Upcoming Christian Movies
Chronicles of Narnia, Veggie Tales and Others Coming Soon
For a long time, Christian movies were known as painfully low-budget, awkwardly contrived, and downright cheesy. And with good reason. Most of them were all those things and more. Not so much these days. Christian movies are now moving into the mainstream.
Much of this is due to the fact that filmmaking technology has made it easier for independents to break in, but mostly, it seems to be due to a greater willingness on the part of Christian churches and ministries to flex their creative energies in Hollywood’s direction. For a long time, Christians were repelled by Hollywood. Appalled by it, in fact. And they used every opportunity to denounce it from their pulpits and home Bible studies.
Now, they are invading Hollywood. Or at least are effectively sidestepping Hollywood and making a play for the same consumer dollars that finance so many Hollywood films. In short, Christian filmmakers are smarter, more creative, and more daring than their predecessors and the results speak for themselves.
If you like Christian movies, here is a sampling of what’s on the horizon:
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Movie audiences thrilled to the spectacle of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia when The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe hit the Big Screen in 2005. Its sequel, set for release in 2008, is likely to have similar success.
The Chronicles of Narnia is about as overtly Christian as an allegory can get without being heavy-handed about it. Anyone with even the least bit of biblical familiarity had no problem identifying Aslan as Jesus and who could miss the references to “son of Adam” and “daughter of Eve” (when the Narnians spoke of humans)?
In Prince Caspian, the four Pevensie children return to Narnia and discover that hundreds of years have elapsed since they last ruled there. Instead, an evil king is on the throne, and the Pevensies are called on to help an exiled heir, Prince Caspian, overthrow the evil tyrant.
Currently in production in Prague and New Zealand, it is set to reach US theaters in May 2008 – a sure bet to kick off the summer movie season.
Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
Anne Rice’s bestselling novel Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt is on its way to the Big Screen, courtesy of Good News Holdings, chaired by religious pollster George Barna. The film follows a youthful Jesus who accompanies his parents on their return to Nazareth, after a self-imposed exile in Egypt to avoid the jealous wrath of King Herod.
The story is highly fictional and speculative, and thus is ripe for controversy. Rice, however, has renewed her faith commitment and insists her story is based on a thorough study of the Bible as well as archaeology, geography, and ancient history. The problem, of course, is that the canonical Bible provides no information on Jesus’ childhood, except for his birth and a brief appearance at the Jerusalem Temple at age twelve.
If the movie mirrors the book’s success, it should do well at the box office. Viewers, however, should be cautioned that this is most definitely a work of fiction that is only loosely based on fact.
Left Behind
The Left Behind thrillers, based on fundamentalist, pre-millenial interpretations of biblical prophecy, are among the most successful novels of all time. It was no surprise that they were brought to the Big Screen.
The first Left Behind movie, released in 2000, met with mixed results in its theater debut. This was partly due to the fact that it was available in some outlets on DVD before it hit the theaters. Not to worry. Cloud Ten Pictures recalibrated their strategy with Left Behind: World at War, the third cinematic installment. It was released directly to churches, many of which, with their multimedia facilities, can serve as movie theaters just as easily as houses of worship. The strategy worked, and more Left Behind movies are on the way.
Fireproof
Facing the Giants was one of the most successful religious-themed independent productions in recent memory and one of the only (if not the only) church-made movie to get nationwide distribution. Now, the makers of the $100,000 feature which earned over $10 million at the box office and sold over 1 million DVDs are returning with Fireproof.
Produced by Sherwood Pictures, a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, Fireproof will feature a fire fighter going through marital and faith challenges similar to those encountered by Facing the Giants protagonist Grant Taylor. Not much is known, except that Sherwood Pictures is now collecting donations and supplies to bolster what will once again be a volunteer-intensive production. With the success of Giants, however, this film is likely to enjoy a larger budget than the paltry $100,000 of its predecessor.
Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Won’t Do Anything
We can’t forget those fun-loving vegetable characters that children of all ages have learned to love. Yes, the Veggie Tales are coming back to the Big Screen. If you missed Jonah: The Veggie Tales Movie, the most colorful (and some might say, most endearing) characters of that production were the pirates who tossed Jonah overboard when the Almighty interfered with his plans to sail as far away from Nineveh as possible.
If you are unfamiliar with the biblical tale of Jonah and also with Veggie Tales, you likely won’t have a clue what I’m talking about. Not to worry. Ask one of your nieces, nephews, under-age cousins, sons, daughters, grandkids – anyone that you know who qualifies as a “kid.” Surely, someone will have heard of the Veggie Tales. And they will be happy to school you.
There you have it. Set your entertainment money aside and get ready. Some good, wholesome, faith-filled movies are coming soon to a theater near you.
Fireproof
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