Type Subsidiary Founded 1 February 1989 | Headquarters Tennessee, United States | |
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Key people Mike Nawrocki(Executive Vice President)Leslie Ferrell(General Manager)Tim Hodge(Director) Albums A Very Veggie Christmas, Beauty And The Beet (Original, Celery Night Fever, VeggieTunes, VeggieTunes 2 Films produced Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, Bob and Larry's How to Dr, Jonah Sing‑Along Songs an, God Made You Special, Princess and the Popstar | ||
Big idea entertainment logo
Big Idea Entertainment (simply known as Big Idea, formerly known as Big Idea Productions and Big Idea, Inc.) is an American Christian animation studio best known for its computer-animated VeggieTales series of Christian-themed family home videos.
Contents
- Big idea entertainment logo
- Big idea entertainment family home entertainment and lyrick studios
- Company history
- VeggieTales history
- Direct to Video programs
- Internet
- Feature length films
- References
It is a subsidiary of DreamWorks Classics, which in turn is owned by DreamWorks Animation, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast.
Big idea entertainment family home entertainment and lyrick studios
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. 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. 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. 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 for $3.8 billion. The sale was completed on August 22, 2016.
VeggieTales history
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) and on Netflix where the DreamWorks Animation Television-produced VeggieTales in the House premiered on November 26, 2014.
Direct-to-Video programs
- VeggieTales: 1993–present
- 3-2-1 Penguins!: 2000–2003, 2006–2008
- Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures: 2002–2003
Internet
- VeggieTales in the House: 2014–present
Feature-length films
- Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002) (co-production with FHE Pictures)
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008) (co-production with Universal Pictures and Starz Animation)