The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible | |
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Genre | |
Directed by |
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Narrated by | Michael Rye (Opening only) |
Theme music composer | Hoyt Curtin |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Editors |
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Running time | 25–30 minutes |
Production company | Hanna-Barbera Productions |
Original release | |
Release | April 26, 1985 – August 19, 1992 |
The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible is an animated direct-to-video series produced by Hanna-Barbera that tells of three young adventurers who travel back in time to watch biblical events take place.[1] Thirteen videos were released between 1985 and 1992.
Overview
Derek and Margo, two young archaeologists, are on a dig accompanied by "their nomad friend", a boy named Moki. They come across a door in an ancient ruin that turns out to be a portal through time. Though the introduction is the same in all videos, each episode sends the three friends into a different story from the Bible. They often interact with principal figures from each story, but without any significant effect upon the plot so as not to change the Bible.
However, it is possible that the trio are there to learn more about the Bible's stories than they already know. The episodes were not released in an order consistent with the Biblical chronology, but can be construed to give a coherent story beginning with "The Creation" and ending with "The Easter Story", which is told from a Christian viewpoint.
Production and distribution
The series was initially conceived by Hanna-Barbera co-founder Joseph Barbera some seventeen years before it was produced, but he had difficulty in procuring support for the project. Eventually, however, Hanna-Barbera's parent company Taft Broadcasting agreed to provide funding, and the first video was released in 1985, then Turner Home Entertainment continued production after they bought Hanna-Barbera in 1991. Sparrow-Star Song assisted with distribution, releasing all thirteen episodes on VHS, one episode per tape. Five of these episodes ("The Miracles of Jesus", "David and Goliath", "Noah's Ark", "The Easter Story", and "Moses") were released on DVD in 2006.[2][3][4]
Voice cast
Main
- Darleen Carr – Margo
- Terry McGovern – Derek (1985–1989)
- Darryl Hickman – Derek (1989–1992)
- Rob Paulsen – Moki
- Michael Rye – Narrator (main titles)
Additionals
- David Ackroyd – Jesus
- Ed Asner – Joshua
- Adrienne Barbeau –
- Robby Benson – David
- Herschel Bernardi – Goliath
- Barry Bostwick – Joseph
- Roscoe Lee Browne – Magus
- Peter Cullen – King of Nineveh, Japeth
- Tim Curry – The Serpent, Judas
- Barry Dennen –
- Nancy Dussault – Martha
- Ed Gilbert –
- Harold Gould – Benjamin
- Lorne Greene – Noah
- Scott Grimes –
- Dorian Harewood –
- Gregory Harrison – Joseph
- Mariette Hartley – Rahab
- Darryl Hickman –
- Helen Hunt – Mary
- Tony Jay – Caiaphas
- Dean Jones – King Ahasuerus
- James Earl Jones – Pharaoh
- Perry King – Samson
- Werner Klemperer – Haman
- Richard Libertini –
- Gavin MacLeod – Daniel
- Bruce McGill –
- Alan Oppenheimer – Jonah
- Vincent Price – King Herod
- Linda Purl – Delilah
- Charlotte Rae – Noah's Wife
- Ron Rifkin – Mordecai
- Marc Singer – Adam
- Helen Slater – Queen Esther
- Joe Spano – Jesus
- Kristoffer Tabori – Young Jonah
- Jeffrey Tambor – Eli, Peter
- Richard Thomas – Mark
- Les Tremayne – the Storyteller and God
- Frank Welker –
- James Whitmore – Moses
- Bill Woodson –
- William Wright –
- Stephanie Zimbalist – Eve
Episodes
No. | Title | Story by | Storyboarded by | Original release date | |
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1 | "Moses" | Harvey Bullock | Ric Estrada | April 26, 1985 | |
2 | "David and Goliath" | Harvey Bullock | Ric Estrada | April 25, 1986 | |
3 | "Joshua and the Battle of Jericho" | Harvey Bullock | Ric Estrada | April 25, 1986 | |
The trio find themselves ensnared in the Battle of Jericho. | |||||
4 | "Noah's Ark" | Harvey Bullock | Ric Estrada | April 25, 1986 | |
The protagonists find themselves aboard Noah's Ark. | |||||
5 | "Samson and Delilah" | Harvey Bullock | Ric Estrada | April 25, 1986 | |
6 | "Daniel and the Lion's Den" | Dennis Marks | Ric Estrada | April 25, 1986 | |
The trio find themselves in Babylon, where they witness the miracle of Daniel in the lions' den. | |||||
7 | "The Nativity" | Bruce D. Johnson and Harvey Bullock, Dennis Marks (teleplay) | Ric Estrada and Robert Taylor | October 15, 1987 | |
The trio witnesses the birth of Jesus. | |||||
8 | "The Creation" | Dennis Marks | Lew Saw and Kay Wright | July 15, 1988 | |
9 | "The Easter Story" | Dennis Marks | Jim Willoughby | March 15, 1989 | |
10 | "Joseph and His Brothers" | Dennis Marks and Karran Eccles Wright | Jim Willoughby | September 27, 1990 | |
The trio befriend Joseph and learn about his coat of many colors. | |||||
11 | "The Miracles of Jesus" | Karran Eccles Wright | Ric Estrada | September 26, 1991 | |
The time travelers encounter an elderly version of the young man raised from the dead in the city of Nain, who recounts the various miracles of Jesus. | |||||
12 | "Queen Esther" | Karran Eccles Wright | Ric Estrada | February 27, 1992 | |
13 | "Jonah" | Karran Eccles Wright | Ric Estrada | August 19, 1992 | |
References
- ^ Sennett, Ted (1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. Studio. p. 239. ISBN 978-0670829781. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. pp. 210–215. ISBN 1-57036-042-1.
- ^ Alasdair, Steven (2001-03-28). "William Hanna, animator and cartoon creator". The Scotsman. p. 16.
- ^ Natale, Richard; Phil Gallo (2001-03-21). "William Hanna". Variety. p. 151.
External links
- The Creation at IMDb
- Noah's Ark at IMDb
- Joseph and His Brothers at IMDb
- Moses at IMDb
- Joshua and the Battle of Jericho at IMDb
- Samson and Delilah at IMDb
- David and Goliath at IMDb
- Jonah at IMDb
- Daniel and the Lion's Den at IMDb
- Queen Esther at IMDb
- The Nativity at IMDb
- The Miracles of Jesus at IMDb
- The Easter Story at IMDb
- DVDVerdict Review of David and Goliath
- The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible at CEGAnMo.com
- DVDVerdict Review of Moses
- Clips from the series
- Direct-to-video film series
- 1986 direct-to-video films
- 1987 direct-to-video films
- 1988 direct-to-video films
- 1989 direct-to-video films
- 1990 direct-to-video films
- 1991 direct-to-video films
- 1992 direct-to-video films
- 1980s animated short films
- 1990s animated short films
- Direct-to-video adventure films
- Direct-to-video action films
- Direct-to-video drama films
- Children's film series
- Christian animation
- Films about time travel
- Cultural depictions of Adam and Eve
- Hanna-Barbera
- Hanna-Barbera animated films
- Nativity of Jesus on television