The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible

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.^[1] Thirteen videos were released between 1985 and 1992.

The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
(From left to right): Seph, Storyteller, Moki, Margo, Derek, Nod children.
Genre	Action Adventure Drama Christianity
Directed by	Don Lusk Ray Patterson (supervising director)
Voices of	Darlene Carr Terry McGovern (1985-1989) Darryl Hickman (1989-1992) Rob Paulsen
Narrated by	Michael Rye (Opening only)
Theme music composer	Hoyt Curtin
Composers	Hoyt Curtin Gary William Friedman (Ep. 8 only) Tom Worrall (Episode 8; Episode 9, additional music) Vaughn Johnson (last 2 episodes) Albert Lloyd Olson (Episode 11 only) Russell Fox (choral music, eps. 7&9)
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of episodes	13
Production
Executive producers	William Hanna Joseph Barbera Paul Sabella (Episode 4&11)
Producers	Kay Wright Bruce David Johnson (supervising producer, 4 episodes) Lew Saw (associate producer, first 6 episodes)
Editors	Gil Iverson Tim Iverson (last 3 episodes) Tom Gleason (last 2 episodes)
Running time	25–30 minutes
Production company	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Original release
Release	April 26, 1985 (1985-04-26) – August 19, 1992 (1992-08-19)

Overview

Derek and Margo, two young archaeologists, are on a dig accompanied by "their nomad friend", a boy named Moki. They come across a door in an ancient ruin that turns out to be a portal through time. Though the introduction is the same in all videos, each episode sends the three friends into a different story from the Bible. They often interact with principal figures from each story, but without any significant effect upon the plot so as not to alter the course of history; in other episodes, they arrive decades after the events depicted in the Bible and are relayed the story by a firsthand witness.

The episodes were not released in an order consistent with the Biblical chronology, but can be construed to give a coherent story beginning with "The Creation" and ending with "The Easter Story", which is told from a Christian viewpoint. The first six episodes, released simultaneously, relate Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) stories, with episodes pertaining to the life of Jesus being added among some additional Old Testament stories as the series progressed.

Each individual episode featured celebrity voices in principal Biblical roles.

Production and distribution

The series was initially conceived by Hanna-Barbera co-founder Joseph Barbera some seventeen years before it was produced, but he had difficulty in procuring support for the project. Eventually, however, Hanna-Barbera's parent company Taft Broadcasting agreed to provide funding, and the first video was released in 1985, then Turner Home Entertainment continued production after they bought Hanna-Barbera in 1991. Sparrow-Star Song assisted with distribution, releasing all thirteen episodes on VHS, one episode per tape. Five of these episodes ("The Miracles of Jesus", "David and Goliath", "Noah's Ark", "The Easter Story", and "Moses") were released on DVD in 2006.^[2][3][4]

Voice cast

Main

• Darleen Carr – Margo
• Darryl Hickman – Derek (1989–1992)
• Michael Rye – Narrator (main titles), Sebel (in "Samson and Delilah")
• Rob Paulsen – Moki
• Terry McGovern – Derek (1985–1989)

Special guest stars

• Adrienne Barbeau – Mary Magdalene (in "The Story of Easter"), Queen Vashti (in "Queen Esther")
• Alan Oppenheimer – Jonah (in "The Nativity")
• Barry Bostwick – Joseph (in "Joseph and his Brothers")
• Bruce McGill –
• Charlotte Rae – Noah's wife (in "Noah's Ark")
• David Ackroyd – Angel (in "The Nativity"), Jesus Christ (in "The Miracles of Jesus")
• Dean Jones – King Ahasuerus (in "Queen Esther")
• Ed Asner – Joshua (in "Joshua and the Battle of Jericho")
• Gavin MacLeod – Daniel (in "Daniel and the Lion's Den")
• Gregory Harrison – Joseph (in "The Nativity")
• Harold Gould – Benjamin (in "The Miracles of Jesus")
• Helen Hunt – Mary (in "The Nativity")
• Helen Slater – Queen Esther (in "Queen Esther")
• Herschel Bernardi – Goliath (in "David and Goliath")
• James Earl Jones – Pharaoh (in "Moses")
• James Whitmore – Moses (in "Moses")
• Jeffrey Tambor – Eli (in "The Nativity"), Peter ("The Easter Story")
• Joe Spano – Jesus (in "The Easter Story")
• John Randolph –
• Les Tremayne – the Storyteller (in "The Creation"), God (in "The Creation")
• Linda Purl – Delilah (in "Samson and Delilah")
• Lorne Greene – Noah (in "Noah's Ark")
• Marc Singer – Adam (in "The Creation")
• Michael Constantine –
• Perry King – Samson (in "Samson and Delilah")
• Richard Libertini – Apple Merchant (in "The Creation")
• Richard Thomas – Mark (in "The Easter Story")
• Robby Benson – David (in "David and Goliath")
• Ron Rifkin – Mordecai (in "Queen Esther")
• Roscoe Lee Browne – Magus (in "The Nativity")
• Stephanie Zimbalist – Eve (in "The Creation")
• Tim Curry – The Serpent (in "The Creation"), Judas Iscariot (in "The Easter Story")
• Vincent Price – King Herod (in "The Nativity")
• Werner Klemperer – Haman (in "Queen Esther")

Additional voices

• Alan Johnson –
• Alan Oppenheimer – Belshazzar (in "Daniel and the Lion's Den"), Melon Merchant (in "The Nativity"), Wise Man #2 (in "The Nativity")
• Allan Lurie –
• Andre Stojka – Lead Heckler (in "Noah's Ark"), King Saul's Councilor (in "David and Goliath")
• B.J. Ward – Haman's Wife (in "Queen Esther")
• Barry Dennen – Senel (in "The Easter Story")
• Bernard Erhard – Saul (in "David and Goliath")
• Bill Woodson – Simon (in "The Easter Story")
• Brock Peters – Priest (in "Samson and Delilah")
• David Mendenhall – Seth (in "The Creation")
• Dena Dietrich – Belshazarr's Mother (in "Daniel and the Lion's Den")
• Dick Gautier –
• Dorian Harewood – Roman Guard (in "The Easter Story")
• Ed Gilbert – Balak (in "The Easter Story"), Micah (in "Jonah")
• Frank Welker – Lions, Soldier (in "Daniel and the Lion's Den"); Monkey, Roman Soldier (in "The Nativity")
• Fredrica Weber –
• George DiCenzo –
• George Hearn – Retainer (in "Queen Esther")
• Henry Corden – Animal Wrangler (in "Daniel and the Lion's Den")
• Henry Polic II – Secal (in "Daniel and the Lion's Den")
• Jerry Dexter –
• Joseph Ruskin –
• Keene Curtis – Pontius Pilate (in "The Easter Story")
• Kristoffer Tabori – Young Jonah (in "Jonah")
• Mariette Hartley – Rahab
• Michael Bell – Eliab, Philistine Soldier (in "David and Goliath")
• Michael Nouri –
• Nancy Dussault – Martha (in "Jonah")
• Nicholas Guest –
• Paul Eiding –
• Paul Lukather –
• Peter Cullen – King of Nineveh (in "Jonah"), Japeth (in "Noah's Ark")
• Peter Mark Richman –
• Peter Renaday –
• René Auberjonois –
• Richard Dysart –
• Richard Erdman – Egyptian Magician (in "Moses")
• Scott Grimes – Yasha (in "The Nativity")
• Stan Jones –
• Tony Jay – Caiaphas (in "The Easter Story"), God, Man (in "Jonah"), Jerusalem Man #3 (in "The Easter Story")
• Vic Perrin –
• Virginia Gregg – Miriam (in "Samson and Delilah")
• William Wright –
• Zale Kessler –

Episodes

No.	Title	Story by	Storyboarded by	Original release date
1	"Moses"	Harvey Bullock	Ric Estrada	April 26, 1985 (1985-04-26)
The trio witnesses the ten plagues of Egypt and follow Moses through the parting of the Red Sea.
2	"David and Goliath"	Harvey Bullock	Ric Estrada	April 25, 1986 (1986-04-25)
The three meet David and eventually see him defeat Goliath.
3	"Joshua and the Battle of Jericho"	Harvey Bullock	Ric Estrada	April 25, 1986 (1986-04-25)
The trio find themselves ensnared in the Battle of Jericho.
4	"Noah's Ark"	Harvey Bullock	Ric Estrada	April 25, 1986 (1986-04-25)
The protagonists find themselves aboard Noah's Ark.
5	"Samson and Delilah"	Harvey Bullock	Ric Estrada	April 25, 1986 (1986-04-25)
The protagonists find themselves witnessing the story of Samson and Delilah.
6	"Daniel and the Lion's Den"	Dennis Marks	Ric Estrada	April 25, 1986 (1986-04-25)
The trio find themselves in Babylon, where they witness the miracle of Daniel in the lions' den.
7	"The Nativity"	Bruce D. Johnson and Harvey Bullock, Dennis Marks (teleplay)	Ric Estrada and Robert Taylor	October 15, 1987 (1987-10-15)
The trio witnesses the birth of Jesus.
8	"The Creation"	Dennis Marks	Lew Saw and Kay Wright	July 15, 1988 (1988-07-15)
The three protagonists listen to a storyteller recount the creation as well as the Fall. At the same time, they learn their own lessons in honesty after tricking a gardener into giving them fruit for free.
9	"The Easter Story"	Dennis Marks	Jim Willoughby	March 15, 1989 (1989-03-15)
Mark describes the last days of Jesus' life, leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection.
10	"Joseph and His Brothers"	Dennis Marks and Karran Eccles Wright	Jim Willoughby	November 8, 1990 (1990-11-08)
The trio befriend Joseph and learn about his coat of many colors.
11	"The Miracles of Jesus"	Karran Eccles Wright	Ric Estrada	September 26, 1991 (1991-09-26)
The time travelers encounter an elderly version of the young man raised from the dead in the city of Nain, who recounts the various miracles of Jesus.
12	"Queen Esther"	Karran Eccles Wright	Ric Estrada	February 27, 1992 (1992-02-27)
Esther and Mordecai expose the duplicity of Haman.
13	"Jonah"	Karran Eccles Wright	Ric Estrada	August 19, 1992 (1992-08-19)
Jonah recounts the story of his journey to Nineveh and being swallowed by a fish.

References

1. Sennett, Ted (1989). The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity. Studio. p. 239. ISBN 978-0670829781. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
2. Barbera, Joseph (1994). My Life in "Toons": From Flatbush to Bedrock in Under a Century. Atlanta, GA: Turner Publishing. pp. 210–215. ISBN 1-57036-042-1.
3. Alasdair, Steven (2001-03-28). "William Hanna, animator and cartoon creator". The Scotsman. p. 16.
4. Natale, Richard; Phil Gallo (2001-03-21). "William Hanna". Variety. p. 151.

External links

• Clips from the series
• Daniel and the Lion's Den at IMDb
• David and Goliath at IMDb
• Jonah at IMDb
• Joseph and His Brothers at IMDb
• Joshua and the Battle of Jericho at IMDb
• Moses at IMDb
• Noah's Ark at IMDb
• Queen Esther at IMDb
• Samson and Delilah at IMDb
• The Creation at IMDb
• The Easter Story at IMDb
• The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible at CEGAnMo.com
• The Miracles of Jesus at IMDb
• The Nativity at IMDb