Bouncy animation and catchy songs keep the film from tasting too much like spinach.
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)
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Reviews Counted:17
Fresh:13
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Jonah teaches wholesome messages to children in a funny, bouncy package.
Theatrical Release:Oct 4, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $25,408,198
Synopsis:
Get ready for the biggest event in VeggieTales history -- the first feature-length film showcasing the characters you love, as well as some new friends that will take you on the adventure of a...
Get ready for the biggest event in VeggieTales history -- the first feature-length film showcasing the characters you love, as well as some new friends that will take you on the adventure of a lifetime!
The action begins on a moonlit night when a van of singing Veggies encounter some unexpected trouble. After a heated battle with a clothesline, a pair of boxer shorts and, yes, porcupines, Bob the Tomato and the Veggie kids find themselves at an old, rundown seafood joint where nothing is quite as it seems.
Here they encounter "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," the laziest bunch of scalawags and biggest root beer consumers to never sail the Seven Seas. As Bob and the kids settle in to wait for a tow truck to help get their van back on the road, these curious Pirates share a little story about a guy named Jonah. As the story begins, we are transported to another time and place, where society moves a bit slower than in today's times.
Now Jonah is kind of like a mailman -- except his messages came straight from God! Jonah loves his job, until the day comes when he has to deliver a message to the people of Nineveh. You see, Jonah hates the Ninevites. They lie! They steal! But worst of all, they slap people with fishes! Instead of carrying out his mission, Jonah turns and sets sail in the opposite direction onboard a pirate ship. From the hold of this vessel, where he meets Khalil, a chatty carpet salesman who just happens to be a caterpillar, to the belly of a whale where he meets -- whoops! We can't tell you who he meets there -- to the heart of Nineveh for a hilarious showdown, Jonah goes on an adventure none of them (ncluding the whale) will soon forget! And everyone will learn that one of the best gifts you can give (or get) is a second chance.
This eye-popping animated film will be in theatres this fall, and is brought to you by Big Idea Productions, the creators of the wildly popular CGI video series, VeggieTales. -- © FHE Pictures
Starring: Tim Hodge, Lisa Vischer, Dan Anderson, Kristin Blegen
Starring: Tim Hodge, Lisa Vischer, Dan Anderson, Kristin Blegen, Shelby Vischer
Director: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki
Director: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki
Screenwriter: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki
Producer: Ameake Owens
Composer: Kurt Heinecke, Phil Vischer
Studio: FHE Pictures
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Reviews for Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
If a big musical number like 'Praise the Lord, He's the God of Second Chances' doesn't put you off, this will be an enjoyable choice for younger kids.
The movie's heart is in the right place, but all its messages of tolerance might resonate better if the Spanish-accented pirate didn't get drawn with a gold tooth and the turban-wearing Khalil wasn't an opportunistic rug merchant.
Spears of Afro-topped asparagus singing gospel and French-accented peas working as maitre d's at a seafood restaurant -- what's not to love?
You and your kids could do worse. You and your kids probably have done worse.
The animation is competent, and some of the gags are quite funny, but Jonah ... never shakes the oppressive, morally superior good-for-you quality that almost automatically accompanies didactic entertainment.
The main lessons Jonah attempts to teach are compassion and mercy. That's an unusual -- and welcome -- message these days.
It's hard to argue with a children's movie that puts bouncy rhythm to the song lyric, 'Don't fight/Don't cheat/Wash your hands before you eat.'
It's got its heart in the right place, but it also wilts after awhile.
A garden-fresh morality tale for the kids, with Monty Python-inspired humor.
Occasionally, in the course of reviewing art-house obscurities and slam-bam action flicks, a jaded critic smacks into something truly new.
One thing you have to give them credit for: The message of the movie is consistent with the messages espoused in the company's previous video work.
This animated retelling of the familiar Old Testament story is playful, high-spirited and unmistakably amusing.
Theology aside, why put someone who ultimately doesn't learn at the center of a kids' story?
Much of this slick and sprightly CGI feature is sufficiently funny to amuse even the most resolutely unreligious parents who escort their little ones to megaplex screenings.
A musical whale-of-a-tale that should engage, inform and amuse parents as well as offspring.
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