Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2002 American computer-animated Christian musical comedy adventure film produced by Big Idea Productions and released by Artisan Entertainment through its F.H.E. Pictures label. It is the first feature-length film in the VeggieTales series. The themes for the film are compassion and mercy, using two stories as illustrations linked by the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, who were first seen in the Silly Song of the same name in Very Silly Songs!. The first story takes place in the current day and concerns a mishap with Bob the Tomato and Dad Asparagus on the way to a concert; the second, set in ancient Israel, is based directly on the biblical story of Jonah. Through both stories, compassion and mercy play a role in giving people a second chance.

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPhil Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Produced byAmeake Owens
Written byPhil Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Based onVeggieTales
by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki
StarringPhil Vischer
Mike Nawrocki
Tim Hodge
Lisa Vischer
Dan Anderson
Shelby Vischer
Kristin Blegen
Jim Poole
Music byKurt Heinecke
David Mullen
Phil Vischer
Edited byJohn Wahba
Production
company
Distributed byArtisan Entertainment1
Lionsgate (4K Ultra HD release)
Release date
  • August 14, 2002 (2002-08-14) (Hollywood Theater)
  • October 4, 2002 (2002-10-04) (United States)
  • May 16, 2021 (2021-05-16) (Flashback in episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
Running time
83 minutes (original)
101 minutes (Flashback in episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series); 2021 release)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$14 million[1]
Box office$25.6 million

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie premiered on August 14, 2002, at a Hollywood movie theater and came out as a regular release two months later on October 4, 2002. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised the humor. The film grossed $25.6 million against a $14 million production budget, making it the highest grossing film released by Big Idea Productions.

The film came out on VHS and DVD on March 4, 2003, as a worldwide home video release in both full-screen and anamorphic widescreen formats with a two-disc collector's edition.[2] A DVD reprint with the feature and bonus features was released on January 29, 2008, by Word Entertainment and on Blu-ray in 2011 by Lionsgate (Artisan's successor), another reprint was released in 2018 by Universal Pictures (Big Idea's current parent company), in 101 minutes release in 4K Ultra HD on August 17, 2021 by Lionsgate in flashback in episodes in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Plot

Bob the Tomato is driving his troupe (consisting of Dad Asparagus, Laura Carrot, Junior Asparagus, Annie Onion, and two French Pea boys) to see the popular singer "Twippo" in concert. During the drive, Laura taunts her friends because she won a backstage pass, which particularly annoys Junior. Meanwhile, Bob is frustrated with Dad for singing songs and playing his guitar instead of helping him with the map. Laura's taunting distracts Dad and causes him to accidentally strike Bob on the head with his guitar, causing Bob to briefly lose control of the van and then leading Laura to lose her pass. More trouble ensues when Dad's guitar gets stuck in, and then breaks off, the steering wheel. A porcupine shoots out two of the van's tires with her quills in order to protect her babies, causing the van to veer off the road and careen down a hill, stopping short of a river.

In a nearby seafood restaurant, Bob blames Dad Asparagus for the crash and Junior tells Laura losing her pass was her own fault. While Bob goes to call a tow truck, Junior is met by The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (played by Larry, Mr. Lunt, and Pa Grape), who tell Junior he was being rather tough on his friend and encourage him to show some compassion. To emphasize their point, the Pirates tell all the Veggies a story about a man of God named Jonah.

Jonah (played by 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, a town notorious for its corrupt citizens. Jonah resents God and decides to run away to Tarshish with The Pirates. After leaving port, a guilt-stricken Jonah goes below deck to rest where he meets a salesman caterpillar named Khalil, who agrees to go with Jonah to sell his merchandise.

After experiencing a nightmare, Jonah awakens to find the ship beset by a great storm. Pa concludes 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, causing him to admit why he wants to go to Tarshish and is forced to walk the plank. As soon as Jonah is off the ship, the skies clear. The Pirates attempt to reel Jonah back in, but before they can do so, Jonah is swallowed by a giant whale. The pirates attempt to attack the whale, using a bowling ball as ammo, but the whale merely swallows the ball (which Khalil was hiding in), disgorges Jonah's lifebelt, and swims away.

Inside the whale's stomach, Khalil finds a grieving Jonah and the pair are soon visited by a host of God's angels, who explain that if Jonah repents, God will grant him a second chance. Upon repenting, Jonah and Khalil are spit up onto the shore, and they ride Jonah's camel Reginald to Nineveh.

When Jonah is turned away at the city's entrance, The Pirates appear and help sneak him into the city under the guise of having won the Mr. Twisty's Twisted Cheese Curls sweepstakes. The group is soon arrested after Larry takes the King's Cheese Curls, mistaking them for free samples, and are sentenced to death. As a last request, they are granted an audience with King Twistomer. Jonah then delivers the message given to him by God warning that the Ninevites should immediately repent of their ways or Nineveh will be destroyed; along with the proof of surviving being inside a whale, Jonah convinces King Twistomer and the Ninevites, who quickly agree.

Still expecting God to destroy Nineveh for their past sins, Jonah watches and waits from a distance in the hot sun. 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, and Khalil is disappointed Jonah shows compassion for a plant, but not the Ninevites. Khalil then tries to explain God is compassionate and merciful and that he wants to give everyone, both Israelites and non-Israelites, a second chance. Jonah refuses to accept this and states it would be better if he was dead. The story ends with Khalil and Reginald leaving Jonah to his sulking.

Back in the present day, then flashback in episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and 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, who bears a striking resemblance to Jonah, 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 with a song and the surprise arrival of the tow truck driver, who is none other than Khalil.

Cast

Production

In 1999, Phil Vischer proposed a film adaptation of VeggieTales based on the story of Jonah. The film's script and songs were completed soon afterwards.[3] In 2000, Big Idea announced that the film will be released sometime in 2002. A teaser trailer for the film was released with the episode "Lyle, the Kindly Viking" 1 year and 7 months before the film's release.[4][5] The film was the first to be animated entirely in Autodesk Maya.[3] Before the film's release, Vischer predicted that the film would break even if it grossed $25 million, and it ended up grossing just barely over that much, at $25.6 million.[3]

Music

Reception

Box office

Jonah was released on October 4, 2002 in 940 theaters, debuting at sixth place with $6.2 million in its first weekend of release.[1] It fell 40.9% in its second weekend, falling to eleventh place with $3.7 million.[12]

At the end of its original theatrical run, the film had grossed over $25.6 million worldwide.[1] On November 17, 2006, the film was re-released in Iceland, and grossed $6,066.

Critical response

Based on 56 reviews collected by review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.86/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Jonah teaches wholesome messages to children in a funny, bouncy package."[2] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13]

Pete Croatto of the now-defunct Filmcritic.com praised the film as "a blast of educational energy", later citing it as an example of the surprises critics can find in viewing every film they can regardless of expected quality.[14][15][16]

Home media

Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie was released on a two-disc DVD by Artisan on March 4, 2003.[17] The release includes three different audio commentaries, one by the directors, one by the producer and animation director, and one featuring the directors acting as their respective characters Larry the Cucumber and Mr. Lunt. On the second disc, special features include six featurettes for the "Behind the Scenes" section, five featurettes for the "Music" section, five featurettes for the "Bonus Material" section, five featurettes for young audiences in the "Fun!" section, six trailers, and five Easter eggs.[17] On March 8, 2011, Lionsgate released the film on Blu-ray, with most of the DVD's special features retained.[18]

The commentary featuring Larry and Mr. Lunt has received special praise from home media reviewers.[19][20][21] Jeffrey Kauffman of Blu-ray.com stated that it "verges on the surreal and should be enjoyed by those who love Monty Python". David Blair of DVD Talk stated that it was "without a doubt the craziest, outright pointless, and most enjoyable commentary I've ever had the good fortune to hear", adding that he "found it substantially funnier than the movie itself".[17]

Notes
  1. ^ In 2018, the film's distribution rights were purchased by Universal Pictures (current parent company of Big Idea via DreamWorks Animation's DreamWorks Classics) from Lionsgate (owners of the Artisan Entertainment catalog).[22]

References
  1. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  2. "Jonah - A VeggieTales Movie (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  3. DeMott, Rick (October 4, 2002). "Big Idea Productions: A Success Story Anyone Can Believe In". Animation World Network. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  4. Feiwell, Jill (March 13, 2001). "Big idea to bow veggie 'Jonah'". Variety. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  5. "VeggieTales Going Hollywood, 'Inventors' Bow on DVD". Billboard. 113 (13). March 31, 2001. p. 74. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  6. Billy Joe McGuffrey (From "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" Soundtrack) (YouTube). VeggieTales - Topic. February 20, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  7. Bald Bunny (From "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" Soundtrack) (YouTube). VeggieTales - Topic. January 25, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  8. Steak and Shrimp (From "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" Soundtrack) (YouTube). VeggieTales - Topic. January 25, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  9. Jonah Was A Prophet (From "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" Soundtrack) (YouTube). VeggieTales - Topic. February 19, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  10. Newsboys - In The Belly of a Whale (YouTube). Darwin Bonilla. August 23, 2006. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  11. Credits Song (From "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" Soundtrack). VeggieTales - Topic. January 25, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  12. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (Domestic Weekend Grosses)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  13. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  14. Croatto, Pete (2002). "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie Movie Review". Filmcritic.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  15. Croatto, Pete. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie". Contactmusic.net. Contactmusic.com Ltd. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  16. Croatto, Pete (December 2, 2016). "Why Critics Should See Bad Movies". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  17. Blair, David (March 6, 2003). "Jonah - A Veggie Tales Movie". DVD Talk. DVDTalk.com. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  18. Kauffman, Jeffrey (March 2, 2011). "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie Blu-ray Review". Blu-ray.com. Blu-ray.com. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  19. Peck, Aaron (March 7, 2011). "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie Blu-ray Review". High Def Digest. LLC, MH Sub I, LLC. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  20. Jacobson, Colin (March 5, 2003). "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)". DVD Movie Guide. Van T. Tran. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  21. Slockley (August 12, 2009). "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002) DVD/Blu-ray commentary track review". RateThatCommentary.com. RateThatCommentary.com. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  22. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie". www.uphe.com. August 7, 2018.
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