Jonah VeggieTales...any DVD reviews of this 2 disc set? (1 Viewer)

I missed the film in the theater (unfortunately never went wide release.) The anamorphic (& full screen) DVD set is filled to the brim! Di$ney should be ashamed when this little studio (BigIdea) & Artisan can give us so much good stuff. Check http://www.bigidea.com/videos/veggie...vdfeatures.htm for more and some sample video/clips.

3 Commentaries:
Commentary by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki
Commentary by producer Ameake Owens and director of animation Marc Vulcano
Commentary by Larry the Cucumber and Mr. Lunt

Behind the scenes: Making the Movie, The Studio Process, Jonah and the Bible, Big Idea Tour with Phil Vischer, Scoring a Movie

3 Music videos: Billy Joe McGuffrey (Chris Rice), In the Belly of the Whale (Newsboys), The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (Superchic[k])

Khalil's Answering Machine
"Even Fishslappers Need a Second Chance" storybook
Extra countertop scenes
Movie script
Progression reel
Previews
Concept art
"Jonah Was a Prophet" karaoke
Failed Khalil auditions
Two family fun activities
Digital dailies
Six DVD-ROM games
Trivia
Character bios
Hidden Easter eggs
Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats

I didn't catch the movie either, but my son is hooked on Veggie Tales so this is a sight unseen purchase for us. I was surprised, however, that this is such a feature packed release. Glad to see a good non-Disney cartoon get the attention it deserves on disc.

WOW!
with that set of extras I want the dvd, much less my sister who will flip when I tell there is a superchick music video on there (along with Newsboys and Chris Rice, but she's into superchick now). Veggie Tales is hysterical, I really wanted to see this in theatres but didn't have the time. guess I'll be seeing it on dvd instead.

Adam

I have the disc on hand, and should have a review up ASAP. Just so you know, the transfer is spectacular!

We reviewed this last month. Here is the link:

http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/163

I liked it!

I picked this up last night. My wife and I saw it months ago in the theaters and loved it.

Anthony thanks for the OUTSTANDING review by Sean Moore of the Jonah DVD at Link Removed . I watched it with my kids (4 & 2) last night and we all thoroughly enjoyed the flick. They were pretty much glued to the screen the entire time. In a few places the script slows down (often during monologues) but the musical numbers, action and witty humor keep the film literally bouncing along. The prevalent message and themes of mercy and compassion are clearly delivered in a family-friendly entertaining way. The anamorphic transfer is crisp and vibrant. We find less detail and special effects as the much more costly Pixar and Fox Animation releases but for a $15 million budget the computer animation overall is quite satisfying. Kinda on par with the recent Jimmy Neutron and RolliePollie movies. The 5.1 mix is biased toward the front soundstage with heavy action in the surrounds during things like the storm scene/crowds etc. Bass is big and tight (even in the menus!) I did notice I had to turn up the volume a few dB's during the film vs. the volume during animated menus. I didn't get to check out any extras...but the amount and content looks amazing.

I purchased my disc at Wal-mart $17.87 and includes a 4 song Veggietales sampler CD.

btw - I found another great review at www.dvdmg.com

Had no idea it was so packed. I'll have to go pick this up tonight for my kids. They both have birthdays coming up.

Does anybody know if you can get it at Borders with the sampler CD? I've got a bunch of giftcards.

I was just at Costco (to pick up my $10 Fox Sci fi classics) and the Jonah VeggieTales DVD packages there also had the sampler CD.

We got ours at Walmart for 15.97...with the CD

I must say...I had very, very, very, very little interest in this movie. I had heard of the Veggietales, listened to CDs when my wife and I toted the nieces around, seen a video or two.

I have been burned when going to the theater to see movie versions of animated series (the crapily boring "Hey Arnold" comes to mind).

I love animation and am a desktop publisher by trade.

I didn't have interest in this DVD, but when I got to the store and saw all the extras (and the fact that it was only 12.88 at my local retailer), I decided to get it since I am an animation fan.

I was impressed and surprised by the release.

Big Idea's, who make Veggietales, have their "campus" in an old Woolworth store in a shopping mall. There were a number of challenges and snafus when making the film. Toward the end, they hired renderers from Ice Age, and Jimmy Neutron.

I enjoyed the DVD. I won't pretend here, it is a Bible parable...and that may offend some, or be a turnoff. Personally, I was entertained by the three commentary tracks. The one with Larry the Cucumber and Mr. Lunt is pretty cute.

Nicely, both full screen and widescreen were included. I always wonder if, on a release like this, they will include the widescreen. They did, and I am glad.

Obviously, these folks don't have the resources of a Pixar, but I liked the looks of the DVD.

The extras are pretty darn ample on a disc like this. There is a concept art gallery with multiple commentary tracks. There are deleted scenes. Digital Dailys, etc.

I recommend this movie for the fact that it is an animated film done well. The set is worthwhile even if you are apprehensive because it is a "religious" film.

As a fan of computer 3-D animation, it is a solid addition to a collection. The movie alone might not have been, but the movie with all the extras is a really nice package.

Wow... I love VeggieTales, but I haven't seen this movie. Now I really want it.

I wrote the previous thread last night when I was tired, but the quality of the set makes it a good addition to any animation collection.

After that post, I went in and viewed all the extras.

There were features focusing on the genesis, evolution, and production of the story. During one of these docs at a point when they were talking about the ad-libbing that took place, it gave the option of pressing the "enter" key and listening to some original ad-libbed dialogue.

The documentaries don't run for more than about 10 minutes each (some 5 or 6 minutes), but the overall quality is pretty good. There is a score progression reel that shows scenes and allows the viewer to toggle between three audio tracks that illustrate the evolution of the score in the movie. The score may not be profound, but the makers discuss how they were influenced by Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws with their music.

There are a couple of Easter Eggs hidden throughout the menus, and I will let you find them for yourselves. One involves Khalil's self-help recordings, and the other is a promo for piece for Jonah with a couple of robots (sorry, I am not that familiar with the VeggieTale Universe to know who they are...)

The Digital Dailies piece shows raw footage, and has the characters from the movie commenting.

The menus are pretty nice in this set. They have decent 3-D animation and offer snippets of dialog that is interesting and funny.

As I mentioned before, the concept art section is nice because it you can listen to commentary and understand what they were getting at with these early images. In many cases, galleries like this are just image galleries to be toggled through...it was nice to have commentary options.

There are three music videos. However, at the end of the Chris Rice and Newsboys videos is an additional video by each artist featuring an unrelated studio track from each of the artists albums. A little promotional for each of the artists, but something extra than just their "Jonah" tunes.

Again...I don't mean to push this too hard. I was just really impressed with this set. Were Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks to do a set like this, it would receive a lot of praise.

On DVD Tuesday I picked up "ST IV: The Voyage Home", "Half Past Dead" (big Seagal fan) and this. I would have to say that this set was very impressive...

I think I'll be picking this up sight unseen.

I've heard so much about this "veggietale" phenomenon but haven't actually seen anything. Sounds like another sight-unseen purchase based on fellow HTF members making it known to me.

One thing though. The box does not indicate 16x9, neither do the major e-tailing websites. Is it indeed anamorphic?

Oh man....

I'm listening to the commentary by Larry the Cucumber and Mr. Lunt...

And I'm dyin', it is SO funny.

Mr. Lunt: "We were fortunate to find a non-coniferous (not green) camel on the island of Great Britain."

Larry the Cucumber: "We just wanted the kids to know that was a special effect. No peas were harmed in that scene."

Mr. Lunt: "Snow peas?"

Oh, there are so many great lines in the commentary.

Larry (talking about Jonah's tent that they got from WalMart): "We had to cut out the mosquito netting."