Former Nickelodeon kids show creator launches 'The Garden' series to help viewers learn Bible lessons
Butch Hartman knows how to make successful children's entertainment. As the creator of Nickelodeon's most successful animated children’s series, “The Fairly OddParents,” he's now focusing on making as much Christian content for children and families as possible. Hartman and his wife recently launched the 40-episode cartoon “The Garden,” which also has an app and a companion Bible that includes illustrations of the characters from the series.
“The Garden” centers around the characters Lenny the lion and Lucy the lamb. Together they live in a garden where everything that's beautiful grows and they get to talk to God daily. God, whom they refer to as "the boss," comes down as a rainbow, talks to them and gives them an assignment or task, which they usually do not do well until they reflect on Scripture which teaches them how to best accomplish their goal. Bible verses are shared through song, which helps children memorize the verses.
Butch Hartman and his wife, Julieann, recently released the first six episodes on PureFlix, Yippee and Christian Cinema.
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“Our point is to get Scripture as early into the hearts of children as we can,” Butch told The Christian Post.
Because of the show, “kids are learning how to go to God and to talk to God themselves,” Julieann explained, likening setting the scriptures to music to how many Gen Xers memorized important facts about U.S. history and civics by watching "Schoolhouse Rock!" which were educational short films that aired during children's programming on Saturday mornings.
In a Q&A with The Christian Post, Butch and Julieann Hartman, the couple share how God impressed on their hearts the urgency to reach children with the Gospel’s life-changing message in “The Garden" series. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
CP: Following many successful years in Hollywood, what events led you to want to create content influenced by your Christian faith?
BH: I became a Christian in the year 2000, and I had already been in the Hollywood industry for about nine years at that point. When I met Jesus Christ, my whole heart changed, and I wanted to start making things for Him. I [had] just sold "The Fairly OddParents." It wasn't a Christian show, obviously; I couldn't make it a Christian show [on Nickelodeon], but I could inject maybe some Christian values into it — love and family and things like that. But all through the years, I really wanted to make something for the Christian audience. But I didn't really know how.
In 2005, I had this idea for a show and didn't really know what to do with it. Fast forward to 2015 and the Lord really impressed upon us to make this show. We made seven episodes of "The Garden"... and then we sat on them for a while and didn't do anything with them. I left Nickelodeon in 2018. And then, in 2021, we had the opportunity to pitch "The Garden" to a group of highly motivated investor people, and they really loved it and we ended up being able to get some support to make 40 episodes.
CP: Can you share why children need to have access to this type of content?
JH: These kids have been traumatized by so much from COVID to all of the shootings that are going on. I mean, they are traumatized. They've got to go somewhere and we don't want them to go on medication. We don't want that to get to the point where, at 5 years old, they're having to take anti-anxiety medication when they've got Jesus who can be their advocate; Jesus is their comforter and their Father.
BH: He's the Prince of peace, so if you allow Him to be the Prince of peace in your life, He will be. We're just trying to introduce kids to Jesus. "Hey, here's who Jesus is. Check Him out. He wants to hang out with you and get to know you."
This is a seed we're offering to the Lord. This is an offering. We first started coming up with the idea, we just laid it at the Lord's feet. "This is your show Father, you're the CEO." God is the CEO – God orders our steps and He tells us what to do. We pray about it.
We want to make sure that families and kids know that God is always there. The Bible says He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He has not left the building. People think He has. The world wants you to think God has left the building. The world is trying to make sure that you think God is gone, but God has not gone.
CP: When bad things happen, sometimes people blame God and ask why He allows unexplainable tragedies to happen and say this is reason alone not to believe in Him or that He exists. How do you respond when you hear such statements?
BH: There's a very intense marketing campaign that the enemy has put in place that tries to make God look bad every single day. But it's up to you, as a parent and as a grandparent, to teach your children that God has not left. It's the narrow path. The Bible says that there's the broad way that leads to destruction. And that's the path everybody goes down — that's the path to destruction. But it's the narrow way that will lead you to salvation. It's hard to find and it's a difficult path. You can find it if you look for it, even though the world tries to cover it up.
So, "The Garden" is a way to look for that narrow path. Hopefully, kids will get those songs in their heart and see those episodes and go, "You know what? God's pretty cool. I want to hang out with Him."
JH: Also, it says that I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on me. So if we've got songs and dialogue that children are listening to, that can keep their mind stayed on Him, whether keeping a little song in their head during the horrible times that we are going through on a daily basis. That is something that will carry them through and will sustain them.
BH: Christ has always been controversial, right? He even says, if you follow me, don't be surprised if the world hates you because it hated me first. Jesus warns us of this but He also says, "You know the truth; the truth will set you free." Sometimes when you're talking truth, some people don't want to hear it. But I do think it's important because Jesus was a truth-teller. Jesus never compromised on the truth ever. One thing we've got to learn is we can't compromise either. Even though some out there want us to compromise and they try their best to get us to compromise. And it can be challenging, it can be very scary, and it can be very daunting to talk about the Lord. But we just felt in our hearts it's time.
This is only one cartoon. It's just one option out there for people. We want to start making more cartoons too. We're making some other programming right now as well. Some of it's overtly Christian and some of it's just family-friendly.
The Hartmans have also partnered with Harper-Collins to create The Garden Children's Bible, which premiered on Saturday at the Museum of the Bible. There's also an app for "The Garden" that parents can download. Capital Records has also released "The Garden" soundtrack. For more information about this cartoon and other programming updates, click here.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: jeannie.law@christianpost.com She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
