Mike Nawrocki

Mike Nawrocki
Born Michael Nawrocki
(1966-07-08) July 8, 1966
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Residence Franklin, Tennessee
Education St. Paul Bible College
University of Illinois
Occupation Executive Vice President and co-founder of Big Idea Entertainment
Notable work VeggieTales
Religion Christianity
Spouse(s) Lisa Nawrocki
Children 2

Mike Nawrocki (born July 8, 1966) is an American director, producer, writer, voice actor, animator, musician, puppeteer, and businessman best known as the co-creator of the long-running, Christian video series, VeggieTales where he voices Larry the Cucumber.[1][2] He also voices many other main characters on the show, including Jerry Gourd, Jean-Claude Pea, and other various characters, is the co-founder of Big Idea Entertainment alongside Phil Vischer, and currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the company.[3] He has directed several of their productions, including the award-winning Silly Songs with Larry segments from VeggieTales.

Life and career

Nawrocki originally wanted a career in the medicine field, and studied at St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College) where he met Phil Vischer while serving on a puppet ministry.[4] Nawrocki later enrolled at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and joined Vischer at GRAFx, Nawrocki helped to finance his medical education by taking a job with Renaissance Video, a video production facility where he gained experience in video production and animation. In 1993, Nawrocki left Film & Tape Works, a company that had purchased GRAFx Studios, and his future in medicine to join Vischer and founded Big Idea Productions.[5] After Big Idea's liquidation in 2003, Nawrocki reactivated the company in 2004.[6]

On September 30, 2008, Big Idea Entertainment announced that Nawrocki had been appointed to Executive Vice President. He will "oversee all creative and production at the Big Idea studio," "spearhead the development and launch of new series, brands and properties for Big Idea," will have the "initial focus will include developing an original new VeggieTales TV series," and "cultivate new strategic partnerships and alliances in the creative community to help expand the Big Idea portfolio."

In 2014, DreamWorks Classics, the parent company of Big Idea, signed an exclusive deal with Netflix to produce and distribute VeggieTales in the House. Nawrocki was signed on to continue voicing Larry, Jerry, and Jean-Claude.[7]

Awards

Year Award Nominated work Result
1997 Animated Short Film or Video World's Children's Prize Foundation's Children's Jury Award Bellybutton Won
1997 Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award A Very Veggie Christmas Won
1998 Long Form Music Video of the Year GMA Dove Award A Very Silly Sing Along Won
2000 Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award Larry-Boy: The Soundtrack Won
2001 Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award A Queen, A King, and A Very Blue Berry - VeggieTunes; Won
2003 Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award Jonah, A Veggie Tales Movie Original Soundtrack Won
2004 Long Form Music Video of the Year GMA Dove Award VeggieTales: Very Silly Songs Nominated
2007 Children's Music Album of the Year GMA Dove Award VeggieTales Worship Songs Won
2014 Children's Album of the Year GMA Dove Award 25 Favorite Bible Songs - Veggie Tales Won

Published works

Filmography

Year Title Voice role Crew role, notes
1993–present VeggieTales series Larry the Cucumber, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, others Director, producer, writer, composer, score, executive producer
2000–03, 2006–08 3-2-1 Penguins! Vacuum Developer, writer
2002 Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie Larry, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, others Director, writer, composer
2002–03 Larryboy: The Cartoon Adventures Larry-Boy/Larry
2005-present Sesame Street Larry The Cucumber (possibly replacing Caroll Spinney)
2008 The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie Eliot, Pirate Jean Claude Pea, others Producer, writer
2014–present VeggieTales in the House Larry, Jerry Gourd, Jean Claude Pea, others Writer

References

  1. "Mike Nawrocki of VeggieTales". First Person Interview with Wayne Shepherd. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  2. Filby, Julie (November 20, 2013). "Virtuous veggies 'leaf' big impression". Denver Catholic. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  3. "Bloomberg Business Profile". Bloomberg. August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
  4. "'Veggie' Sprouts In Mainstream". Billboard. 30 May 1998. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  5. Easley, Michael (December 9, 2014). "Michael Easley inContext interview with Mike Nawrocki". Michael Easley inContext. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  6. Pistorius, Martin (May 1, 2004). "Running Out of Miracles". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  7. Kessel, Jaclyn (2014-11-14). "EXCLUSIVE: Mike Nawrocki of 'VeggieTales In The House' Talks Series Netflix Reboot". Decider | Where To Stream Movies & Shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, HBO Go. Retrieved 2015-08-09.

External links

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