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steffski's review against another edition
4.0
The last quarter of this memoir was really powerful. If you grew up with veggie tales or love Phil then this is a fun and quick audio book. Phil reads it and of course does a wonderful job. The first 50% is very technical on how he got his start in animating and built Big Idea and then the third quarter is the rise and fall of Big Idea. Those could have been a little shorter but there is some good truth at the end, especially for those in ministry.
madtheimpaler's review against another edition
2.25
He wanted VeggieTales to the be the Amway of Christian media. He mentioned that several times. He lost all credibility and likeability to me as soon as he said that.
Also I became increasingly frustrating the way he would talk about mothers, other women besides his wife, his employees, his bosses, and his friends. It left me wondering, if he likes anyone besides his wife.
Also I became increasingly frustrating the way he would talk about mothers, other women besides his wife, his employees, his bosses, and his friends. It left me wondering, if he likes anyone besides his wife.
annejulahh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
kristaweseli's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. Provides great spiritual truths along with business management/leadership truths. A book that challenges the way we measure our impact as Christians.
rheren's review against another edition
5.0
This was a perfect read for me. It's a rare book that I really feel like I can enjoy on multiple levels, and this was one, for me.
Background for those who don't know: Phil Vischer is the creator of Veggie Tales. Also for those who don't know: he no longer owns Veggie Tales: he lost his entire company in a bankruptcy settlement and Veggie Tales is currently marketed by the company who bought the rights to the characters. He's still involved as a consultant, but has little actual influence on what happens to ol' Bob and Larry.
Now, I'm a moderate Phil Vischer fan (his podcast is awesome if anybody wants to look it up), so I was excited to end up with this book that I didn't even know that he'd written. It is an autobiography, and it is the best kind of autobiography: funny (VERY funny at times), self-effacing, honest, introspective and genuinely interesting. I knew parts of the story, but not the whole thing, so I was very into it. Also, he includes a lot of very insightful, very poignant lessons and observations about the things he's gone through.
Indeed, that was what hit home the most for me: his reflections on watching his dream die, and what he learned from that. I've had a "death of a dream" experience, about 3 years ago now, and I'm not sure that I'm really over it yet, even after these several years. Here is someone who had a dream bigger than mine (though very different), got closer to it than I did, and watched it all implode in a much more spectacular and gut-wrenching way than I did, and yet who learned very deep and penetrating lessons from it. I was very challenged by his lessons at the end of the book, and consider it one of the most impactful books I've read in a long time.
Background for those who don't know: Phil Vischer is the creator of Veggie Tales. Also for those who don't know: he no longer owns Veggie Tales: he lost his entire company in a bankruptcy settlement and Veggie Tales is currently marketed by the company who bought the rights to the characters. He's still involved as a consultant, but has little actual influence on what happens to ol' Bob and Larry.
Now, I'm a moderate Phil Vischer fan (his podcast is awesome if anybody wants to look it up), so I was excited to end up with this book that I didn't even know that he'd written. It is an autobiography, and it is the best kind of autobiography: funny (VERY funny at times), self-effacing, honest, introspective and genuinely interesting. I knew parts of the story, but not the whole thing, so I was very into it. Also, he includes a lot of very insightful, very poignant lessons and observations about the things he's gone through.
Indeed, that was what hit home the most for me: his reflections on watching his dream die, and what he learned from that. I've had a "death of a dream" experience, about 3 years ago now, and I'm not sure that I'm really over it yet, even after these several years. Here is someone who had a dream bigger than mine (though very different), got closer to it than I did, and watched it all implode in a much more spectacular and gut-wrenching way than I did, and yet who learned very deep and penetrating lessons from it. I was very challenged by his lessons at the end of the book, and consider it one of the most impactful books I've read in a long time.
harvio's review against another edition
4.0
- the story of how Phil Vischer combined his religious faith with a fascination for computer animation (in its early days) to create "Veggie Tales"
- the growth (Forbes listed it as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in America) and collapse of this company is a very interesting story - particularly because we have/and have seen every single production
- between 1996 and 1999 revenue grew from $1.3 million to $44 million, followed soon after by a lawsuit and a bankruptcy
- the growth (Forbes listed it as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in America) and collapse of this company is a very interesting story - particularly because we have/and have seen every single production
- between 1996 and 1999 revenue grew from $1.3 million to $44 million, followed soon after by a lawsuit and a bankruptcy