Big Idea Entertainment

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Big Idea Entertainment, LLC
Subsidiary
Founded 1989; 35 years ago (1989) (GRAFx Studios)
1993; 31 years ago (1993) (Big Idea Entertainment)
Founder
Headquarters Franklin, Tennessee, United States
Key people
  • Mike Nawrocki (Executive Vice President)
  • Leslie Ferrell (General Manager)
Products VeggieTales and other faith-based products
Owner Comcast
Parent DreamWorks Classics

Big Idea Entertainment, LLC (formerly known as Big Idea Productions and Big Idea, Inc.) is an American Christian animation production company best known for its computer-animated VeggieTales series of Christian-themed family home videos. It is a subsidiary of DreamWorks Classics.

Company history

Big Idea was founded in 1989 under the name GRAFx Studios by Phil Vischer to create graphics in television commercials. That same year Vischer created a 12-second short film called Mr. Cuke's Screen Test. This short inspired him and Mike Nawrocki to create VeggieTales in 1993. The company's first video, Where's God When I'm S-Scared?, was released the same year. Rapidly running out of office space, Big Idea relocated to the Chicago suburbs in 1997 with the purchase of the DuPage Theater in Lombard, Illinois.[1] However, renovation delays, unforeseen building conditions, and lengthy zoning battles resulted. In the interim, the company was guided by City of Lombard officials to rent space at the Yorktown Center, a local mall.

In 2003, after management and financial issues and a lawsuit by Lyrick Studios, Big Idea declared bankruptcy and was auctioned off to Classic Media.[2][3] After purchase by Classic Media, the company relocated to Nashville in 2004.

In March 2009, Entertainment Rights sold its UK- and US-based subsidiaries, including Big Idea and Classic Media, to Boomerang Media.[4] As of 2011 Big Idea, Inc. has been repackaged officially as Big Idea Entertainment, LLC. In July 2012, Big Idea's parent company, Classic Media, was acquired by DreamWorks Animation and renamed DreamWorks Classics.

On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced it would be acquiring DreamWorks Animation (including DreamWorks Classics and Big Idea) for $3.8 billion.[5] The sale was completed on August 22, 2016.[6]

On July 3, 2018, Vischer confirmed that Big Idea's headquarters in Nashville closed. However, the employees still work for Big Idea from their homes.[7]

VeggieTales history

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Main article: VeggieTales

VeggieTales is a series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables and conveying moral themes based on Christianity, spliced with joking references to pop culture and current events. VeggieTales was created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, who also provide many of the voices. VeggieTales has also been released as books, games, and many other branded items such as toys and clothing. Additionally, the series has been adapted for television broadcast on Qubo where it aired from September 9, 2006, to September 5, 2009.[8] And DreamWorks Animation Television produced two series, VeggieTales in the House[9] (which ran from November 26, 2014 to September 23, 2016) and VeggieTales in the City (which ran from February 24 to September 15, 2017), for Netflix.

Productions

Video programs

  1. VeggieTales: 1993–present
  2. 3-2-1 Penguins!: 2000–2003, 2006–2008
  3. Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures: 2002–2003
  4. VeggieTales in the House: 2014–2016
  5. VeggieTales in the City: 2017

Television specials

  1. VeggieTales Christmas Spectacular! (1998)

Feature-length films

  1. Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002) (co-production with FHE Pictures)
  2. The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008) (co-production with Universal Pictures and Starz Animation)

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ http://www.philvischer.com/phil-news/what-happened-to-big-idea-part-10
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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