New Aussie offering Ginger and the Vegesaurs is a fun, 3D-animated series about vegetables as dinosaurs and follows the adventures of a plucky young Tricarrotops called Ginger and her trusty companions, three baby Pea-Rexes – Split, Wasabi and Minty.

To celebrate its recent release on ABC, we caught up with co-creator Gary Eck, whose credits include Happy Feet 2, to chat Bokchoydactyls, Broccoliosaurs, Potatodons, Bananaraptors and more.

Where did the inspiration for Ginger and The Vegesaurs come from?

I was at the supermarket in the fruit and vegetable section watching this little kid in his mum’s trolley play with the veggies. The kid had grabbed a piece of broccoli and was threatening a zucchini. Grrring and growling. Being a big kid myself, I started to see it from the child’s perspective. What does this kid think these vegetables are? Dinosaurs or something? An image of Pea-Rex came to mind and I messaged my co-creator Nick O’Sullivan about a concept of vegetables as dinosaurs. He loved it and drew a 3D Pea-Rex as proof of concept, taking it to a whole other level. It looked hilarious and we knew we were onto something.

Tell us a little bit about the character of Ginger…

She’s tenacious, adventurous, a little cheeky, immensely curious and incredibly loyal. Basically, a good friend to have. Ginger is the only character that talks in the series (apart from the narrator) so we really live the world through her. She is probably the character kids will most relate to.

Favourite character in the series and why?

I love the baby Pea-Rexes. And I’m not just saying this because my daughter Evelia plays the voice of Minty. And when I say voice, it’s more gibberish. The baby Pea-Rexes are classic vaudevillian characters, a bit like the three stooges of the Jurassic Period… or as we call it, the Juiciest Period. They could almost have their own spin-off show! Hmmm, not a bad idea.

What do you think separates it from other shows?

Quite literally, there is nothing else like it out there. It’s truly unique but still relatable to kids and even adults. Kids are fascinated with dinosaurs in general, so I think they’ll quickly gravitate to the show. And the doco format allows for lots of messaging and humour, so best of both worlds.

What do you hope audiences take away from Ginger and the Vegesaurs?

Hopefully, the kids nag their parents for the merchandise. Just kidding (or am I?). It would be fantastic if kids started eating more vegetables. Imagine a worldwide spike in Bok Choy? Carrot consumption quadruples? The world just can’t get enough peas? Love to see that. I’m always amazed when a four year old can rattle off all the names of dinosaurs, such as Parasaurolophus, Pterosaurs, Diplodocus like they are naming cows, or sheep. So now we’ll introduce them to a whole new but familiar vocabulary – Cornosaurolophus, Bokchoydactyl, Watermelonsuchus (actually that last one is season 2…shhhhh). Ultimately kids will be highly entertained and informed and want to play with their vegetables and not just eat them.

How does Australia stack up compared to the rest of the world in regard to children’s content and have you noticed any trends over the years?

If it is original, well written with endearing, relatable characters it doesn’t matter where the content originates, kids will find it and consume it. Australia definitely ticks these boxes when it comes to creating original child’s content. You only have to look at the success of Bluey. Everyone loves that show. Ginger and the Vegesaurs certainly has worldwide appeal too. The stories of friendship, sharing, mealtimes and curiosity are universal and the device in which we tell these stories is refreshing and original – vegetables as dinosaurs!

‘Ginger and the Vegesaurs’ is currently streaming on ABC iview and the ABC Kids app