Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables

Written by Phil Vischer

Narrated by Phil Vischer

Read by the author.

This is a story of dreaming big and working hard, of spectacular success and breathtaking failure, of shouted questions, and, at long last, whispered answers.

In Me, Myself, and Bob, Phil Vischer, founder of Big Idea and creator of VeggieTales, will:

• give a behind-the-scenes look at his not-so-funny journey with the loveable veggies.
• share his story of trial and ultimate triumph as God inspired him with one big idea after another.
• detail how his dream of creating high-quality Christian entertainment came into fruition

 

While Vischer accepts the blame for the collapse ("my strengths built Big Idea, and my weaknesses brought it down"), he also details various unnamed executives' incompetence. One question haunted him: if he was doing God's work, why didn't God rescue his company?

Concluding his story of spiritual inspiration and heartbreak, Me, Myself, and Bob draws lessons from Vischer’s experience for anyone who has ever lost a dream.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Sep 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781595559067

Phil Vischer

Phil Vischer is the CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Big Idea Productions. As co-creator of the popular series, VeggieTales™, he has also served as writer, director and voice for more than a dozen characters, including Bob the Tomato. Since the release of the first VeggieTales™ episode in 1993, more than 30 million units have been sold in the series. Vischer and his wife, Lisa, live in the Chicago, IL with their 3 children.

Reviews for Me, Myself, and Bob

[Chelsea Sullivan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My kids watched VeggieTales when they were young and even to this day (20 years later) we can all sing every Silly Song with Larry word for word. I never knew exactly what had happened to the company so reading this was interesting. What an honest and vulnerable story. I’m thankful that Phil was led to other pursuits so now I can listen to Skye and Phil and the Holy Post (and sometimes Kaitlyn!)

[Taliyah Spragins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Phil Vischer wrote such an amazing book. His story, his struggle, his faith, and his passion.

[Gregory Ellington · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As a millennial who grew up in the evangelical subculture, this book provided nostalgia and an inside look at a part of my childhood that helped form me.

As a pastor who has experienced my own fair share of shattered dreams, this book helped me reflect on the God that is bigger than any dream or vision I’ve ever had.

Thanks Phil.

[patl_53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting story of the creator of Veggie Tales and how he lost the business.

[true54blue · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great behind the scenes look at the rise and fall of Phil Vischer (and VeggieTales too). I appreciated his honesty and lessons learned in preparation for moving forward. I'm about 10 years late in reading this book so a lots happened since then but it was eye opening to hear how VeggieTales grew so fast and then imploded under its won weight. Lots of interesting business insights as well as what it means to be doing business while having a spiritual mission agenda. Highly recommended for creative and business types.

[berly_4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Me, Myself, & Bob follows Phil Vischer through his childhood and then the spectacular rise and tragic fall of his company, Big Ideas, which produced the much-loved (at least in my household!) Veggie Tales animated video series. Phil explores his nerdy but entertaining childhood and his passionate dream to build a media empire for God. We meet Larry, the cucumber, and Bob, the tomato, and learn how Phil used lattice deformation to animate his characters. We discover who the voices were behind Jr., the asparagus, and the silly Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Very witty, with insights mirroring Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers conclusions, we watch how Phil developed his individual talents and then how he ultimately failed to incorporate his vision into his company. Written with a light hand (as in both funny and not overly religious), this is a wonderful book about a great vision and a great guy and I wish him lots of future success with his new company Jellyfish Labs.

[mickyfine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this memoir, Phil Vischer briefly discusses his family background and formative years. But the major focus is his journey realizing the dream that was Big Ideas Productions, Inc. and the children's series Veggie Tales. Detailing the meteoric rise and the then very painful implosion of the company he created, Vischer explores his own faith and relationship with God throughout that period of his life.I went into this book knowing only it was a book from the guy who'd created Veggie Tales, which I'd been a fan of since the age of 11 or so. I had had no idea of the many issues that were occurring behind the scenes. Vischer is honest in his recounting of the events surrounding the rise and fall of his dream and recognising his own flaws that contributed towards the latter, with hints of humour you would expect from the man responsible for writing several Veggie Tales scripts. Vischer also shares how the experiences he had changed his perception and relationship with God, making some points that I found particularly meaningful and relevant.

[librisissimo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Substance: Interesting look at the life of a real creator, and how he managed to destroy his own creation. Vischer's desire to "do something big for God" dissolved in hubristic disaster, but he still left a great Christian legacy for children. Should be read in conjunction with Donald Keough's "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure."Style: Casual and quite humorous.

[kingstonuca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'If you like to talk to tomatoes...'If you've been in a Christian household containing children and a VCR/DVD player at any time over the last ten years, there's an excellent chance you've heard these words sung (get Lily to sing them if you'd like to know the tune). They began each episode of VeggieTales, an American animated Christian television series featuring talking vegetables that became a phenomenon, selling millions of copies around the world. Their creator, Phil Vischer, had a dream of his company becoming a new Disney, a shining beacon of Christian values amid the dross of secular media. And he had the talent to do it, too. Watch any episode to see what I mean - like all the best children's entertainment, it worked for adults too. So why am I talking in the past tense here? Surely God would pour out his blessing on such an enterprise? What happened? Well, those are the questions Phil Vischer had, too. 'Me, Myself and Bob' is his story, and how he - and when he got around to listening, God - answered those questions. It's written with all the humour that made VeggieTales great. There are some really valuable lessons for anyone involved in managing a business, too. Highly recommended.

[jdmays_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Phil Vischer shows just how funny he really is. Veggie Tales was no aberration. This guy is a talented writer with a gift for story-telling, even when he's telling his own story.