Biblically Animated

Joseph King of Dreams (2000)
With his gift of dream interpretation and his brilliantly colored coat, Joseph (voiced by Ben Affleck) inspires jealousy in his brothers and is sold into slavery. This animated retelling of the story from the Bible's Book of Genesis boasts first-rate animation and excellent voice work from Affleck, Mark Hamill and Jody Benson (The Little Mermaid). Wholesome without being preachy, Joseph: King of Dreams will delight the entire family. (Netflix)


The Prince of Egypt (1998)

For years, I have searched for a truly epic film. I have witnessed the genius of Lawrence of Arabia, the majesty of Star Wars, the pupil-dilating battles of Braveheart, but after all that war, I realize that The Prince of Egypt is a little more special than all of them.

If not the best film of the year, then the best animated film ever. Its visuals simply can't be described, for its images will stay in your mind forever. They will not be seared, like the brutal images of Saving Private Ryan, but instead, simply stay with you. When you remember them, you will smile, for they are the true meaning of epic.

If you don't like the film's story, or even if you don't like the film in general, you will still stare in awe at its visual images. They are the best ever. The parting of the Red Sea is just one of the best. The closing shot is about 10 seconds long and is truly mind-boggling.

Animation just hit puberty, and I can't wait to see it become an adult. Go see it. You won't be disappointed, I guarantee you. (IMDB  Hamza Khan (cartman2384@hotmail.com) from Montreal, PQ)

Ten Commandments – (2007) Voices of Ben Kingsley, Christian Slater, Elliott Gould


If you have interest in an important historical story or if you have interest in the struggle of mankind against the darker side of ourselves, this is the movie to watch. I like this version of the Ten Commandments story best because it tells more of the story than any previous version. It shows the power of humility over those who think they rule the world. It presents the difficult journey of doing what is right. Regardless of your religious position, that is the lesson we all want our kids to understand. The tone of this movie was a little on the serious side for kids, but I found that to be appropriate. The importance of the story should not be overshadowed by comic side-kicks, climactic sing-a-longs and over-the-top antics of cartoon stereotypes. It's really a new approach to the art cartoons. It assumes that our children have enough maturity to experience a movie for its moral lesson. Imagine that? I look forward to the series that will come out of this film. ( IMDB dcobb-1 from United States)

Davie and Golimyr (2008)

As always in the Bible, when we return to the story of David and Goliath we are struck not just by its power but by its brevity and concision. This is a combination of factors that makes it an ideal teaching tool and well-suited to being a short film for kids. Moreover, Veggie Tales has prepared the way for somewhat cock-eyed religious lessons, Davey and Goliath has us psyched for some stop-action nostalgia, and Wallace & Gromit has demonstrated the potential of Claymation. So I was ready to love this disc. Instead, I only ended up liking it.

If you are going to gussie up the core story you really need to adding value, as Bob and Larry and the gang do. The additions here didn't do much for me. However, there is one thing that's very impressive about the film and easily redeems any shortcomings. The art design is based on the work of illustrator of James C. Christensen and it's fanciful and beautiful. (Amazon Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA)