1997 version can be found on the 1998 reissues of *Where's God When I'm S-Scared?*, *God Wants Me to Forgive Them?!*, *Are You My Neighbor?*, *Rack, Shack, & Benny*, *Dave and the Giant Pickle*, *The Toy That Saved Christmas*, and *Very Silly Songs!*. Also found on post-1998 airings and VHS tapes/DVDs of *EgyptSpin*, *Darkwing Packer*, *Power Pack*, *KrakeTales*, *Prank Troop*, *Clonkers*, *Carsupilami*, and *Rainforest Cubs*.
* Another variant of the 1997 version starts at the beginning of the logo, while retaining the large 1998 copyright stamp. This variant of the 1997 version can be found on the 1998 reissues of *Larryboy! And the Fib from Outer Space* and *Josh and the Big Wall!*. Also found on early episodes of *The Wacky Adventures of Stefan and Luke*, as well post-1998 airings of the first few S1 episodes of *Big Idea's Detention* and *Pepper Joseph*.
* Starting in mid-2004 with *A Snoodle's Tale*, and ending in early 2005 with *Lord of the Beans*, the copyright stamp is larger, bolder, and shorter. The copyright stamp reads "**(C)(YEAR) Big Idea, Inc.**" The 2004 copyright stamp can be found on *A Snoodle's Tale* to *Duke and the Great Pie War*, while the 2005 copyright stamp can be found on *Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush* and *Lord of the Beans*.
* There is a sub-version of the 1997 still version above with "**P R E S E N T S**" underneath. This was only seen on some 1999 copies of *Very Silly Songs!*.
* The original version of this logo from 1995-1996, Larry is looking down and Bob is looking left and there is no animation whatsoever. This one is also on the back of the cover of all *VeggieTales* tapes from 1995-1997, and it is on the back of the cover of the 1998-2000 Lyrick Studios & Everland Entertainment VHS copies of *Where's God When I'm S-Scared?* and *Are You My Neighbor?* and on the sticker label of all Lyrick Studios releases of *VeggieTales* tapes (And some Lyrick Studios tapes that have an ink label similar to the ones on the Word Entertainment *VeggieTales* releases from 2000 and later.)
* There is a rare print version of the original version that is presumably found on ink labels on some Lyrick Studios *VeggieTales* releases, likely from around 1998-2000.
* There is a rather humorous variant at the end of the original 1995 VHS of *Rack, Shack, & Benny* with Bob saying "I'd like to get out now!"
* The original 1996 VHS of *The Toy That Saved Christmas*, the first *VeggieTales* episode without the intro, has a slightly smaller variant of the 1995 version of this logo. It was also recycled on VHS and DVD prints of said episode.

FX/SFX: The character's animations, the G changing sizes, and the A popping up.

Cheesy Factor: For the 1995-1996 variant, Bob & Larry look a bit grainy, and the way they look seems a bit weird. For the 1997-2006 variant, Bob looks like a red blob, and the logo looks like it was animated by Softimage 3D.

Music/Sounds: Just a "boing" sound when the "A" pops up, depending on the show or episode.

Music/Sounds Variant: On FoxToons shows co-distributed by Universal Cartoon Studios, an unidentified male voice yelling "FORE!" is heard when Larry and Bob look at each other in the 1997 version.

Availability: Can still be seen on *VeggieTales* and *3-2-1 Penguins!* videos of the time, but considered uncommon today. Can also be found on *EgyptSpin*, *Darkwing Packer*, *Power Pack*, *KrakeTales*, *Prank Troop*, *Rainforest Cubs*, *Clonkers*, *Carsupilami*, *Big Idea's Detention*, and *Pepper Joseph*. The last production to have this logo was *Lord of the Beans*, and the last shows using this are *LarryBoy: The Cartoon Adventures*, *Bobin: The Cartoon Adventures*, *The Wacky Adventures of Stefan and Luke*, and early episode of *Dunk'D: The Series*. It was also found on teaser trailers of *Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler* and *Gideon: Tuba Warrior*, but those *VeggieTales* videos had the 2002 logo instead (presumably because of the rebranding of Universal Cartoon Studios to Universal Animation Studios in early 2006).

Scare Factor: None. This is a nice and friendly logo.

## 3rd Logo (1998-2005)

Logo: Like the second logo, we have Bob and Larry, but that's not all. They look slightly different, as their designs look cleaner and more straightforward than the previous logo. The logotype is also slightly bolder than the previous.

Variants:

* Sometimes "**p r e s e n t s**" is below the logo in a Century Gothic font. This is used in the 1998 *VeggieTales* theme song and as a simple home video logo.
* One variant from 2004-2006 plasters the 1998 Big Idea logo with the 2002 Big Idea logo, while keeping the "**presents**" byline. This variant is also found on *Heroes of the Bible*.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the *VeggieTales* intro theme.

Availability: Seen in the intro on all *VeggieTales* videos from 1998-2005. It can be seen as a simple home video still logo on some tapes. The version without "presents" was seen on *Larry-Boy & The Rumor Weed*. This is also on the back of the cover of *VeggieTales* tapes from 1998 to 1999.

Scare Factor: None.

## 4th Logo (1999-present)

Logo: On a white background, we see Bob and Larry moving up to their normal position, but the logo is backwards. Bob looks at the logo with Larry. Then, Larry bumps the I, causing it to shake a little and rotate. Bob smiles, then Larry moves out of the way as Bob gets stuck in the D and moves around, but frees himself and bumps into Larry. Larry smiles and both go to their normal pose. Starting in 2007, a byline for the respective company appears below.

Bylines:

* 2007-2009: "An Entertainment Rights group company"
* 2009-2012: "A Classic Media group company"

Variants:

* When this logo debuted, there was no byline.
* In some occasions, the logo is still.
* On TV, the logo is already formed, with Bob and Larry grinning.
* At the end of *Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie*, a still version with a black background is used.
* Another still version appeared on a white background, with "**p r e s e n t s**" below the logo in a Century Gothic font. This version is used at the beginning of *VeggieTales* videos from 2004-2009, as well as *Heroes of the Bible* and *The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment*.
* The logo also looked different when it debuted from 1999 to 2001. In this variant, the "D" is slightly wider, Larry and Bob look more straightforward, and the logotype looks less bolder.

FX/SFX: Everything.

Music/Sounds: A 4-note jingle that suddenly goes down pitches and stops. This is followed by sound effects accompanying the actions, then an 8-note jingle.

Availability: Common. First seen on *Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie* and *The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything* as well as newer *VeggieTales* episodes and Universal Animation Studios-distributed shows such as *Dolphin Hooks*. The early still version in 2000-2001 is found on *King George and The Ducky*, *Lyle the Kindly Viking*, *3-2-1 Penguins: Trouble on Planet Wait-Your-Turn!*, and other *VeggieTales* videos of the time. However, the logo itself actually debuted as a print logo in 1999, as seen on the back of the VHS cover of the Lyrick Studios copy of *Madame Blueberry* and a preview for *Larry-Boy & The Rumor Weed*.

Scare Factor: None for all the variants.

## 5th Logo (November 26, 2014-present)

Logo: We see the Big Idea text in its typical style as well as a byline reading "© (YEAR) Big Idea Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved." Bob and Larry (in their *VeggieTales in the House* redesigned styles) drop down from the top of the screen to their usual positions and smile with wide open grins.

FX/SFX: The animation...

Cheesy Factor: ...which is recycled from the *VeggieTales in the House* intro.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show.

Availability: Brand new. Appears on *VeggieTales in the House* episodes on Netflix.

Scare Factor: None. It's harmless, but not well-liked by those who hate the redesigns of the characters.