Silly Songs with Larry


Silly Songs with Larry is a regular feature segment in Big Idea's cartoon series VeggieTales. Often secular, they generally consist of Larry the Cucumber singing either alone or with some of the other Veggie characters. Occasionally, another character like Mr. Lunt, Bob the Tomato, Junior Asparagus, Laura Carrot, Archibald Asparagus, Oscar the Polish Caterer, and the French Peas Jean-Claude and Philippe, or an ensemble is featured in Larry's place. The Silly Songs have proven to be a very popular part of the show and has also prompted the release of several "sing-along" and compilation videos of these segments, some wrapped with new material that threads them into a fresh context. Some of the silly songs have been nominated for GMA Dove Award.

Segment Structure

Sometimes a Silly Song is introduced with a static picture of Larry. Then, an unseen narrator says the following: "And now it's time for Silly Songs with Larry, the part of the show where Larry comes out and sings a silly song." However, this format is used loosely; sometimes it is renamed, adapted to the context of the episode, or eschewed altogether.
The Silly Song, when present, always appears in the middle of an episode, usually at a cliffhanger moment or between two separate segments. The segment either takes place on the familiar countertop which opens and closes some of the episodes, or is presented in another setting off the countertop. On some videos, the background scenery often appeared as a stage set, behind which electrical outlets and ceramic tile can be seen.
On a few occasions, the song is stopped and replaced before it can even begin. When this occurs, the brief images that are shown of the original song are intentionally more outlandish than usual, leaving the audience to wonder what it might have been. Examples of this occurring include Madame Blueberry, Lyle the Kindly Viking, The Ballad of Little Joe, Moe and the Big Exit, Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Rescue, and MacLarry and the Stinky Cheese Battle.
The segment ends with the same unseen narrator saying "This has been Silly Songs with Larry. Tune in next time to hear Larry sing.." Then, Larry or another character usually does something, then the segment ends.

History

wrote in his book, Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story about Dreams, God, and Talking Vegetables, that when he originally created the Silly Songs section of the first show, he never intended it to be a recurring segment, but after complaints from viewers about the lack of the segment in the second show, he suggested that Mike Nawrocki write more Silly Songs for future shows. Since the third show, the segment has returned.
Mike Nawrocki has written and directed a majority of the silly songs for the past 20 years. Kurt Heinecke has served as producer and composer for nearly all of the silly songs of the past 20 years. Christian songwriter Steve Taylor wrote the 2009 silly song entitled Sippy Cup.
Many of the Silly Songs such as The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, His Cheeseburger, The Yodeling Veterinarian of the Alps, and Belly Button have been nominated for several GMA Dove Award including best music video of the year.
Silly Songs with Larry were briefly discontinued after the original series ended in 2015 and were not featured in the DreamWorks spinoff series VeggieTales in the House and VeggieTales in the City. On his podcast in late spring of 2019, Phil Vischer announced that the silly song segment will be returning with new songs in the new series The VeggieTales Show.

Songs

VeggieTales
The VeggieTales Show

Videos