Over the past few years, the Christian-themed videos known as \VeggieTales"" have made some noise in the home movie market for children. Who'da thunk, then, that a movie with digitally animated vegetables made by some of the most creative minds in children's entertainment telling the story of Jonah could be so irritating?
With clever songs and medleys, well-crafted digital animation, humorous voices and fish-slapping scenes reminiscent of ""Monty Python,"" one would expect the movie to gel and flow like a second coming of ""A Bug's Life."" Instead, the 79-minute film stumbles and grinds to a stop several times.
The plot of the movie follows a group of kids and their chaperones on their way to a Twippo concert. After an unfortunate encounter with a family of porcupines along the roadside, the concertgoers' van breaks down in front of a seafood restaurant. Upon entering said restaurant, the group encounters a swashbuckling trio in the Pirates Who Do Nothing. These pirates in fact do something, by telling the story of Jonah as viewed from their limited first-person perspective.
Jonah is portrayed as a talking, walking asparagus with a snooty accent and a camel named Reginald. As the messenger of God, Jonah of course brings word to the Irsaelites explaining what they are doing right and what they need to work on.
However, when the Lord tells Jonah to head up to the city of Nineveh and reform the evil fish-slappers, Jonah turns chicken and heads west to Tarschis. To get to Tarschis, Jonah involves himself with the Pirates Who Do Nothing. At first apprehensive due to ""ALF"" being on in a half-hour, the pirates gladly give Jonah passage when he explains price is no object.
On the voyage, the ship is struck by a terrible storm and Jonah is engulfed by a tremendous white whale that must have been a great, great, great grandaddy of one Moby Dick. After three days, three nights and one musical sequence starring a gospel choir consisting of what appear to be scallions, Jonah is purged from the great whale's maw and travels to Nineveh. Once in the unholiest of cities, Jonah delivers his message and the Ninevites change their sinful ways. The morals along the way are mercy and compassion. Jonah does not learn either of these and suffers alone in the desert at the end of the film.
Despite its shortcomings, the film does have its merits. Few movies nowadays have the combination of cutesy looks for the little kids plus the adult references of, say, ""ALF.""
Another plus of the movie were the escapist, feel-good music medleys about the Bible. Not since Ian Gilliam belted out as JC in ""Jesus Christ Superstar"" has God rocked so hard.
