Review by Tess Chierici The story comes across as a fairy tale or moral lesson rather than inspired scripture.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Send mail to The Voice Veggie Tales' Jonah not just for kids Jonah finished ninth at the box office.-Tess Chierici, photo "Jonah-- A VeggieTales Movie," is the first full-length feature film produced by Big Idea Productions, Inc. The movie portrays the wayward prophet's journey as only VeggieTales can -- hysterically. Jonah's character, played by Archibald Asparagus, is snooty and very British, down to his eye monocle and pompous camel, Reginald. In Israel, Jonah is a local celebrity, praised by the people for doing what the Lord tells him. He strolls into town, declares God's messages through a snappy musical number, thanks everyone for the good show and leaves. But one night, God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn the people of certain doom unless they repent. Jonah refuses to believe that God wants him to deliver a message to the evil, fish-slapping Ninevites. Instead he flees to Tarshish on board a ship belonging to the apathetic "pirates who don't do anything." While on the voyage, Jonah meets Khalil, an Arabian caterpillar. At first, Khalil seems like a useless character, but he later plays an important role. To calm the raging sea, Jonah walks the plank, and instantly the waters become calm. The pirates decide to try to pull Jonah back into the pirate ship, but before they can, a yellow animated version of Moby Dick swims into the scene and swallows Jonah. The inside of the fish looks like a scene from Pinocchio. Jonah sits discouraged on a dilapidated vessel. Then suddenly, Khalil pops out of Jonah's bowling ball, and a gospel chorus of angels appears and sings away Jonah's blues. Jonah goes from a bright green to lime color after being in the whale's belly for three days. And when the whale spits Jonah onto shore, Reginald is waiting to carry off Jonah to Nineveh. Nowhere did the movie mention that the story of Jonah is actually in the Bible. The pirates narrate the story to a group of travelers who need a lesson on compassion. The story comes across as a fairy tale or moral lesson rather than inspired scripture. The movie keeps the fundamentals of the story intact. The movie didn't try to end the story. Like the book of Jonah, the movie abruptly stops with the song that summarizes the story of Jonah. The dialog between Jonah and the captain, the prayer of the sailors and the decree from the King of Nineveh was nearly word for word. However, in chapter four, the dialog between God and Jonah is replaced with a conversation between Khalil and Jonah. The movie has brilliant animation, hilarious antics and a good message. However, don't plan on using it for a Sunday school lesson anytime soon. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2002 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.