Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

A group of vegetables are driving to a concert. A tyre bursts on the way and they take shelter in a restaurant. There a group of sea biscuits begins telling them a story: a man named Jonah was charged with going to a city and giving a warning. He did not want to go. He boarded a ship going the other way. A storm came, he was thrown into the sea and swallowed by a fish. He spent three days in its belly and then returned to his task. But it was not fear that made him refuse. Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki direct. The film dates from 2002 and is computer animated. It comes from a video series; the series was published in the nineties as short episodes sold for the home and gained a wide audience. This is the first feature from it shown in cinemas. The subject is directly a religious text and the film does not hide it, but proceeds through humour and songs. The real matter it treats is forgiveness; Jonah does not want the city he warns to be spared, and the narrative puts that at the centre. The animation was low budget for its time and the characters have no arms or legs, which is the series' known design. The songs are inside the narrative and the series is known for them. Who it is for: viewers who like animation for children and know the series. Who it is not for: the religious content is direct, the animation simple, and the humour aimed at children.