The story
History
Big Idea was founded in February 1989 under the name GRAFx Studios by Phil Vischer to create graphics in television commercials. In 1991, Vischer created a 12-second short film called Mr. Cuke's Screen Test using the recently developed Softimage 3D. This short inspired him and Mike Nawrocki to create VeggieTales, with Nawrocki coming up with the name. Vischer thought the name "GRAFx" no longer suited a company about to create children's videos, so he renamed it as Big Idea Productions, Inc. on August 6, 1993. The company released its first video, Where's God When I'm S-Scared? in December of 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 Lombard Village officials to rent space at the Yorktown Center, a local mall.
In a co-production with FHE Pictures, Big Idea released its first theatrical feature film, Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie on October 4, 2002.
On September 2, 2003, Big Idea declared bankruptcy after encountering management and financial issues and a lawsuit by HIT Entertainment in 2001. By the end of the year, it was auctioned off to Classic Media for $19.3 million. After its purchase, the company relocated to Nashville in 2004.
On December 14, 2006, it was announced that Big Idea including its parent company at the time Classic Media would be acquired by UK-based rival Entertainment Rights for $210.0 million. Before the acquisition was completed, both companies announced distribution and production agreements with Genius Products LLC, replacing the Sony Wonder deal.
Big Idea partnered with Toronto-based Starz Animation to produce its second theatrical feature film, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, which was released on January 11, 2008, by Universal Pictures.
In April 2009, Entertainment Rights fell into voluntary administration and sold its UK- and US-based subsidiaries, including Big Idea and its parent company, 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 began trading as DreamWorks Classics.
On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced that it would be acquiring DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. The sale was completed on August 22, 2016.
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On July 3, 2018, Vischer confirmed that Big Idea's offices in Franklin were shut down. While marketing employees continued to work for Big Idea during this time, DreamWorks sold the Franklin, Tennessee studio in late 2017.
In 2018, NBCUniversal licensed the properties of the studio to the Trinity Broadcasting Network. They launched the production of a new series entitled The VeggieTales Show in 2019 through a collaboration between NBCUniversal and Trilogy Animation Group. Vischer confirmed on Twitter that he and Nawrocki were both returning to work as head writers for the new series. On June 29, 2021, Vischer announced that he and Nawrocki were no longer working on VeggieTales due to pay disputes and creative differences.
VeggieTales history
VeggieTales is a series of children's animated specials 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 DreamWorks Animation Television produced two series, VeggieTales in the House (which ran from November 26, 2014, to September 23, 2016) and VeggieTales in the City (which ran from February 24 to September 15, 2017).
From Wikipedia’s article on Big Idea Entertainment, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4