MisterWhiplash
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. A first impression I had looking at the Veggie-Tales, even from afar, was that it looked like the healthy, slightly (only slightly) more coherent version of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which I am still mixed on. 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. And it actually works at being unpretentious in its less detailed CG animation in this form. 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). It's nothing very special in the recent boom of computer animated features, but it's probably a whole lot less cynical (and maybe less cruel and sophomoric) than a lot of those films, and it is in a very oddly formed way almost brilliant.
psychemaxwell
This is yet another great piece of work from Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki. It contains humor for the children as well as for the parents and is entertaining throughout the entire film. It's songs as usual are catchy and the best part is that VeggieTales kept its spunky humor, delivered by vegetables--and managed to cross the lines this time, without ruining a tradition. It would've been very easy for them to screw up since the curious attraction of the show is that the actor are vegetables but here, using some non-vegetable characters, they managed to maintain the loved nature of the veggies and give the audience a reason to love these new additions as well. An all around well production. HINT: Adults watch the commentary--hilarious but the children wont understand (watch both Phil/Mike commentary and Pirates commentary). Outtakes are hilarious as well ^^
kythca
I am a big Veggie Tales fan! So when _Jonah! A Veggie Tales Movie_ came to play in a theater near me, i was soo there! 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. It was funny and family values at the same time. It was a very good. But as much as i have enjoyed the Veggie Tales videos, i have to say that honestly it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I mean, yes it is a good movie of it's own accord. 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. But i would also have to say that if you want to see what real Veggie Tales entertainment is, i would suggest you watch one of their videos. I would recommend Lyle the Kindly Viking and Little Joe above all others.
MovieRat-2
After countless 1/2 hour videos and even more countless silly songs, Veggie Tales hits the big screen with a whale of a tale (get it, WHALE of a tale? HA HA!) in JONAH: A VEGGIE TALES MOVIE. True to the Veggie theme, the entire cast is made completely of talking fruits and veggies (save for a camel, a whale, and an annoying little catapillar named Khalil). 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. And when I mean the entire audiance, I mean everyone from little bitty kids to adults. 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. Overall, the story told in JONAH is basically the same as it is told in the Bible, so parents don't worry about showing this film to your kids...in fact, I encourage you to see this film with your kids. Have a good time with them. Know that you are seeing a quality film and a pretty faithful retelling of the Jonah story.
AD
