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 About Jonah  Check that. On second thought, maybe vegging out is exactly what they’ve been doing.If you saw the big screen production of Jonah, A VeggieTales Movie and looked closely at the credits or listened carefully to the soundtrack, you may have noticed that Anointed was prominently involved. Gospelflava.com spent some time with group member Steve Crawford and asked the obvious question first. How did the duo of Anointed (he along with his sister, Da’dra Crawford Greathouse), end up singing on the VeggieTales movie?  Crawford explained that about five years ago, one of their songwriter friends David Mullen asked them to do him a favor and to demo a song called “Second Chances”.“We had an idea that he would be pitching, or presenting, the song to Big Idea [the production company behind the VeggieTales phenomonon]. Initially, we were informed that the song may be a part of their video collection. It wasn't even for certain that we would participate on the final production of the song.” “Fast forwarding, we received a call from David a year and a half ago, stating that VeggieTales were hitting the big screen. The producers of the movie loved the song we performed and invited us to participate.”
The movie is a wonderfully told and accurate portrayal of the history of the Old Testament prophet Jonah, bringing together the popular animated VeggieTales characters and using lots of catchy music and song. Steve explains, “I'll never forget it, as we entered the studio to brush up on some changes to the song, one of the producers handed us a script and told us that we were not only singing but we were also animated characters in the film!” “Yeah, our first acting opportunity. It really caught us off guard, that was that last thing on our minds. So, we re-recorded the song and read our lines. Although the animated sketches were still in the developmental stages, we were able to see how we would be presented.” The song “Second Chances” is performed by a vast assembly of ‘vegetable angels’ in Gospel choir format, and sing to Jonah in the belly of the whale. Steve and Da’dra take the role of the choir’s lead vocalists. “It was funny. I had dreads at the time however, my character had a big afro, not to mention a few added pounds! I don't know which vegetable I actually am. Da'dra looks like a ‘green bean Diana Ross’ with large hooped ear rings. Sing girl!!”  “The experience was actually a dream come true. Personally, I always wanted to be an animated voice and do movie soundtracks. It was an honor to be able to have this first acting debut with the VeggieTales organization. Da'dra's family and mine are fans; my son Monty and my nephew Evan are also fans.”“It was rewarding working with people that really love God and want to spread biblical principles to not only children, but to people of all walks of life and age groups.” “I personally walked away from the Jonah film determined not to duplicate his response in my own life but to obey God in every instance." [Editor's note: Jonah, A VeggieTales Movie is one of those rarities in national theatre releases. Not only is it great, fast-moving and amusing (sometimes hysterical) action for children, it's also a refreshing and timely account of scriptural history. And besides, where else can you see and hear an animated Gospel choir sing their hearts out from the belly of a whale?]
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