By Gavin Boyle
Former Disney animator Tom Bancroft explained why he was excited to come on as director of LIGHT OF THE WORLD and share the story of Jesus with a new generation.
“I was a Disney animator for many years and worked on LION KING, ALADIN, and POCAHONTAS. But when John [J. Schafer] came to me and said, ‘Hey, I could use some help. Can you help me direct this film?’ They had already decided, ‘Okay, we’re going to make young John the Apostle the main character; we’re going to see it through his eyes.’ He’s about 13,” Bancroft told Movieguide®. “He’s about to go on this adventure to try and find this Messiah. And what he finds is a good friend and then later discovers He is the Messiah.”
Related: Famed Disney Animators Team Up for the Story of Jesus
“But to me, I’m hearing the pitch and then hearing him say, ‘Oh, we want to do it in 2D animation just like those classic Disney films,’ I was in,” Bancroft continued. “And so, for me, yeah, this was the project that I had no idea I wanted to do my whole life. And I’ve been training for it, honestly, my whole career.”
The result is a beautifully animated, extremely well-told story that introduces the story of Jesus to kids and adults alike in a way that anyone can understand. Because it was created by master storytellers like Bancroft, it appeals even to those without a faith background. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
LIGHT OF THE WORLD is beautifully animated and entertaining. It tells familiar Bible stories in a clear and concise way that children of all ages and adults will love. LIGHT OF THE WORLD has a strong, inspiring Christian, biblical worldview. It stresses faith, family and trusting in God’s plan. There are some suspenseful scenes and scenes of implied violence that might be scary for young children. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises parental discernment for younger viewers.
While Bancroft was an animator at Disney for decades, he is concerned with where the studio has gone in recent years as it turns away from the morally grounded stories it is known for. When he was working there, he committed himself to never work on a project that could negatively impact a viewer’s mental or emotional growth, something that would have been much harder to do with the company’s projects today.
“I look at some of the bigger studios, and I am concerned about where storytelling has gone,” Bancroft explained. “There’s a darkness that’s popular right now in the eyes of executives. That is largely why I left Disney and started my own animation company. I felt like we needed to have better values and morals and elements in our storytelling.”
As he continues to commit himself to creating uplifting stories, it is wonderful that Bancroft now also has the freedom to explicitly include his faith. LIGHT OF THE WORLD is sure to impact the faith of millions across all ages. The movie releases on Sept. 5.
Read Next: Animator Tony Bancroft Wants to Create Positive Family Messages in His Work
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