Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, co-creators of the children's Christian cartoon and arguable cultural phenomenon, VeggieTales, along with frequent composer Kurt Heinecke and Junior Asparagus's voice actor, Lisa Vischer, have been struggling to maintain creative control of the property since Big Idea's bankruptcy and purchase in the mid-2000s. This culminated in Universal and Dreamworks purchasing the property themselves in the early 2010s, and making the Netflix series VeggieTales in the House and in the City with Phil and Mike only providing voices. They briefly got creative control again in the early 2020s with The VeggieTales Show, but with existing executive pressure, Phil once again asked for more freedom on the show. This, unfortunately, resulted in not only Phil's firing but also Mike's, Kurt's, and Lisa's, and Universal would go on to make VeggieTales content- most notably a children's podcast- without their involvement.

In January 2024, VeggieTales's official X account posted that they are working on a theatrical release to come out in 2026 titled "LarryBoy Begins". According to Phil Vischer, Mike was asked to work on the film, though he has not decided whether to say yes and neither of them knew about the movie's development until the X announcement. 

Universal has repeatedly demonstrated that they don't understand what made the original VeggieTales as iconic as it is, as fans have reacted very negatively to their efforts over the years. Their attempts to replicate VeggieTales's heart and humor are only half-baked replicas of Phil and Mike's ingenious writing and voice acting, Kurt Heinecke's beautiful compositions, and Lisa Vischer's remarkable job as Junior. VeggieTales will only experience continued success under the hands that have guided it since the beginning, lovingly instilling good values and endless charm into the characters they know better than anyone else.

Those of us who grew up with VeggieTales know we can't let this beloved franchise fall into obscurity and be perverted from its original greatness. In signing this petition, we are letting Universal know that they are currently missing out on one of the most golden opportunities of their lifetime by not letting the original creators of VeggieTales have dominant creative control over it; and asking that Phil and Mike, at the bare minimum, have prominent involvement in "LarryBoy Begins" as well as all future VeggieTales projects. There's never been a show like VeggieTales, and after thirty amazing years, we refuse to see it die.