A quick glance at the movie clock will tell you that there really aren’t any new films that demand immediate viewing—those don’t start coming out until November. The current releases, even after reading the reviews, seem to be more a game of roulette than a sure-fire way to squeeze some amusement out of your $10.
I have, however, been looking forward to the release of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie ever since I first heard of its development some time last year. Tomatoes and cucumbers who act out biblical stories with a vegetable ensemble appeal to me for some reason.
“VeggieTales” is a cartoon series aimed towards Christian children, marketed as having “Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun.” Granted, the preaching vegetables aren’t for everyone, but they definitely put a unique and humorous spin on the old standby Bible stories.
True to “VeggieTales” form, Jonah is full of the same vegetable antics that have become a hallmark of Big Idea. It all begins with a road trip that goes terribly awry due to a family of porcupines in the middle of the road.
From there, the Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything put in a fairly strong appearance, spinning a yarn about the time when they actually did something. And hence begins the tale of Jonah, a messenger from God.
Overall the film rated fairly well. The plot flowed, the vegetables did a bang up job of acting, and silliness abounded. I did notice a few inconsistencies with the real biblical story here and there, but what do you expect from a children’s movie?
Perhaps the only real disappointment of the whole movie was the lack of a Silly Song. However, musical numbers throughout the movie somewhat made up for it.
This movie is definitely worth seeing for those of you who are fans of “VeggieTales.” For those new to the world of vegetable actors, if silliness is your thing you’ll probably enjoy it. If you do plan to see it, my only word of advice would be to go to a showing later in the evening to avoid a theatre full of small children.
