IF THERE’S ONE LANGUAGE OUR KIDS KNOW, IT’S THE LANGUAGE OF PRINCESSES & PIRATES.
The writers, producers and artists of Disney have often been heralded the greatest storytellers of modern times, and rightly so: the Walt Disney Company is currently worth anywhere between $100-150 billion. Kids all over America (and some places around the world) are absorbed in Disney culture. It’s not hard to imagine a child wrapping up in her favorite blanket, the one with a few well-known princesses on it before listening to her favorite Disney-themed bedtime book. Or it wouldn’t be hard to picture a child’s playroom where more than one set of big black ears can be found. Young ones and their caregivers who have been to a Disney theme park consider it one of their most memorable vacations. Even for those who haven’t yet been, Disney is on their toothbrushes, their backpacks and even the snacks their parents bring home from the grocery store.
Every time a child sees their favorite Disney character, they are reminded of the storyline and adventure that character journeyed through. But what they don’t always realize (for young and old people alike) is why these stories speak so strongly to their hearts. The truth is, we were made for these stories. These are stories not just of fairytale, but of redemption.
In the last two decades specifically, Disney has progressed toward more complex characters and storylines. Take Queen Elsa from Frozen, for example. One could argue whether she is the protagonist or the antagonist of this story. Isn’t this the story of the human experience? She represents the struggle of divine proportions that is going on between our flesh and our spirit.
While the Bible acutely depicts this fallen nature of every human life, it also portrays the loving nature of our creator God, the journey of God’s people in all their victories and failures, and the unfolding of God’s big, redemptive plan through His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth comes in the most unexpected of ways, even though He was spoken of in the very beginning. It is the greatest story ever told. At the pinnacle of this greatest story ever told is the Gospel: the greatest love story to ever exist.
Using the Bible as our model, we find that the way Jesus taught His disciples most often was through parables. He used illustrations that the people He was talking to were already familiar with: stories about farmers and gardeners and keeping lamps burning. He paralleled His Father’s love with the great love of an earthly father to a prodigal son. The list goes on. God knew that the people were more likely to understand the concepts of God and the workings of God through their everyday context.
So, why not utilize the greatest icon in storytelling—Walt Disney’s team of animators and storytellers—to communicate these deep Biblical truths? These stories have been pointing toward the Gospel in powerful ways for decades: through tales of getting lost on the journey and found into a much grander plan than the character could have dreamt up in his or her own finite wit. In the last two decades, gospel-lending messages are increasingly portrayed through Disney’s colorful stories of struggle and mighty tales of redemption. Modern-day parables, if you will.
Finding Nemo, for example, is a beautifully animated tale about a school of fish riding a magic school bus (insert an enthusiastic stingray in place of the red-headed, eccentrically dressed nut). It’s a menagerie of God’s creation of aquatic life set off the coast of Oceana, and it’s a larger-than-life adventure of a clown fish in search of his lost son. But beneath the cuteness of the story is a tale of a kind of love so powerful and so true that its original source can only be traced back to our heavenly Father. Specifically, the story of Nemo and his father Marlin mirrors the experience of the prodigal son and his father’s unabashed love for him found in Luke 15.
“Filmmaking communicates deep truths, whether or not the events really took place”
-Nate Scoggins, actor
Cinema is one of the most influential and strategic tools we have to share the gospel in our culture. The ultimate goal of Disney Gospels is that extracting parables from Disney movies would serve as a useful training tool in helping people, big and small, learn to find the God-truths in everything they view and encounter throughout life. I am passionate about sharing this powerful lens through which the Gospel can be seen and experienced in a new way.
Think about this: Seeing the truth of God when the world around you is seemingly telling you a much different story is not an easy task. It can be difficult to rectify in our hearts the disparity between what we see and hear in the news or in our everyday life with what God says is true—a truth perhaps not yet fully realized. But having the scales removed from our eyes and seeing everything through the lens of God’s great story of love and grace is life-giving. You can subscribe HERE to go on this truth-seeking, sight-restoring and life-giving journey with me.
