My family went to the movies recently to see ‘Wall-e.” As expected, the genuis of Pixar shined through once again. The makers of some of the best animated films ever… including The Incredibles, Toy Story, and Monster’s Inc… once again showed why they are the best. They are MASTER story tellers!
Sure, they always have amazing, new graphics, perfect soundtracks, and the best voice-overs in the business. With Pixar though, all these elements are there to support (and never overpower) the reason for their movies… to tell a GREAT story!
In addition to telling a great story, the folks at Pixar humanized their insentient characters like only they can. One of the coolest moments in the movie for my family was at the climax. Without giving too much away… Blake (my seven-year-old) got it! He was telling me why things weren’t working and was providing me with the technical solution. However, I new this plan wouldn’t work, but I didn’t know how they were going to resolve it. Well, let’s just say they did it perfectly… even with a gesture of respect to some of the Disney classics.
Way to go Pixar!
As children’s ministry leaders, we must never allow stuff to overpower THE Story we have to tell. The methods of our ministry must never supersede the Message. We must remember that we’ve got the greatest story of redemption the world has ever known, and all our efforts at creativity should be to present that Story in a way that is understood by the audience. Creative programming is the means to the end!! The end is kids accepting the truth of the Story!!
Anybody else see the movie? What were your thoughts?
July 30, 2008 at 11:00 pm |
I’ve heard so many things about this movie (from the reviews and my kids) but I haven’t seen it yet. Storytelling is so much a part of being human, and I think these movies do glorify God when we appreciate the creativity as a reflection of God’s ultimate character.
I like what you said about keeping our story central. I went through a time when I was really aiming at building up the kids in right teaching that I almost forgot the storyline. Great post and I’m glad I discovered this blog.