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Bob the Tomato is a computer-animated character in the animated series VeggieTales by Big Idea Productions. Bob and co-star, Larry the Cucumber, are the frontveggies for the series. Since his first appearance in "Where's God When I'm S-Scared?", Bob has played a role in nearly every one of VeggieTales' episodes.

Voiced by VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer, Bob the Tomato is usually the "straightveggie" in his partnership with Larry, the "Costello" of the pair, as they introduce many of the stories at the beginning and wrap-up the biblical lesson at the end of most of the cartoons. However, he plays many character roles in the story segments, some of which contrast his mature persona. More recently, Bob the Tomato has taken a less central role, getting less onscreen time compared to several other characters.

Contents 1 Origin and Evolution 2 Performances 3 Quotations 4 External links

[edit] Origin and Evolution

Bob first appeared in the 1993 release, "Where is God when I'm S-Scared?", Big Idea's first video. In it, he and Larry set the precedent for the opening format which became a VeggieTales standard, where a letter is read from a viewer by the duo on the kitchen counter which served as a sort of studio. He also played himself in the first of the two 15-minute segments in the video, comforting a frightened Junior Asparagus with a cheerful ditty, "God Is Bigger Than the Boogeyman."

Though a convincing and easily identifiable anthropomorphic tomato from the start, his animation evolved over time to make him first more tomato-like, and later more cartoony. While in the first episodes Bob was very elastic in his animation, distorting himself significantly, this tendency was toned down greatly, giving him a more fruit-like consistency. Artistic changes were made as well: Bob's body became smaller with proportion to his face and more round, his skin became less shiny and more brightly red, eventually developing a smooth glow, which was more stylistic and probably more kid-friendly. With improving technology at the disposal of Big Idea's artists, Bob's skin became gradually less angular, and the polygons that made his shell essentially disappeared. Also, Phil Vischer's voice acting for Bob has taken a slightly higher pitch, though not nearly as significantly as Mike Nawrocki's voice acting for Larry the Cucumber.

[edit] Performances

• Where's God When I'm S-Scared? -- Co-hosts the episode and plays himself in the "Tales From the Crisper."
• God Wants Me to Forgive Them? -- Co-hosts the episode and plays Skipper Bob in "Larry's Lagoon."
• Are You My Neighbor? -- Co-hosts the episode, narrates the story of "Flibber-o-loo," plays himself in "The Hairbrush Song," and plays himself as the captain of the USS Applepies in "The Gourds Must Be Crazy."
• Rack, Shack & Benny -- Co-hosts the episode, plays Rack (Shadrach) in the story, and translates for Larry in "The Dance of the Cucumber."
• Dave and the Giant Pickle -- Co-hosts and narrates the episode.
• The Toy That Saved Christmas -- Plays himself in the story, and plays Santa in "Oh, Santa."
• Very Silly Songs! -- Co-hosts the sing-along.
• Larry-Boy and the Fib from Outer Space -- Attempts to co-host the episode, though Larry takes the story over.
• Josh and the Big Wall -- Co-hosts/narrates the episode.
• Madame Blueberry -- Plays Butler Bob.
• Silly Sing-Along 2: The End of Silliness? -- Appears in a non-speaking role in "the Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps."
• King George and the Ducky -- Plays an assistant to the king named Louis in the episode, and has a short appearance as himself in "Endangered Love."
• Lyle the Kindly Viking -- Plays a viking named Otar.
• The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown -- Appears in "Dance of the Cucumber", "Endangered Love" and "The Hairbrush Song"
• The Star of Christmas -- Plays Cavis Appythart, a character resembling William Gilbert of playwriting team Gilbert and Sullivan.
• The Wonderful World of Auto-Tainment! -- Plays himself.
• Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie -- Plays himself.
• The Ballad of Little Joe -- Plays a sheriff.
• An Easter Carol -- Reprises his role as Cavis Appythart.
• A Snoodle's Tale -- Co-hosts the episode and narrates "A Snoodle's Tale."
• Sumo of the Opera -- Co-hosts the episode and stars as Bobby in "Sumo of the Opera".
• Duke and the Great Pie War -- Co-hosts the episode and plays Lucas, Duke's best friend.
• Sheerluck Holmes and the Golden Ruler -- Plays Sheerluck's assistant, Dr. Watson.
• The Asparagus of La Muncha -- Plays a sheriff.
• LarryBoy and the Bad Apple -- Attempts to co-host the episode, only to be pushed aside by LarryBoy and Archibald Asparagus
• Gideon Tuba Warrior -- Attempts to co-host the show but is interrupted by The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything as they take over the show. Sings his own silly song, Ukulele Karaoke with Bob.

[edit] Quotations

Unlike many characters in children's animation, Bob does not have a humorous catchphrase, but he does have some common sayings and several memorable lines:

• "Hi kids, and welcome to VeggieTales. I'm Bob the Tomato..."
• "God made you special, and He loves you very much..."
• "I'm Bob, I'm a tomato, and I'm here to help you!"
• "Okay no more bunnies. I'm doin' it for my mom! ..."
• "Uh, shoo there Fluffy!"
• "It's time to talk about what we've learned today."
• "Look, this is sitting, and this is standing. I'm standing."
• "Mousetrap... I wanted to play Mousetrap. You roll your dice, you move your mice. Nobody gets hurt."

[edit] External links

• Phil Vischer
• Big Idea Productions