Hannah Barbera's Joshua and the Battle of Jericho

The basis for this animated adventure is found in Joshua 5:13—6:27. If the viewers are mature enough to be able to separate fact from scriptwriter’s fantasy, they will find the basic message is fairly close to the Old Testament account of this amazing story. However, the inclusion of three time-traveling youths seriously deters from the usefulness of the tape.

One of the three youths gets captured and taken inside Jericho but is later rescued by his two cohorts after they sneak into the city by climbing over the walls at night. All three then escape from Jericho by “surfing” on a board through an underground river passageway. Exciting? Yes! But very misleading for younger viewers.

Some of the biblical problems: 1) Jordan River simply dries up rather than being cut off and standing in a heap (see Joshua 3:13); 2) Rahab is portrayed as a wholesome young woman rather than as a harlot as stated in Scripture. Poor attention to important details. Not recommended.

Recommended instead: Veggie Tales: Josh and the Big Wall