Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

Plot synopsis:
Bob the Tomato and Dad Asparagus are driving Junior Asparagus, Laura Carrot, and other Veggie children to see the popular singer "Twippo" in concert. During the drive, Laura taunts the other children because she won a backstage pass; much to the annoyance of Junior. Circumstances unfold and soon Bob loses control of the vehicle, causing Laura to lose her pass, and the van careens down a hill, stopping short of a river.
In a nearby restaurant, Bob blames Dad Asparagus for the crash and Junior tells a grieving Laura that losing her pass was her own fault. Once seated by the maître d's, Jean-Claude and Phillipe Pea, Junior is met by Larry the Cucumber, Pa Grape, and Mr. Lunt, who collectively comprise The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, who tell Junior that he was being rather tough on his friend and encourage him to show some compassion. To illustrate their point, they tell all the Veggies a story about a man of God named Jonah.
Jonah (Archibald Asparagus) is a Prophet of ancient Israel who goes from town to town delivering God's messages. One night, God asks him to deliver a message to Nineveh, the harsh and dangerous capitol city of Assyria. However, Jonah is unwilling to preach a word of repentance to the Ninevites and instead tries to flee from the Lord by having The Pirates sail him to Tarshish. After leaving port, a guilt-stricken Jonah goes below deck to rest where he meets Khalil, a traveling Persian rug salesman and a stowaway.
After experiencing a nightmare, Jonah awakens to find the ship beset by a great storm. Captain Pa Grape concludes that the storm has been sent because God is angry at someone on the ship. The group decides to play Go Fish to divine who is at fault. Jonah loses the game and is forced to walk the plank. As soon as Jonah is off the ship, the skies clear and the Pirates attempt to reel him back in, but a giant fish swallows Jonah. Attacking the fish, the Pirates fire a cannon with a bowling ball (with Khalil inside it) as ammo. The whale swallows the ball, disgorges Jonah's lifebelt, and swims away.
Inside the belly of the whale, Khalil finds a grieving Jonah and the pair are soon visited by a host of God's angels, who explain through song that if Jonah repents, God will grant him a second chance. Upon repenting, Jonah and Khalil are spit up onto the shore where they ride Jonah's camel, Reginald, to Nineveh.
After Jonah is denied entrance to the city, the Pirates appear, explaining that they won the Mr. Twisty's Twisted Cheese Curls sweepstakes which grants them free access to Ninevah where they are produced. Sneaking Jonah and Khalil into the city, the group is soon arrested after Larry tries to steal the King's Cheese Curls and are sentenced to death. As a last request, they are granted an audience with King Twistomer (Apollo Gourd). Jonah then delivers the message given to him by God that the Ninevites should repent of their ways forever or Nineveh will be destroyed. King Twistomer and the Ninevites quickly agree.
Still expecting God to destroy Ninevah for their past sins, Jonah watches from a distance in the hot sun. Feeling compassion for Jonah, God provides a plant to shade Jonah, only for Khalil to eat a single leaf off the plant, which kills it. Jonah laments the dead plant, but Khalil is disappointed in Jonah who shows compassion for a plant, but not for the Ninevites. He then tries to explain that God is compassionate and merciful and that he wants to give everyone a second chance. But Jonah refuses to accept that and states it would be better if he died. The story ends with Khalil and Reginald leaving Jonah to his sulking.
Back in the present day, the Veggies are disappointed in the anti-climactic ending, but come to understand the point of the story: God wants everybody to show compassion and mercy, even to those that do not seem to deserve it. Twippo then appears in the restaurant unexpectedly and offers to give everybody a lift to the concert, while Bob forgives Dad Asparagus and Junior gives his Twippo ticket to Laura. The film ends in song and the arrival of the tow truck driver, who is none other than Khalil.

Tags: cult

Review:
The movie certainly works for children, but those familiar with the Veggie franchise understand that much in the same way as Bugs Bunny, The Flintstones, and the Muppets that much of the humor is for the adults.The movie works on a number of levels:1) It tells a cohesive story for both the Veghead and the Veggie novice.
(He actually does help save the ship in one episode.)  I like Jr. in small doses and I was certainly able to swallow his part in this movie.4) Larry the Cucumber is an integral part of the film.
The film is certainly strong enough to  overcome these minor flaws (but when Veggie 2 starts being created, I better get a call!)Overall, Big Idea Productions should be very pleased with this movie and I think the film going public should be as well..
Although the movie tells the biblical story of Jonah, plenty of artistic lisence is taken to provide an upbeat, musical, and knee slapping experiance for the entire audiance.
You see, the creators of Veggie Tales (Big Idea) always try to throw in a few jokes every now and then that only adults will be able to enjoy, but unless you are actually paying attention to the film you might miss it.Now I've said that artistic lisence is taken in telling the Jonah story; however, this does not mean that you are being told an entirely different story from the one in the bible.
If you answered yes, then I see no reason why you won't absolutely adore this great accomplishment and wonderful new addition to the Big Idea Productions family.A full-length VeggieTales movie (83 minutes is a bit on the short side, but that works better for the kids) is slightly different from one of their videos.
If you've never experienced VeggieTales, you might not get all of the jokes or might think it's a little strange to see "hopping" talking vegetables, but believe me...it's worth it.Happy movie watching, and stick around through the credits for a cute little addition!.
Lots of insolent humour, good songs (a great Gospel number, for instance, and "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"), and a moral -- a little broadly spread, but not unpalpable.It's sort of nice to have God in a movie without his name being taken "in vain."  Nice change from the sort of movie I prefer.And my kids loved it.I hope this gets a wider distribution before its video release..
Jonah: A Veggie Tales movie should only be the kind of fodder to show to kids who have gotten too bored with the boring Bible readings in Sunday school.
But somehow, based on a recommendation from a friend (who sometimes leans towards the strange and abstract anyway), I watched the Veggie Tales movie and it is actually much better than should ever be considered.
But it's a little different than that, at least as far as the movie goes.It is ultimately very silly and marketed more for a specific target group of kids- Christian kids looking for morals in the stories of the Old Testament, in this case being the tale of 2nd chances taken and missed and slipped up on with a prophet via a giant whaler- and yet there is an appeal as far as taking less than two pages of the bible and making it into a 75 minute movie.
This isn't Pixar that one will be getting, but a lot of very clean-looking talking vegetables (where are their arms, minus the caterpillar guy, you might ask), and with a lot of extra-goofy songs; one of them is even a gospel tune, sung by angels whilst Jonah is trapped in the whale's belly.
All I could think watching this scene was "wow, what the hell, no pun intended, is this?" That was much of the reaction I had to what went on, and I even got a few genuine surprises through the story as I wasn't totally familiar with it all.If there is any crossover appeal, aside for the parents in watching their kids having fun enjoying the coolest little figures out of cartoon-like abstractions, with creatures bouncy and bright and even very cute (those peas are about as adorable as Miyazaki creations, if less textured).
The Veggie gang makes its way onto the big screen to tell the tale of Jonah..
I don't remember what they ask Junior, but they eventually strike up a conversation, and the pirates tell Junior the story of that one time when they met Jonah and had a little adventure Jonah was a prophet who traveled across Israel delivering God's messages to His people.
He hires the pirates who don't do anything to take him out there, and so the four of them set sail for Tarshish.Just like in the Bible story, there's a big storm because of Jonah, and after they cast lots to determine who is responsible (done quite ingeniously in the movie I think), they throw Jonah into the ocean.
The storm goes away when they throw him in, and a whale (not a big fish like the story) comes along and swallows Jonah up.
There Jonah has a little encounter with a choir of asparagus angels, and then the whale barfs him up on the shore, and he heads out for Ninevah.I think the hilarious thing is how the pirates end the story.
Just like in the Bible story, at the end, Jonah is wailing and mourning and whining and crying and there's no real conclusion, and that's how it ends in the movie.
Of course, there's still some other stuff that happens outside of the story segment of the movie.Overall it's done pretty cleverly, but it doesn't quite have the same Veggie Tales zip that it should.
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie is a perfectly good-hearted, innocuous tool to help indoctrinate your children into the Christian faith.
However, if one can look past the colorful qualities for just a few moments, they will find nothing more than a surface-level, preachy, morality play that grows tiresome quickly and is thankfully punctuated by a fluffy song in between the dreary exposition of the Bible.The film opens with Bob the Tomato driving Dad Asparagus and several young vegetable children to a concert.
They wind up getting into a bit of a wreck and seek help at a seafood restaurant where they meet "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." "The Pirates" decide to entertain the gang by telling them the story of Jonah, an ambitious prophet who makes a living preaching the word of God to different towns.
One song in particular I enjoyed, and wish was actually a complete tune, is "Billy Joe McGuffrey," which the young Veggie children are singing in the car which winds up distracting Bob the Tomato as he drives in a rush to see the concert.
The fast-paced tune, the frantic animation, and the excitement of everything happening at once made me feel like a young kid watching the VeggieTales on a Saturday morning.
What followed were other catchy tunes that, thankfully, were complete songs, like "Message From the Lord" and "Jonah Was a Prophet," two songs I'll be damned if I could get out of my head.I think that's value of watching something like Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie when you're either too old or an outsider of the target audience is the nostalgia factor.
I honestly don't get how people are put off by the Veggie videos, as they are very non-preachy and simply teach kids, in an entertaining way, that it's good to share, be thankful for what you have and to have the courage to stand up for your convictions.
The movie is a little more, "We should do what God wants us to do."  Still, kids will be entertained and parents won't be checking their watches..
This means the main story ends on a bit of a down, and the tacked on `big finale' seems out of place to me.The fact that the main character turns out to be not so nice partially explains the "casting".If you're a big VeggieTale fan, you'll be left wondering why both the stars `Bob and Larry' have such a small part.
They appeal to both adults and children; their humor is juvenile on one level and very adult on another, similar to "The Simpsons." "VeggieTales" actually became so famous for a while in the regular mainstream market that Big Idea (the creators of the shorts) began to extend the new movies, and then created their own full-length theatrical feature film, "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie." Unfortunately, the full-length film proves that thirty-minute shorts are far better.
The movie's Christian preaching is clearer than in the shorts, and the story itself runs out of steam rather fast.The Veggies are traveling and their car breaks down, and while they're stranded in a seafood restaurant of some sort, the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything begin to tell them of a tale involving Jonah, who was told by God to deliver a message to the people of Ninheva.
He instead boarded a pirate ship in an attempt to fool God, but soon a maelstrom had him thrown off board by the pirates and swallowed by an enormous whale.I ultimately couldn't really get into this film - it's not anywhere near as funny as the classic Veggie shorts or successful in its fusion of preaching Biblical values and slapstick humor.Overall, something of a "mixed vegetables" bag.
There is no Disney-fication of the facts, yet they still leave you entertained and with a positive message.I saw this with my three kids, ages 3,6, and 9 and they all loved it - watched silently with great interest.
After this movie, my six year old can define mercy in very simple terms, something I could not do prior to seeing Jonah.Parents - take you kids to see this film.
From the opening logo to the 2 songs in the credits, every single minute(83 in total) is a pure delight.The movie starts out with Bob, Junior, his dad, Laura, and a few other Veggie characters in a van on the way to a concert.
With this memory, they teach the customers a lesson in how God wants us to give each other a 2nd chance when we do something wrong.Jonah has some of the best songs Veggie Tales has to offer-2nd Chances is so catchy I recall dancing all over the living room floor as a kid...and a 16 year old.
(Don't judge me!) There is also A Message From the Lord, Jonah Was A Prophet, Billy Joe McGuffery, Steak and Shrimp, and a few others.The animation isn't Pixar level, but Veggie Tales is made by a company that had a limited budget.
The great Bible story and moral is one that should be presented to anyone, whether or not they believe in God. Forgiveness is something we should all try to give.Jonah is spectacular beyond words, with A Message From The Lord that all should hear...and enjoy..
This movie has everything you could want out of a "Veggietales" adventure and more.The retelling of the Jonah story is really well done here.
The animation has improved (though nowhere near Pixar level of course), song writing is just as great as ever, and the editing is all fine, but it was a story that could have been greatly shortened to have made standard video show length.
The character art is definatly top quality but the art of the characters in Monsters Inc and Ice Age could be considered TECHNICALLY better due to there being lots of fur and other hard-to-digitally-animate features.Finally, there are many hours of character development backing up most of the characters in the movie, in the VeggieTales video series so I know who Bob and Larry, Pa Grape and Mr. Lunt are before I even go to see the film.
For examples, Jonah didn't want to go to Ninevah, he did decide to go to Tarshish instead, he did stay in the whale for three days and nights, and the vine episode at the end really involved a worm eating it away (although this worm is Khalil, the half catapillar hooked on motivational tapes.)This VeggieTale is funny for family, but some may find it a bit dull compared to the thirty-minute ones of before.
Great animation, very funny dialogs, great music, and enough little bits to keep the adults as engrossed as the kids (how many movie references did you catch?).
The Veggie Tales idea of Sunday morning values with Saturday morning fun was transferred to the big screen in an excellent manner with this movie.
My entire family enjoyed the movie very much and were pleased that it included Jonah being angry with God when He didnt destroy Nineveh,just as the book says.It is a good movie for the entire family and expands the Veggie Tales concept to the big screen very well..
The high-quality computer animation that is used for each Veggie Tales video has been upgraded and enlarged and introduces us to the most talented singing and dancing vegetables around.It's all there, from the vivid colors that make our characters look so delicious, to the humor that tickles our funny bones.One of the most action-packed stories from the bible is now one of the funniest and most entertaining Sunday morning lesson to hit the big screen.
A very bold and clear message about mercy and compassion make up this wild and adventurous tale that speaks not only to the tiny vegetable fans in the audience, but to the parents as well.Like a refreshing fresh bowl of tossed salad that is low-fat but rich in flavor, this film screams for a second helping..
A Fun Movie for Any Age. In short, Jonah offers an engaging story supported by excellent animation and toe-tapping tunes.
But like any great kids movie, the humor is for anyone and adults will find more to laugh at than kids.Big Idea Productions has proven they can project their big ideas on the silver screen.
Sure hope that others can halt their adult critical thinking skills long enough to just enjoy the movie as it was meant to be enjoyed - silliness for everyone with a great Christian message.Let's keep it positive Christians, sometimes we have to walk away and dust our feet for those who will not follow.
The world needs more movies with great messages like Jonah!
Jonah- A Veggie Tales Movie is a breath of fresh air to an entertainment world full of violence, sex, and adult themes.
Like other Veggie Tale videos, the characters are GREAT FUN for the kids, and at the same time have that subtle adult humor.
the kids were all bouncing in their seats, clapping their hands, smiling, HAVING AN ABSOLUTELY GREAT TIME.Because the story of Jonah has it roots both in history and Hebrew Bible...
well here is a movie that works both as a great family film (i wonder if my nephews have the patience to sit 82 minutes....) and quality entertainment for collegefolk like myself..
Unlike the online trailer, which used modern music humorously, the actual movie dropped the good music for pretty badly written fare.My kids (and I) loved Lilo and Stitch, and came out telling me how important family was.
My husband and i went to see it together (he likes Veggie Tales as well, though i think i am the bigger fan).The movie was a very good movie.
But i don't think it fully lived up to the Veggie Tales greatness which has been shown with some of their videos.I would recommend this movie.
All in all a good movie for those who like to lie to their kids.
Very creative, Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie, is a treat for young and old.
The animation is cheese at best, the humor is weak at best, and the story is a 10 to 15 minute clip from the Bible turned into a 90 minute movie.My head hurt after watching 10 minutes of this film.
It is a simple story, one that is good fodder for the folks at "Big Idea Productions;" the home studio of all the VeggieTales videos.
It can be done, and done well, but the folks at Bid Idea don't quite deliver a film up to the usual VeggieTale standards of cuteness and fun.The story begins when Bob the Tomato, Dad the Asparagus, Junior, Laura, and a couple of friends are riding through the woods and hills on their way to a see a "Twippo" concert.
We all left disappointed.For those who don't know the franchise, Veggie tales are wholesome children's stories with a `God' theme.
Characters like `The Pirates who don't do Anything' are fun to watch, as is the amazing rendering of the animation (earlier videos showed major polygons in the curves of the eyes, as an example), but the movie was preachy, plain and simple.
Perhaps it's the length of the film; more isn't always better.I think BigIdea was too quickly sold on the concept that for the full screen they needed a big idea, and what could be bigger than the whale that swallows Jonah?
it was awesome fun for both adults and kids alike.The story of Jonah comes straight from Old Testament history.
At one quiet moment, I heard a little boy exclaim "I really like this movie!" to the agreement and chuckles of everyone in the theater.If you're a parent that wants to teach your kids "good things" there is a lot of moral value to the film.
My kids love the whole series of Veggie videos, and I have to admit, that I get a good laugh out of each that I have seen.
Then they end up in a restaurant, and the main tale of Jonah is told by, my favorites of the Veggie Family, `The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything'.And, I have to say, that's where the steam seems to start to go out of the film.
Why not a good Pirate's Who Don't Do Anything movie?DO be sure you stay and watch the credits, for a great tune, and note the fact that `NO vegetables were harmed in the filming'.