Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002)

When the singing Veggies encounter some car trouble, they are stranded at an old rundown seafood joint, where nothing is quite as it seems.

Directors:

Mike Nawrocki, Phil Vischer

Writers:

Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki

Stars:

Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Tim Hodge

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phil Vischer	...	Jonah / Mr. Lunt / Bob the Tomato / Phillipe Pea / Percy Pea / Nezzer / Pa Grape / Cockney Pea #2 / King Twistomer (voice)
Mike Nawrocki	...	Larry the Cucumber / Jean Claude Pea / Cockney Pea #1 / Self-Help Tape Voice / Jerry Gourd / Whooping BBQ Pea (voice)
Tim Hodge	...	Khalil (voice)
Lisa Vischer	...	Junior Asparagus (voice)
Shelby Morimoto	...	Annie (voice) (as Shelby Vischer)
Dan Anderson	...	Dad Asparagus (voice)
Kristin Blegen	...	Laura Carrot (voice)
Jim Poole	...	Scooter / Townsperson (voice)
Ron Smith	...	City Official / Crazed Jopponian (voice)
Sarah Catherine Brooks	...	Message from the Lord Choir (voice)
Adam Frick	...	Message from the Lord Choir (voice)
Paige Craig	...	Message from the Lord Choir (voice)
Michael Harrison	...	Message from the Lord Choir (voice) (as Mike Harrison)
Amy Howard	...	Message from the Lord Choir (voice)
Chris Geiger	...	Message from the Lord Choir (voice)

Storyline

When the singing Veggies encounter some car trouble, they're stranded at old, rundown seafood joint where nothing is quite as it seems. As Bob the Tomato and the kids settle in to wait for a tow truck to help get their van back on the road, the "Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" share a little story about a guy named Jonah. Jonah was kind of like a mailman except his messages came straight from God. Jonah loves his job, until the day comes when he has to deliver a message to the people of Nineveh. Instead of carrying out his mission, Jonah turns and sets sail in the opposite direction onboard a pirate ship. Soon Jonah embarks on an adventure that leads him into the belly of a whale, and to the heart of Nineveh for a hilarious showdown.

---

Plot Keywords:

nightmare | pirate | pirate ship | tomato | whale | 

---

Taglines:

Fresh Fish. Mixed Vegetables.

---

Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical

---

Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The whale was originally designed to be scary looking. It was eventually made to look more friendly for obvious reasons. The whale at one point was also going to have a monocle much like Jonah and Reginald the camel.

---

Goofs

(at around 1h 19 mins) Alex Bullick is credited on screen as '1st Asstistant Sound Editor'.

---

Quotes

Pirate Pa: Bring out the cannon!
Mr. Lunt: We ain't got no ammo!
[Larry spots garden items]
Larry: Oh, yes, we do!

---

Crazy Credits

This movie filmed entirely on location in a mall in Lombard, Illinois.

---

Connections

Follows Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed (1999)

---

Soundtracks

The Credits Song
Written by Mike Nawrocki and Kurt Heinecke
Produced by Kurt Heinecke, Mike Nawrocki, and Phil Vischer
©2002 Bob and Larry Publishing

User Reviews

as my introduction to VeggieTales, and as someone who isn't even too much into Christianity, I was very surprised by Jonah

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.

Details

Official Sites:

FHE/Artisan - synopsis, games, etc. [United States]

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Big Idea's Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

Filming Locations:

Lombard, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,201,345, 6 October 2002

Gross USA:

$25,581,229

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,621,297

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big Idea Productions, Family Home Entertainment (FHE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1