Folding the intricacies of the human condition into everyday life in Jordan, director Cynthia Madanat Sharaiha (“Noor”) bows her feature debut “Saleem” in competition at the Annecy Animation Festival.
The film marks the first Jordanian selection for the festival and was selected as part of this year’s Contrechamp strand which includes Pablo Berger’s offbeat friendship study “Robot Dreams,” a Cannes Festival standout, alongside 10 additional titles.
Aiming to dismantle preconceived notions, Madanat Sharaiha calls on the tradition of storytelling prevalent in her culture to ensure a fuller perspective, parlaying the region’s quotidian routines into vivid, wide-eyed renderings of rambunctious and endearing children, their parents and the captivating provincial terrain.
“We’re a culture of storytelling, but our stories don’t always make it into the world. We wanted to tell a different kind of story, not portray the Middle East as romanticized, political or magical. Ours is a...
The film marks the first Jordanian selection for the festival and was selected as part of this year’s Contrechamp strand which includes Pablo Berger’s offbeat friendship study “Robot Dreams,” a Cannes Festival standout, alongside 10 additional titles.
Aiming to dismantle preconceived notions, Madanat Sharaiha calls on the tradition of storytelling prevalent in her culture to ensure a fuller perspective, parlaying the region’s quotidian routines into vivid, wide-eyed renderings of rambunctious and endearing children, their parents and the captivating provincial terrain.
“We’re a culture of storytelling, but our stories don’t always make it into the world. We wanted to tell a different kind of story, not portray the Middle East as romanticized, political or magical. Ours is a...
- 6/11/2023
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
Seeing the green, Universal Pictures has nabbed the theatrical worldwide distribution rights for the family film The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything -- A VeggieTales Movie based on Big Idea's successful VeggieTale franchise. The CG film will be directed by Mike Nawrocki and written by Phil Vischer, the creative force behind the series. Vischer will also serve as executive producer through his Production Company, Jellyfish Labs. Big Idea's David Pitts will produce. The film will feature an original soundtrack by Kurt Heinecke. VeggieTales' second feature film follows the successful 2002 release of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, which grossed over $25 million theatrically. Since 1993, nearly 50 million VeggieTales videos have been sold.
It would take a fairly atheistic grump or vegetarian-hating carnivore not to get some enjoyment from this first feature adaptation of the popular "VeggieTales" children's cartoon home video series. "Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie" employs computer animation to good effect -- visuals are definitely superior to the straight-to-video releases -- for a musical whale-of-a-tale that should engage, inform and amuse parents as well as offspring.
Framing the age-old biblical tale of Jonah in the whale with a contemporary story works well. A van full of Veggies are eagerly on their way to a concert by Twippo, apparently a hugely popular children's entertainer in this very veggie world. As they harmonize, a distracted driver, Bob the Tomato, accidentally runs off the road.
Stranded at a rural seafood restaurant and awaiting a tow, the Veggies, which include Dad Asparagus and the bickering Junior Asparagus and Laura Carrot, meet a lazy trio of scalawag waiters, the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (and are proud of it). But it seems there was one instance, eons ago, when they did help a fellow named Jonah.
The film now turns back centuries to tell the tale of Jonah and the whale. Described in song as a special kind of mailman, a prophet spreading the word of God, Jonah is happily ensconced in the ancient Near Eastern land of Joppa, as we deduce from the catchy ditty "Message From the Lord", which includes the incredibly prescient verse "Don't do drugs; stay in school."
The principal conflict of the film comes down to the fact that Jonah is very content in his homeland, but when instructed from above to travel to Nineveh, a notoriously vile den of cheats and liars, he wavers. Jonah talks the pirates into setting sail for a far-off destination in the opposite direction. Divine intervention brings on nightmares and a churning storm, sending Jonah (and Khalil, a half-worm/half-caterpillar sidekick he has met on board) into the sea ... and the mouth of a gigantic whale.
Three days and nights of contemplation inside the whale cause Jonah to begin to see things the Lord's way. Eventually, he gets the message across to the Ninevites, even if he has not quite yet grasped the importance of forgiveness and mercy.
Computer animation is vivid and sharp, with rich colors compensating for the limited expressiveness artists faced when dealing with big-eyed vegetables. Particularly nice is the sepialike quality of the scene in which Jonah literally hops onto a map of the Mediterranean/Arabia region, providing young viewers with a handy biblical geography lesson.
"Jonah" is full of fun anachronisms that one now expects from children's animation, and this parable does not take itself so seriously as to have no sense of humor. If anything, the shtick flies fast and furious. The songs (composed by a combination of co-writer/directors Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, plus Kurt Heinecke and David Mullen) are more than adequate for the youngsters in a homily sort of way, though the finale (led by the children's star, Twippo) underwhelms for all its glitz, with rather weak lyrics.
JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE
Artisan Entertainment
FHE Pictures in association with Big Idea Prods.
Credits:
Screenwriter-directors: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki
Producer: Ameake Owens
Executive producers: Phil Vischer, Terry Botwick, Dan Philips
Music: Kurt Heinecke, Phil Vischer
Songs: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Kurt Heinecke, David Mullen
Art director/concept supervisor: Joe Sapulich
Director of animation: Marc Vulcano
Supervising editor: John Wahba
Voices: Jonah/Twippo/Archibald Asparagus/Bob the Tomato/Mr. Lunt/Pirate Lunt: Phil Vischer
Larry the Cucumber/Pirate Larry: Mike Nawrocki
Khalil: Tim Hodge
Junior Asparagus: Lisa Vischer
Dad Asparagus: Dan Anderson
Laura Carrot: Kristin Blegen
Running time -- 83 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
Framing the age-old biblical tale of Jonah in the whale with a contemporary story works well. A van full of Veggies are eagerly on their way to a concert by Twippo, apparently a hugely popular children's entertainer in this very veggie world. As they harmonize, a distracted driver, Bob the Tomato, accidentally runs off the road.
Stranded at a rural seafood restaurant and awaiting a tow, the Veggies, which include Dad Asparagus and the bickering Junior Asparagus and Laura Carrot, meet a lazy trio of scalawag waiters, the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (and are proud of it). But it seems there was one instance, eons ago, when they did help a fellow named Jonah.
The film now turns back centuries to tell the tale of Jonah and the whale. Described in song as a special kind of mailman, a prophet spreading the word of God, Jonah is happily ensconced in the ancient Near Eastern land of Joppa, as we deduce from the catchy ditty "Message From the Lord", which includes the incredibly prescient verse "Don't do drugs; stay in school."
The principal conflict of the film comes down to the fact that Jonah is very content in his homeland, but when instructed from above to travel to Nineveh, a notoriously vile den of cheats and liars, he wavers. Jonah talks the pirates into setting sail for a far-off destination in the opposite direction. Divine intervention brings on nightmares and a churning storm, sending Jonah (and Khalil, a half-worm/half-caterpillar sidekick he has met on board) into the sea ... and the mouth of a gigantic whale.
Three days and nights of contemplation inside the whale cause Jonah to begin to see things the Lord's way. Eventually, he gets the message across to the Ninevites, even if he has not quite yet grasped the importance of forgiveness and mercy.
Computer animation is vivid and sharp, with rich colors compensating for the limited expressiveness artists faced when dealing with big-eyed vegetables. Particularly nice is the sepialike quality of the scene in which Jonah literally hops onto a map of the Mediterranean/Arabia region, providing young viewers with a handy biblical geography lesson.
"Jonah" is full of fun anachronisms that one now expects from children's animation, and this parable does not take itself so seriously as to have no sense of humor. If anything, the shtick flies fast and furious. The songs (composed by a combination of co-writer/directors Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, plus Kurt Heinecke and David Mullen) are more than adequate for the youngsters in a homily sort of way, though the finale (led by the children's star, Twippo) underwhelms for all its glitz, with rather weak lyrics.
JONAH: A VEGGIETALES MOVIE
Artisan Entertainment
FHE Pictures in association with Big Idea Prods.
Credits:
Screenwriter-directors: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki
Producer: Ameake Owens
Executive producers: Phil Vischer, Terry Botwick, Dan Philips
Music: Kurt Heinecke, Phil Vischer
Songs: Phil Vischer, Mike Nawrocki, Kurt Heinecke, David Mullen
Art director/concept supervisor: Joe Sapulich
Director of animation: Marc Vulcano
Supervising editor: John Wahba
Voices: Jonah/Twippo/Archibald Asparagus/Bob the Tomato/Mr. Lunt/Pirate Lunt: Phil Vischer
Larry the Cucumber/Pirate Larry: Mike Nawrocki
Khalil: Tim Hodge
Junior Asparagus: Lisa Vischer
Dad Asparagus: Dan Anderson
Laura Carrot: Kristin Blegen
Running time -- 83 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
- 10/2/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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