(We invite you to listen to the conversation between Crystal Thornton and Mike Nawrocki in the podcast below.)
In a heartwarming interview with K-LOVE News Anchor Crystal Thornton, Mike Nawrocki, the co-creator of the beloved "VeggieTales" series and the voice of Larry the Cucumber, shares his excitement about his latest project: an animated series called "The Dead Sea Squirrels.”
Nawrocki’s journey into Christian media began in high school when he dedicated his career to ministry. After meeting fellow "VeggieTales" co-creator Phil Vischer, the two embarked on creating the popular Christian cartoon series that has entertained and educated children for over 30 years.
Now, Nawrocki has turned his attention to "The Dead Sea Squirrels." The show aims to teach New Testament stories to a new generation of kids in a fun and engaging way. Nawrocki explains the inspiration behind the new series.
Nawrocki: "Long before that, back in my "VeggieTales" days, one of the lines that we drew in the sand early on was never to depict Jesus as a vegetable."
Instead, Nawrocki's new series features an unlikely duo: Merl and Pearl, an ancient Jewish couple who accidentally get preserved in salt and darkness for 2,000 years after visiting the Dead Sea. When a young boy discovers them and brings them back to life, the squirrels share their firsthand accounts of the life of Jesus and the Apostles.
Nawrocki: “I do the voice of Merl in the episodes. Pearl is voiced by a local Nashville actress here, Jenny Littleton, and she's fantastic."
Emphasizing the importance of diversity in the series, Nawrocki noted, "I think the characters that kids watch on shows should look like them. And so, we wanted to make sure, and diversity is kind of near and dear to my own family. My wife is South American. She's Colombian. In fact, her last name is Gomez, which is the maiden name of the characters in the show. So we have that mixed family. That was really important to me. And Dr. Gomez is Michael's dad, who's the archeologist."
The series also features the voices of well-known Christian artists.
Nawrocki: "As I thought about who would I want to be the singing voice of Jesus, Matthew West came to my mind, first and foremost, immediately. He's just got such an amazing voice and an amazing ministry. And he was all in, he lives here in Nashville as well, and we're both Chicago guys, so we got to be friends. I was really thrilled to have him come on board and other folks like Ellie Holcomb who is the voice of Mary and her husband Drew is, of course, Joseph. So real-life married couple. Bart Millard from Mercy Me is in there. Also, Mac Powell is John the Baptist. The show takes place in the modern day, but we flash back to the First Century for basically our lesson in every episode, and that's told in the form of music. We've got all these artists contributing to it. Another, Duncan Phillips of the Newsboys plays the character, Dave, who's a lizard of Judah. He's a talking lizard with his Australian accent, and he's amazing as well. It's just been so much fun. And then of course, a number of just professional voice actors. I work at Lipscomb University here in Nashville. We've got a great theater program, and so we've been able to cast a number of theater students in roles as well. Steve Taylor is producing the series with me, and he also voices Dusty, the donkey, and he is the singing voice of the Apostle Paul."
With the series set to premiere on the Minno streaming platform on Valentine's Day, Nawrocki is hopeful that "The Dead Sea Squirrels" will resonate with not just kids, but teenagers and adults as well.
Nawrocki: "We've had some showings as we've gone along and have gotten really great feedback. One of the things I love is telling stories that are appropriate for kids. The lessons are appropriate for kids, but then from a humor level, I want to write jokes that make me laugh. I think the whole family is going to enjoy these shows."
As Nawrocki reflected on his journey, he shared a poignant "God story" about receiving a special plaque that had belonged to his late father, which was signed by a Tennessee governor with the same name as his daughter's new boss.
Nawrocki: "Judge Frank Clement. We were super excited. We flew to Denver. My brother picked me up at the airport, brought us back home, and he said, Mike, you're the family resident in Tennessee, and so you should have this. He handed me a plaque that was given to my dad in the '60s as an honorary citizen of Tennessee, signed by, I'm going to cry when I say it, Governor Frank Clement Sr. So the judge that had just offered my daughter a job, was the son of the governor. And I just get tingles every time I hear or just think of that, just because it's like God and my dad were looking down, wrapping their arms around us. So that was a really, really special thing for me."
Crystal: You have another God story?
Nawrocki: "Yeah. I remember this was before I started working on "VeggieTales." so I was in college in Chicago riding the elevated train slash subway, and somebody just came up to me and said, 'God has given me a word for you that you will touch the lives of millions of children.'"
These moments underscore Nawrocki's deep faith and the way it has woven through his life and work.
With the release of "The Dead Sea Squirrels," Nawrocki continues to bring his unique blend of humor, heart, and faith-based storytelling to families across generations.
(See The Dead Sea Squirrel's Trailer below)