Noah's Ark (2007 film)

Last updated
Noah's Ark
El Arca de Noe 2007.jpg
Spanish theatrical release poster
Directed byJuan Pablo Buscarini
Written byAxel Nacher
Fernando Schmidt
Enrique Cortés (screenplay adaptation)
Barbara Di Girolamo
Juan Pablo Buscarini (script collaborator)
Produced byPablo Bossi
Alejandro Cacetta
Roberto Di Girolamo
Juan Pablo Galli
Giuliana Migani
Ariel Saúl
Camillo Teti
Patricio Tobal
Juan Vera
Edited byDaniele Campelli
Massimo Croce
César Custodio
Music byAndrés Goldstein
Daniel Tarrab
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista International [2]
Release date
  • 5 July 2007 (2007-07-05)
Running time
88 minutes [3]
CountriesArgentina
Italy
LanguageSpanish
Box office$6.8 million

Noah's Ark (Spanish : El Arca) is a 2007 Argentine-Italian animated comedy film directed by Juan Pablo Buscarini. [4] Based on the biblical story of Noah's Ark, its story is told from the animals' point of view. The film tends to follow the traditional story, with the animals being anthropomorphic.

Contents

Plot

Animals and humans personify the seven deadly sins: Pride (represented as a peacock), Envy (represented as an anaconda), Sloth (represented as a sloth), Lust (represented as a hedgehog), Gluttony (represented as a frog), wrath (represented as a baboon), and Greed (represented as an indigenous man). This results in their doom as they are killed or captured and taken to market (where the killed animals are sold and survivors are enslaved). God sees the market and its evils, and tells an angel that he will destroy the world. An encounter with gentle, devoted Noah, who purchases the freedom of an enslaved man despite his own poverty, convinces him to give humanity one last chance.

God appears as a heavenly light to Noah, telling him to build a large ark for his family and two of every animal to survive a flood. Noah tells his family, who thinks he is crazy. He sells his home for a flock of doves to deliver messages to all the animals, but all the doves except Pepe fail in the mission. Pepe is rescued from attacking animals by the kind lioness Kairel, secretary for the aging King Sabu and Queen Oriana. Kairel delivers Noah's message to Sabu, who calls an emergency meeting of the animal. Sabu's spoiled son, Xiro, receives half of the letter torn from a windows therefore misinterprets Noah's message as an invitation to a luxury cruise. Xiro is angry when Kairel disqualifies his cruise guests, and the tiger Dagnino hopes to rule the post-flood world's animal kingdom.

Noah finishes the ark, and the animals arrive. Kairel has been sent to organize and supervise the trip, but the herbivores demand assurance that the carnivores will not eat them once they're aboard. Dagnino says that he will punish any act of violence on the voyage. It begins raining, and the animals stampede onto the ark. Xiro grabs Kairel and brings her aboard the ark after his intended mate is crushed by a hippopotamus.

Farfan and Esther, who bought Noah's cottage, see the ark in the distance. Panicking as the water rises around them, they scramble onto the ark. Kairel tries to maintain order and convince Xiro to take his duties seriously, but Xiro flees to a club. He becomes infatuated with the dancing panther Panthy, part of Dagnino's cabal of carnivores who intend to rule the prey species.

After he gets the full letter, Xiro faces the situation and tries to govern. He grows closer to Kairel, but is still infatuated with Panthy. Below deck with the animals, Farfan and Esther disguise themselves as fictional a "grasswhopper" species to avoid discovery. Under a pile of dung hauled to the deck for disposal, Farfan, Esther (chased by Noah) and Noah fall into the depths of the ark. Noah's eldest son, Japeth, volunteers to rescue him; the injured Pepe cannot fly. Noah's sons break the helm.

Farfan and Esther knock Noah unconscious and abandon him. Farfan bullies the smaller animals and hits Dagnino, who tears off the lower half of his disguise. Panthy lures Xiro to her cabin, where Dagnino's henchmen use the disguise and tomato juice to frame Xiro for the murder of the grasswhoppers. Dagnino has Xiro locked in a storeroom, but Xiro's herbivore friends convince Kairel of the truth.

Noah regains consciousness and tends to Pepe before sending him out a porthole to find land. Xiro's friends free him and he confronts Dagnino, who has captured the other herbivores. Their battle ends when the ark, having drifted into the Arctic, hits an ice floe.

The animals panic again, threatening to flee until Xiro rallies them. Noah has returned to his family on deck, and they begin repairing the helm. God allows the angel to stop the rain. Xiro realizes that the pitch for the ship's torches will melt the ice, and the animals spread barrels of it across the floe. Xiro lights the pitch, freeing the ark. Farfan and Esther, believing the ark has run aground, fall onto the floe as the ark departs; they flee the hungry polar bears, who are remaining in their natural habitat.

Pepe returns to the ark with an olive leaf. Xiro and Kairel reconcile as the animals (including a caged Panthy and Dagnino's gang, stuck in a wall board) celebrate on the deck. God enjoys the festivities, but admonishes the angel for leaving the rainbow on; they bicker about God's work (the Bible) in progress. [5]

English-language cast

Additional voices

Spanish-language cast

Home media

Noah's Ark was released on DVD in the United States by Shout! Factory on March 11, 2014, with an English track and a Spanish audio track with English subtitles. It omits several scenes from the original 2007 film, [6] mainly the scenes that were less appropriate for young children.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah</span> Revered figure in Abrahamic traditions

Noah appears as the last of the Antediluvian patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible, the Quran and Baha'i writings. Noah is referenced in various other books of the Bible, including the New Testament, and in associated deuterocanonical books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah's Ark</span> Mythical boat in the Genesis flood narrative

Noah's Ark is the boat in the Genesis flood narrative through which God spares Noah, his family, and examples of all the world's animals from a global deluge. The story in Genesis is based on earlier flood myths originating in Mesopotamia, and is repeated, with variations, in the Quran, where the Ark appears as Safinat Nūḥ and al-fulk. The myth of the global flood that destroys all life begins to appear in the Old Babylonian Empire period. The version closest to the biblical story of Noah, as well as its most likely source, is that of Utnapishtim in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Miller's Tale</span> Part of the Canterbury Tales

"The Miller's Tale" is the second of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1380s–1390s), told by the drunken miller Robin to "quite" "The Knight's Tale". The Miller's Prologue is the first "quite" that occurs in the tales.

<i>Children of Eden</i> Musical

Children of Eden is a 1991 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John Caird. The musical is based on the Book of Genesis, with Act I telling the story of Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel, while Act II deals with Noah and the flood.

<i>The Bible: In the Beginning...</i> 1966 film by John Huston

The Bible...In the Beginning is a 1966 religious epic film produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Huston. It recounts the first 22 chapters of the Biblical Book of Genesis, covering the stories from The Creation and Adam and Eve to the binding of Isaac.

<i>Evan Almighty</i> 2007 film by Tom Shadyac

Evan Almighty is a 2007 American fantasy comedy film that is a spin-off and sequel of Bruce Almighty (2003). The film was directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Oedekerk, based on the characters created by Steve Koren and Mark O'Keefe from the original film. It stars Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman reprising their roles as Evan Baxter and God, respectively, with new cast members Lauren Graham and John Goodman. The film is a modern-day retelling of Noah's Ark, which Evan reluctantly re-enacts because God commands him to do so at the same time Evan pursues a new career in government.

<i>Not Wanted on the Voyage</i> Book by Timothy Findley

Not Wanted on the Voyage is a novel by Canadian author Timothy Findley, which presents a magic realist post-modern re-telling of the Great Flood in the biblical Book of Genesis. It was first published by Viking Canada in the autumn of 1984, and was a shortlisted finalist for the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 1984 Governor General's Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noach</span> 2nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading

Noach is the second weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 6:9–11:32. The parashah tells the stories of the Flood and Noah's Ark, of Noah's subsequent drunkenness and cursing of Canaan, and of the Tower of Babel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wives aboard Noah's Ark</span> Aspect of the Genesis flood narrative

The wives aboard Noah's Ark were part of the family that survived the Deluge in the biblical Genesis flood narrative from the Bible. These wives are the wife of Noah, and the wives of each of his three sons. Although the Bible only notes the existence of these women, there are extra-biblical mentions regarding them and their names.

<i>The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible</i> 1985 American TV series or program

The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible is an animated direct-to-video film series produced by Hanna-Barbera that tells of three young adventurers who travel back in time to watch biblical events take place. Thirteen videos were released between 1985 and 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doves as symbols</span> Symbology pertaining to doves

Doves, typically domestic pigeons white in plumage, are used in many settings as symbols of peace, freedom, or love. Doves appear in the symbolism of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and paganism, and of both military and pacifist groups.

<i>Noahs Ark</i> (miniseries) 1999 American TV series or program

Noah's Ark is a 1999 American-Australian television miniseries directed by John Irvin and starring Jon Voight, Mary Steenburgen, F. Murray Abraham, Carol Kane, Jonathan Cake, Alexis Denisof, Emily Mortimer, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, and James Coburn. The film is a fictional adaptation of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis. It was initially televised in the United States, that same year, was also televised in Canada, Germany and Portugal, among other countries.

<i>Cain</i> (novel) 2009 novel by José Saramago

Cain is the last novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago. The book was first published in 2009. In an earlier novel, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, Saramago retold the main events of the life of Jesus Christ, as narrated in the New Testament, presenting God as the villain. In Cain, Saramago focuses on the Hebrew Bible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genesis flood narrative</span> Biblical flood myth

The Genesis flood narrative is a Hebrew flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre-creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microcosm of Noah's ark.

<i>Noah</i> (2014 film) American film by Darren Aronofsky

Noah is a 2014 American epic biblical drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ari Handel. Inspired by the biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis and the Book of Enoch, it stars Russell Crowe as Noah, along with Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Anthony Hopkins.

<i>Stowaways on the Ark</i> 1988 German animated adventure film

Stowaways on the Ark is a 1988 German animated adventure film, released theatrically in Germany as In der Arche ist der Wurm drin by Paramount Filmproduction GmbH and United International Pictures on 24 March 1988. It is inspired by the story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis. The film was later released in the United States and Canada.

<i>Arca Noë</i> 1675 book by Athanasius Kircher

Arca Noë is a book published in 1675 by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It is a study of the biblical story of Noah's Ark, published by the cartographer and bookseller Johannes van Waesbergen in Amsterdam. Kircher's aim in Arca Noë was to reconcile recent discoveries in nature and geography with the text of the Bible. This demonstration of the underlying unity and truth between revelation and science was a fundamental task of Catholic scholarship at the time. Together with its sister volume Turris Babel, Arca Noë presented a complete intellectual project to demonstrate how contemporary science supported the account of the Book of Genesis.

<i>Noahs Ark</i> (2024 film) 2024 Brazilian animated film

Noah's Ark also known as Noah's Ark – A Musical Adventure is a 2024 animated musical comedy film directed and written by Sérgio Machado with co-direction by Alos di Leo. The film is a Brazil-India co-production and was inspired by poems written by the musicians Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim as well and it follows two brother mice named Tom and Vini who are searching for good luck while seeking into the Ark.

References

  1. "El Arca (2007) - Juan Pablo Buscarini | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  2. "El Arca (2007) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-20.
  3. "The Ark (2007)". Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-20 via www.filmaffinity.com.
  4. "El Arca". Archived from the original on 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-20 via mubi.com.
  5. "Noahs Ark (El Arca de Noe) 2007 Uncut". December 11, 2007 via Internet Archive.
  6. Fred Patten (April 13, 2014). "Fred's Musings: Laika Studio and Noah's Ark". Cartoon Research. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022.