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How Former Disney Exec Shares Jesus Through This Hit Show

Photo from Clyde He via Unsplash

How Former Disney Exec Shares Jesus Through This Hit Show

By Movieguide® Contributor

A former Disney executive has left the company to focus his efforts on faith-based content.

Rick Dempsey began his work at Disney over 30 years ago and was involved with many Disney classics including THE LION KING, ALADDIN and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. However, after many years, he felt God leading him to do something new.

“I just realized it was time to move on,” he told Crosswalk Headlines. “We know Disney’s kind of gone in a different direction from where I started back in 1988, and I thought, ‘Hey, maybe this is the Lord’s prompting.’… I’ve been a believer my entire career, very involved in the local church, and it [was] really a tremendous opportunity to kind of be salt and light in that business and slow down the decay. [But] I felt that some of my salt was losing that saltiness at Disney, and it was time to move on.”

Today, Dempsey works to spread faith-based content throughout the world. Currently he partners with THE CHOSEN to share it worldwide. He already loved the series and is thankful for the opportunity to bring it to others.

“I watched it and just said, ‘Hey, this is probably the best Christian production I’ve ever seen.’…What separates THE CHOSEN is the quality is so phenomenal. The character development is so good, and it drew me in. So, I was already familiar with it,” he explained.

READ MORE: HOW THE CHOSEN STAR HOPES NEW SEASON IMPACTS FANS’ FAITH

Dempsey does what he did in his last role with Disney: he translates content into different languages.

“My job was to protect character integrity, which means that when the movie characters are adapted to connect with local audiences, they remain consistent across the languages,” he explained previously. “I think it is a unique responsibility to have in a secular company like Disney, because as believers, that’s similar to what we’re called to do with our own lives, that is, to maintain our Christian integrity wherever we go.

Crosswalk reported, “At Disney, Dempsey’s most widely translated project was FROZEN, with over 50 translations. For THE CHOSEN, the goal is far more ambitious: 600 translations — a 12-fold increase. While it may sound like a monumental feat, the series has already reached 125 translations, setting a world record in the process.”

READ MORE: THE CHOSEN TO BE AVAILABLE IN 600 LANGUAGES UNDER NEW PARTNERSHIP


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