Anyone Know of a Good Alternative to Veggie Tales?

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Jared

Puritan Board Freshman
I like Veggie Tales, but I'd like to find something a little bit deeper and more theologically sound for my almost two year old son to watch. Anyone have any suggestions?
 
It probably wouldn't be for two-year-olds, but when he gets a bit older you might consider BIBLEMAN. My younger brother and I used to watch the earlier ones, and they were filled with Bible verses (that's how Bibleman "fought" the bad guys), and it was actually how I learned the Armor of God (the show goes through a segment where Bibleman puts on the armor)

I'm not sure how the newer ones are (i.e., how theologically sound they are), but I think at least the older ones would be appealing to boys.
 
When I was a kid, about five to seven, I use to watch Superbook. And I think it was helpful with my bible knowledge and application early on. I can see however some people in here being upset with a talking book and kids going back in time to meet biblical figures. And there comes a point where you may have an issue with the second command regarding Jesus later on in the shows development.
 
I like Veggie Tales. Now you all know what is wrong with me. When they get older Adventures in Odyssey is great. They have videos also along with the Radio program.
 
Personally, I find Fruity Fables to be very palatable alternatives to Veggie Tales. :)

That is exactly what I was going to post...I am glad that I didn't post w/o reading the thread, as I often do. It would have been embarrassing to have posted the same corny joke.
 
I regularly babysit a 2-1/2-year-old girl whose dad is from Australia (our former minister), and he and his wife have accumulated a number of Ken Ham, "Answers in Genesis" DVDs for her. When I babysit her, we often watch them together. They're very cute - and theologically sound. (Of course, her dad would not have anything less in the house!) Here's a link to the children's media section of the site with a number of the DVDs that I've seen with my little friend: Children. She does seem to like them a lot; they're very professionally done, good quality, etc.

Margaret
 
I concur with both Joshua and the AiG videos. Also check out Moody Science's videos; my little siblings love them.

MBI--Moody Publishers::Categories::Catalog Items

Maybe it's just me, but I would rather see kids growing up with educational & useful videos like AiG and Moody Science (possibly even Bibleman; I think I played an old BibleMan video game, but never saw the videos so I can't say one way or the other) than videos like Veggie Tales. I can say from personal experience that kids will remember the funny parts. So if, like Veggie Tales, the funny parts are only there to keep your attention and not to make a point (unlike the AiG/Moody Science ones, for example), they're not going to really benefit in the long run. :2cents:
 
I strongly suspect there is nothing in the same vein as Veggie Tales, as in equally witty and fun, that's also deeper and more theologically sound. It'd be nice if such a thing existed, but those interested in such ventures simply don't have the same creative talent or financial resources that the Veggie Tales empire does.

I think one hope we have is that Veggie Tales itself will improve. I used to hate Veggie Tales, especially when they retold Bible stories in irreverent fashion and often with extra-biblical messages. But some of the newest Veggie Tales offerings have surprised me. The recent Saint Nick feature respected the Scriptures, had a gospel message rather than a vaguely religious/moral one, and remained witty and fun. It could have had more depth, even for something aimed at kids, but someone at Veggie Tales is moving in the right direction.

Also, I agree that the "Answers in Genesis" videos are probably the best theological stuff aimed at preschoolers, though hardly of the same creative level as Veggie Tales. In my house we choose our Veggies carefully, then mostly turn off the TV.
 
One of the redeeming quality of Veggie Tales is they are careful about (whether this is intentional or not) 2nd Commandment issues. Someone may need to correct me but I do not recall any "Jesus as a carrot" videos or "God as Cauliflower" shows.
 
When the Veggietales present the gospel, do they leave out sin, God's wrath, and/or hell? I'm seriously wondering as I've only seen one or two very old ones.
 
One of the redeeming quality of Veggie Tales is they are careful about (whether this is intentional or not) 2nd Commandment issues. Someone may need to correct me but I do not recall any "Jesus as a carrot" videos or "God as Cauliflower" shows.

I don't recall any issues with Jesus either. But one of my big peeves with the early, Bible-based episodes is the way they handled the Gideon story. The Angel of the LORD was portrayed as a comical, somewhat bumbling character. A tomato, if I remember right. Well, the biblical text is pretty clear that this is a theophany—an appearance of God himself. They should have been careful enough with the text to notice that and treat the character differently. So they lost a lot of points with me there.
 
I'm going to answer several posts in one.

I used to watch Superbook, and I like it although I haven't watched it in a long time.

I found out a couple of years ago that the Berenstain bears is Christian-themed.

I was disturbed by an episode of VeggieTales where the story of the Exodus is re-told with a western theme.

As for letting my son watch too much television, that is a concern that I have and that's one of the reasons that I don't have cable or satellite. We do watch movies together as a family from time to time though.

I'm really excited that Pixar has Christians working for them on movies like "Wall-e" and "Up".

Moralism is one of the concerns that I have with much of the Christian entertainment that's out there for children. VeggieTales hardly ever mentions the gospel as far as I can tell. It sems like they're always teaching moral lessons without telling kids why they need to obey their parent's, tell the truth, love people, etc.
 
If you want to be surprised, informed, and blessed you would do well to read the autobiography of the VeggieTales Creator, Phil Vischer: Me, Myself, and Bob. I was given a copy and it is extremely interesting. The insights that Phil brings out in his 'Veggie' journey are solidly Biblical. In case you did not know, he is no longer the owner of Veggie Tales. You'll find out why in the book. And, you will find out the real 'why', not the story you may have heard in the media. :)
 
Speaking of Phil Vischer, I almost forgot that he was starting a new series of videos called "What's In The Bible?"

Here's the theme song:

[video=youtube;kADwA2o1VXI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kADwA2o1VXI[/video]
 
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