The 20th Anniversary DVD of Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie is the fourteenth separate DVD release of the movie, as far as I can determine. The movie was first released by Artisan Home Entertainment multiple times before Artisan became part of Lionsgate, which is the only company to release the movie on Blu-ray (as of November 2022). Then after the company that owned Big Idea became part of DreamWorks Animation, and DreamWorks Animation became part of Universal, Universal has has been releasing the movie on DVD since 2018. This is the first Universal release to be distributed by Studio Distribution Services, the joint venture between Universal Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Video:
Unlike the previous standalone DVD releases from Universal, the 20th Anniversary edition features the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation of the movie, instead of the 1:33:1 full screen aspect ratio. The movie has previously been included in widescreen by Universal in the double feature with The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything and in the 25th Anniversary 10-Movie Collection.
 |
| The 1.33:1 aspect ratio - "full screen" |
 |
| The 1.78:1 aspect ratio - "widescreen" |
The main menu features a low quality picture of the cover art. I have found much higher quality pictures with a Google search. This is the kind of menu design I'd expect to find on a bootleg, not an official release.
 |
| Enlarge this picture to see the poor quality of the main menu. |
Audio:
This DVD only includes the English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix. All previous standalone DVDs also included the English Stereo 2.0 mix as well as the Spanish dubbed audio. The back cover claims that the audio commentaries are included, but they are nowhere to be found on the disc.
Bonus Features:
 |
| Some new bonus features, but many previously included features are missing. |
Most of the previously included bonus features are missing, too many to list in this review. However, that is because for the first time in 20 years, the Jonah: Sing Along Songs and More video is FINALLY included on DVD and not exclusively on VHS.
Jonah: Sing Along Songs and More features sing-alongs for the songs "Message from the Lord" from Jonah, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" remix by Superchick, a medley of three songs from Lyle, The Kindly Viking, "In the Belly of the Whale" by the Newsboys, "Billy Joe McGuffrey" by Chris Rice, and an abridged version of "Second Chances" from Jonah. The songs are linked together by Bob and Larry on the familiar VeggieTales countertop set trying to coax Archibald Asparagus out of his dressing room to complete shooting the movie.
Most of the content that makes up the Jonah: Sing Along Songs and More video was included on previous DVDs. The scenes of Bob and Larry and Archibald were in the "Additional Countertop Scenes", though there are some "Additional Countertop Scenes" that were not used in Sing Along Songs and More. "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" remix music video was also included on previous DVD releases. The Pirates Remix and the "Additional Countertop Scenes" are not included separately on this DVD.
The Newsboys music video for "In the Belly of the Whale" and the Chris Rice music video for "Billy Joe McGuffrey" are also included separately on the disc, but the 1.33:1 aspect ratio videos have been squished into the 1.78:1 aspect ratio for this DVD.
 |
| "In the Belly of the Whale" music video in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. |
 |
| "In the Belly of the Whale" music video squished into the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. |
 |
| "Billy Joe McGuffrey" music video in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. |
 |
| "Billy Joe McGuffrey" music video squished into the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. |
Unlike previous DVDs, the Newsboys music video for "Million Pieces (Kissin' Your Cares Goodbye)" and the Chris Rice music video for "The Other Side of the Radio" have not been included.
Other bonus features included on this DVD have also been squished into a new aspect ratio.
 |
| Bonus feature in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. |
 |
| Bonus feature squished into the 1.78:1 aspect ratio. |
Conclusion:
The 20th Anniversary DVD is only worth buying for $5.99 for the Jonah: Sing Along Songs and More video. Other than that, this first DVD release of the movie from Studio Distribution Services is substandard compared to previous releases from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. There are indications online that a new Blu-ray release from Universal might be coming in December 2022. Hopefully the many problems with this disc will be corrected by then.
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie 20th Anniversary Edition DVD from Universal Picture Home Entertainment through Studio Distribution Services will be released officially on November 8, 2022, but preorders are being shipped out early.
