Dave was right about the movie...they expanded the company hugely in order to make that film, and never made enough back quick enough to cover themselves.
I saw Vischer at a conference November before last. He got choked up talking about it. A creative guy, he found himself wanting to write for Big Idea, but he had to hire other people to do the writing because he was stuck in HR meetings all day.
A miserable way to go for all concerned, and in the process he lost control of his creations: the characters themselves.
Here is Phil Vischer's account of the fall of Big Idea:
http://www.philvischer.com/index.php/?p=38
Sad. I was wondering if at the time they were over-reaching.
Hopefully whoever owns the franchise now won't ruin it. VT were a godsend for our kids who happened to be the right age at the right time. They were able to ride the VeggieTales phenomenon from the beginning.