The "VeggieTales" gang -- Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, Archibald the Asparagus and a raft of other comical edibles -- imparts Bible-inspired messages of forgiveness, mercy and compassion in the home video release of Big Idea Productions' first big-screen feature, "Jonah -- A VeggieTales Movie."
It's an imaginative, rib-tickling delight with lush, 3-D computer animation and witty, never cloying writing. (The fish-slapping meanies of Nineveh were inspired by Monty Python.)
Loads of entertaining DVD bonus features with adult appeal include audio commentaries by VeggieTales creators Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki, a.k.a. Larry the Cucumber and Mr. Lunt; the characters' "outtakes"; "making of" segments; family games; and a don't-miss tour of the Big Idea studio.
-- Lynne Heffley
"Jonah -- A VeggieTales Movie." Big Idea Productions/Artisan Home Entertainment. DVD: $25; VHS: $20. For the family.
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Can you say 'abracadabra?'
In a deliberately Harry Potterish setting, with a few low-budget special effects, "How to Be a Wizard" presents young students at a fictional Wizard's School learning a wide array of nifty magic tricks from Mr. Woo (Terry Herbert), a jovial, gray-haired British schoolmaster type in wizardly robes.
