Tag Archive for: christian movie review

Inside Out 2 and Our Identity in Christ

Inside Out 2 Big Screen

Disney’s Masterful Exposé of Riley’s Brain on Puberty Reminds Me that Emotional Regulation Can Be Hard for Adults, Too

 

by Jenna Kruse

 

It would be easy to chalk up Disney’s newest Pixar hit, Inside Out 2, as cinema therapy for those whose hormone siren just went off—it certainly normalizes teeth that haven’t yet surrendered to the braces, skin that won’t cooperate, and the awkwardness of needing deodorant for the first time.

 

But as the movie masterfully gives a behind-the-scenes view of Riley’s emotional control center, I’m left wondering why, as a 40-year-old woman, I still relate so powerfully to her story—and not just as a mother of a teen and preteen.

 

Riley’s experience of puberty and the subsequent “emotional overhaul” it causes mirrors the intensity with which many teenagers—and adults—experience the flesh vs. spirit war that Romans 7-8 exposes within us all.

 

Granted, Riley and my Read more

/0 Comments/by

Top 20 Gospel-Paralleling Disney Movie Quotes

Mad Hatter Quote

20 Things Disney Characters Have Said that Parallel Biblical Principles

 

Who doesn’t love a good Disney movie? The animation is out of this world, the storytellers are the world’s greatest, and there is usually a moment toward the movie’s end that makes you work to choke back tears. Don’t worry—your secret’s safe with me. Simply put, Disney is pure cinematic genius.

 

Some call the emotive scene at the end of the movie a “moral,” but there’s more to it than that. Our hearts tug on stories with a redemptive component because we were made for redemption. God himself placed a deep longing in our hearts for the kind of redemption that only he provides.

 

We know that the world is broken and if we’re honest, we feel it inside us too. Even so, a story that reminds us that “all is redeemable” is power. And the good news, folks? The theme of redemption comes from a place of truth. So, share these clips with your kids and let the conversation follow. With no further ado, introducing the top 20 Disney movie quotes paralleling gospel truths:

 

20. “You used to be much more…muchier. You’ve lost your muchness.”

-The Mad Hatter to Alice, Alice in Wonderland (2010)

Read more

/1 Comment/by

Encanto and our Stairway to Heaven

Encanto window

Disney’s Encanto is a movie for all the performers. All the achievers. All the perfectionists. And in this weary-worn world full of anxiety to perform, achieve, and perfect, we all need a message. A message about rest and about where our identity lies. Because isn’t that why we’re all tired? We’re trying to perfect an image of ourselves that is unsustainable. We are attempting to create our own self-worth. The worth of ourselves only ever came from Read more

/0 Comments/by
,

What Disney’s Soul Taught Me About Satisfaction

Planning to finally sit down with your family and watch Disney’s Soul over Spring Break? It’s an intriguing new movie from Pixar Studios where end-of-life and after-life themes get wrapped up in a psychedelic-techno dream-like animated package suitable for a child. At least it’s supposed to be since it’s animated and it comes from Disney. But it doesn’t take long to realize there’s going to be some heavy stuff in this movie, interplaying with (as Disney so genius-ly does) a silly mix of antics from our main character, Joe Gardner, whose psyche and circumstance are so relatable to just about any adult-trying-to-adult and any child who loves talking cats. Yes…umm, you’ll just have to watch.

 

But even though there are forthright references to end-of-life scenarios that some kids might not be ready for and spiritual undertones from an amalgamation of world religions and belief systems, I still found a way to see the truth of my Christian faith alive and well in the heart of the message that Joe’s life and journey convey. And as usual, it came up in conversation with my kiddos. (Psst! Read more

/0 Comments/by