Tag Archive for: disney movie

Spiritual Takeaways: Disney’s Live Action The Little Mermaid

Ariel The Little Mermaid

Like the “gadgets and gizmos” adorning Ariel’s underwater grotto, the moral and spiritual implications of Disney’s The Little Mermaid are equally plentiful.

 

Whenever Disney remakes a classic, we wonder if the entertainment giant will be able to do it justice. Will 2023’s The Little Mermaid have us falling in love with the story all over again like we did in our childhood? It’s hard to imagine a live-action set mostly underwater with a mixture of humans and sea creatures as main characters.

 

Despite the challenges, Disney made beautiful choices in bringing the story of The Little Mermaid up to date. Indeed, the plotline stays faithful to the original but with strategic and welcomed updates to character and story development. And as a true test of its effectiveness, it had me in tears.

 

As Disney has moved toward Read more

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R2-D2 is My Superhero

R2-D2 Droid

The Quirky Star Wars Robot Teaches Us to Keep the Faith

 

My neighbor knows I love to find the gospel in a good movie. When she invited me to speak at her student ministry’s winter retreat, it wasn’t long before a text came through, “Hey do you think you could incorporate R2-D2 into one of your talks?” For some reason, their graphic designer decided to put R2-D2 on the front of their t-shirts, and it became a theme for the weekend.

 

But here’s the deal. You ready for a confession? I feel like I need to look around both shoulders to make sure no one is eavesdropping. Read more

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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

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