Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
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| Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Phil Vischer Mike Nawrocki |
| Produced by | Ameake Owens |
| Written by | Phil Vischer Mike Nawrocki |
| Story by | Tim Hodge |
| Starring | Phil Vischer Mike Nawrocki Tim Hodge Lisa Vischer Dan Anderson Shelby Vischer Kristin Blegen Jim Poole |
| Music by | Kurt Heinecke Dave Mullen Phil Vischer |
| Editing by | John Wahba |
| Studio | Big Idea Productions |
| Distributed by | Artisan Entertainment FHE Pictures Lions Gate Entertainment BBC (UK) |
| Release date(s) | October 4, 2002 |
| Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $14,000,000 |
| Box office | $25,615,231 |
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2002 American computer-animated comedy film based on VeggieTales, produced by Big Idea Productions, Lions Gate Films and FHE Pictures. It is the first feature-length film in the VeggieTales series.
The themes of the film are compassion and mercy. The film weaves two stories together to illustrate these themes. The first takes place in the current day and concerns a mishap that occurs on the way to a concert. The second, set in ancient Israel, is based directly on the Biblical story of Jonah. Through both stories viewers learn that they should be compassionate and merciful and that all people deserve a second chance.
This film features the popular "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" in both segments. They were first seen in the Silly Song of the same name in Very Silly Songs! and later hosted The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown.
Most of the animation was done in house by Big Idea Productions.
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[edit] Plot
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2009) |
The film opens on a Volkswagen Bus where Bob the Tomato is driving some of the Veggie children to see the popular singer "Twippo" in concert. Meanwhile, Laura Carrot is taunting the other children because she won a backstage pass in a contest and will get to meet Twippo after the concert.
When Dad Asparagus turns around to tell Laura not to rub it in, he hits Bob with the steering wheel, making him lose control of the vehicle. The vehicle goes careening down a hill and hits a stump just short of a river, with Laura losing her backstage pass along the way.
Unable to proceed, they take refuge in a nearby fancy, French, seafood restaurant. But conflict is tearing the little group apart: Bob blames Dad Asparagus for crashing the car, and Junior blames Laura. Junior, sitting at a table alone is met by the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. The Pirates say he was tough on his friend and encourage him to show some compassion. To illustrate, they begin to tell all the Veggies a story (which they claim to have experienced, despite it clearly being set in ancient times).
Jonah (Archibald Asparagus) is a Prophet who receives messages from the Lord and delivers them to the Israelites. One day, God asks him to leave Israel and deliver a message to Nineveh, a rough and dangerous city in Assyria, whose inhabitants the Israelites and Jonah hate and fear. Jonah panics and tries to flee from the Lord. He goes to his travel agent, Angus (Scooter Carrot), who tells him that the farthest he can get from Nineveh is Tarshish. When he spies the Pirates' ship docked in the harbor, he asks them to take him to Tarshish. They resist on account of the fact that they don't know how to sail, but Jonah convinces them by paying them, as they want to win a snack food sweepstakes. On the way to Tarshish, a guilt-stricken Jonah goes below deck to rest. There, he meets Khalil the Caterpillar, an annoying traveling Persian rug salesman, who rants about how great Jonah is. He mentions Nineveh in the course of his rant, making Jonah feel even more unhappy.
Jonah wakes from a dream 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. They all play Go Fish to determine who it is: the loser will be thrown from the ship. (Larry the Cucumber cheats, but when accused, he asks "How am I supposed to cheat at Go Fish?") Jonah loses the game, admitting he is running from God, and is forced to walk the plank. Luckily, First Mate Lunt has an outboard motor, which they can use to return to Joppa. Unfortunately, Khalil accidentally destroys it. With Jonah off the ship, the skies clear immediately. The Pirates attempt to reel him back in, but a whale swallows Jonah. The whale also swallows the lifebelt attached to Jonah, and threatens to pull the ship underwater. The Pirates fire the cannon at the whale but are forced to use a bowling ball as ammo. The whale surfaces and swallows the ball with Kahlil inside.
Inside the belly of the whale, Jonah is visited by a host of God's messengers. They explain through a rousing number that if Jonah repents then God will grant him a second chance too. Jonah vows to go to Nineveh if God shows him mercy, and he and Khalil are spit up onto the shore.
Jonah proceeds straight to Nineveh as promised. After being denied entrance to the city, the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything appear, who have gained notoriety from the people of ninevah for winning the sweepstakes. They sneak Jonah into the city disguised as winners of the sweepstakes, thought they are all promptly arrested for the theft of Cheese Twists. After sentenced to death by "the Fish Slap of No Return", they are granted an audience with King Twistomer (Apollo Gourd wearing a fake mustache). When King Twistomer hears that Jonah has survived in the belly of a whale, he listens to his message. Jonah delivers the message given to him by God. He tells them they should repent and amend their ways, or Nineveh will be destroyed. King Twistomer and the Ninevites quickly repent.
Jonah waits from a distance, hoping to see God's wrath destroy Nineveh. Khalil is disappointed in Jonah, and tries to explain to him that God is compassionate and merciful, that he has granted the Ninevites a second chance, and that so too should Jonah, since he was granted mercy. But Jonah, feeling pathetic and self-important, can't accept that. The story ends with Khalil and Jonah's camel Reginald leaving Jonah on a cliff overlooking the city.
Back in the present day, the Veggies understand the point of the story. Bob forgives Dad Asparagus and Junior gives his Twippo ticket to Laura. Twippo (also Archibald Asparagus), who looks and sounds remarkably like Jonah, appears in the restaurant unexpectedly and the film ends with a grand musical number.
Prior to the credits, a tow truck driver, who looks and sounds remarkably like Khalil, walks into the restaurant. This makes him somewhat recognizable to Twippo, referencing that Twippo is Jonah and the tow truck driver is Khalil.
[edit] Cast
- Phil Vischer voices several roles:
- Bob the Tomato
- Archibald Asparagus as Twippo and Jonah
- Pirate Mr. Lunt
- Captain Pa Grape
- Mr. Nezzer
- King Twistomer
- Jimmy Gourd
- Percy and Phillipe Pea
- Mike Nawrocki voices several roles:
- Pirate Larry the Cucumber
- Jerry Gourd
- Jean Claude Pea
- Tim Hodge voices Khalil
- Dan Anderson voices Dad Asparagus
- Lisa Vischer voices Junior Asparagus
- Kristin Blegen voices Laura Carrot
- Shelby Vischer voices Annie
- Jim Poole voices Scooter
[edit] Music
- Billy Joe McGuffrey
- Drive into the River, Bob
- Steak and Shrimp
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, sung by Relient K
- Message From the Lord
- It Can Not Be
- Ding Dong
- Second Chances
- Jonah Was a Prophet
- In the Belly of the Whale, sung by Newsboys
- The Credits Song
- 3-2-1 Penguins! Theme Song (UK)
[edit] Critical reception
Reviews of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie have been slightly mixed to positive. Based on 55 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Jonah currently has a 65% approval rating from critics, with an average score of 5.8 out of 10. Among Rotten Tomatoes' Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 78%. By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 58, based on 20 reviews.
[edit] Home media
On March 8, 2011, Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie was released on Blu-ray combo pack. This happened when Twas The Night Before Easter was released.
[edit] Sequel
In 2008, Universal Pictures and Big Idea Productions released a sequel to Jonah called The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. It was the first film from Big Idea that was not animated by Big Idea. Most of the animation was produced at Starz Animation.
