by Suzanne Hadley

When Alijandra N. was a little girl, her dad had a special talent. He could sound just like Larry the Cucumber when he told her stories. It wasn't until Ally was older that she realized her dad was Larry, the loveable hero of VeggieTales.

“It's a really fun thing to have your dad as Larry the Cucumber,” the 9-year-old says.

Ally's dad, Mike, co-created VeggieTales with Phil Vischer (the voice of Bob the Tomato) five years before Ally was born. She's grown up with Larry, but she prefers just plain Dad. Mike and Ally's father-daughter bond goes beyond a love for M&M's and the same contagious laugh; the pair also shares a talent for voices.

Ally voices two parts in The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, VeggieTales' second big-screen film: She plays George's daughter, Lucy, and the Rock Monster Girl. (Mike is the voice of the Rock Monster Dad.) The movie will be in theaters this month. Even though her dad directed the film, Ally had to earn her own way into the veggie-voice business.

Easy Being Green

Ally got her chance three years ago, when Phil's daughter, Shelby, retired from doing the voice of Annie, a recurring VeggieTales character.

“Her voice didn't sound that young anymore,” Ally explains. Mike thought Ally would be perfect for the part, because she was a good reader and very expressive.

Director Tim Hodge auditioned a lot of girls for Annie. “I was just biting my lip in the background, because I wanted her to get the part,” Mike says. “She did a really good job with it, and Tim picked her.”

Since then, Ally has played several parts in VeggieTales episodes and sung on the Easter CD.

Playing Rock Monster Girl was a challenge, because there weren't any lines. She only laughed. Ally had to laugh in the studio for more than 10 minutes.

“Everyone in the control room was cracking up,” Mike says. “It was hilarious.”

Grow For It

Ally's favorite thing about being in the film was spending time with her dad in the studio. “It's fun because he gets to see my progress,” she says. Sometimes he gives her tips, but “most of the time he just likes the way I do it.”

Mike began making up voices in high school, when he worked with his church's puppet ministry. In fact, the voice of Larry comes from a puppet character named Soupy that Mike created during college.

“At that point it was lower and dopier and had a lisp,” Mike says. “Over the years it's gotten higher pitched, and Larry has lost a little bit of the lisp. He's had some speech therapy along the way.”

Mike has voiced an assortment of VeggieTales characters, including Jerry Gourd and Jean Claude Pea. And when it comes to voice talent, Mike and Ally are two peas in a pod. “I'm just so proud as a dad to see how well she does at it,” he says. “It's fun working with her.”

Ally has also inherited her dad's heart for sharing God's love with people. She and some friends from church make cards and send them to kids who are in the hospital. Ally also sees VeggieTales as a ministry. “A lot of kids who aren't Christians yet can learn from VeggieTales,” she says. “It really teaches a good lesson.”

The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything Elliot, Sedgewick and George (played by Larry the Cucumber, Mr. Lunt and Pa Grape) have jobs as busboys at a pirate-themed restaurant. But the three long to star in their own spectacular pirate show. When Elliot finds the mysterious “Helpseeker,” the three lazy misfits are launched back to the 17th century, where they must rescue a royal family from a conniving band of pirates.

While the trio learns to do “pirate” things, like read a map and sail a ship, they discover that real heroes don't have to be tall, strong or handsome; they just need to do what's right.

Mike says: “It's just a really funny movie. It's got great music, and it's really exciting. There's something about being on the ocean with action and adventure. God calls us into adventure, and He equips us with what we need to follow Him.”

	Q: How do bees telephone one another? A: They just give each other a buzz. Zephan S., 9, Kentucky Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe