The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Finally saw it today, courtesy of free family film morning at our local theater. Pretty good movie, solid, random, goofy, humor in Veggie Tales fashion; a surprisingly good and interesting story; important biblical moral to the story...as always.

There are only a few real knocks I can think of as a film critic, namely, the animation. Yeah, yeah, it certainly wasn't bad, definitely tolerable for a guy like me, but I must say that it just didn't quite match up to most animated films today, and it wasn't even in the same league as Pixar (also saw Wall-E not long ago, great film, see it too). Again, I know, it's just Big Idea. Despite the name, they're not all that big of a company, and I understand that. The animation quality didn't bug me, but it might bother some people, especially those who paid ten bucks to see it in theaters several months ago. The other thing is the complete absence of God and Jesus. Sure, it may win a larger audience, but it really makes the movie seem a bit awkward and shallow in some of the morals it advocates.

For example: doing what is right no matter how big, brave, or skilled you are. First is fact that this implies absolute truth, second is the idea that we are all special and capable of doing something important and heroic. Both of those only make sense in light of God's word. We are all created in the image of God and are therefore all significant, important, and designed to bring glory to Him. Also, some things are "right" and other things are "wrong" because God has given us his standards. An action is wrong because it is committed against God, not because we feel like it is wrong (no disregard for the conscience, btw).

In sum, 'twas a pretty good film: good, clean, entertainment for all ages. I'm just not a huge fan of how Big Idea, a company know for being Christian, takes all references to God out of their movie. It's the only VeggieTales (that I'm aware of) that does not place God as the standard and giver of our morals. There are just no valid excuses for this.

After all, they did it with Jonah....