Written By: Bob Gordon
What if there was a family movie that was theologically sound, used hand-drawn animation reminiscent of your favorite classic movies, was fun for the whole family, and works as a great outreach tool sharing the Gospel in a winsome, engaging manner?
As of this Friday, September 5, there is! LIGHT OF THE WORLD is the first move from Salvation Poem Project, a non-profit ministry crafting stories that share Jesus with the world.
This beautiful, 2D-animated story of Jesus is told through the eyes of his beloved young friend, the Apostle John. From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry through his crucifixion and resurrection, LIGHT OF THE WORLD powerfully illustrates how Jesus of Nazareth changed the world forever and still changes lives today.
Directors John Schafer and Tom Bancroft were recently on the Faith Film Fan podcast. They both have impressive backgrounds: John was the longtime lead producer of CBN’s Superbook series, while Tom was a lead animator for Disney, working on films such as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Mulan.
“Those films were Disney’s thing, and they wanted me to help on it. And we all do a small part in a major process. And I was proud of those films,” Tom says. “But this one is the kind of film where you’re like, okay, this could change lives. I want my kids to see this, and I want my friends’ families to see this. People I will never meet around the world are going to see this for years to come. So that makes for a higher level of excitement, for sure.”
Throughout the movie, we see Jesus through the eyes of the Apostle John, who is depicted as a young man, making him relatable to kids in the audience—while staying true to historical studies that show John was likely the youngest disciple.
As the directors said on the FFF podcast, the making of LIGHT OF THE WORLD deepened their faith.
“I’ve grown as a believer making this film. It’s so hard not to be growing when you’re digging into the Bible and trying to figure out, what is the meaning of this chapter or, in our case, sequence of the film?” John says. “We would have long discussions about are we being true to that moment? Because these aren’t just made-up stories to us. This happened. These are real characters. And we fell in love with our John, and we fell in love with the Jesus that we were portraying. If we’re doing that, then that’s going to get communicated on the screen.”
It’s a movie that FFF Podcast co-host Alita Reynolds knows your family will love.
“It’s so important to go opening weekend so that more films can be made. I just can’t emphasize that enough because the tendency is, I’ll wait. Don’t wait, go opening weekend, just get your tickets, buy some for your friends, your family, and take a bunch of other children. Everybody’s going to enjoy this beautiful 2D animated film.”
