A Brand New Beast

Disney animator Glen Keane will be directing Netflix's upcoming Over the Moon, a tale about a young girl who builds a rockets and takes off on an exciting adventure. He's certainly no stranger to creating memorable characters! Glen was the backbone to many Disney projects (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Tangled). 

For me, the ultimate Keane project was Beast, from the classic Beauty and the Beast, my favorite Disney animated film (which also holds up stunningly well next to the live action release). Not only does the animated film have a huge following, but the whole experience of animating / transforming Beast was a powerful one! This was apparently just as true for his animator.

Glen says,

"This is the moment- this is what I was born for...As I started animating it, for me it's really an expression of my spiritual life. There's a verse in the Bible that says 'If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and all things have become new...'Because it is really about an inner spiritual transformation that's taking place with the Beast. I saw it as a parable of my life."

Boy, I'm with you, Glen. Perhaps that's why this film strikes such a deep note in me and millions of others! There's a longing in us to be more than what we've been, perhaps to be the best version of ourselves, the version that God created- free from the eternal stain of sin and with new hope for life eternal. This is what Jesus Christ does! 

When our hearts are opened by God to hear His Message of hope, forgiveness, and a fresh life, our heart leaps! When we choose to believe that Jesus died for our sin, paying full price for it, and then was raised from the dead to prove He is God in the flesh- wow! Just wow! New life is birthed in us. The failures and brokenness from the past are now just a part of our eternal journey as we increasingly become who God designed us to be. Make the leap into the Arms of Love- and Beast's transformation will be your own parable as well. 

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)

It's a Beauty in 3D

The allure of 3D films is a contradiction in terms. I much prefer 2D and the old school way of telling the story. However, when I realized Disney was releasing Beauty and the Beast in 3D, I just had to go.

Beauty is my all-time favorite Disney film, with The Little Mermaid right behind it. Like Glen Keane, my heart resonates with the Beast, and I too know the power of Love's transformation. It is such a highly personal film for me, you would think I was involved in its creation.

Knowing Beauty was arriving with a new Disney favorite, a Tangled based short, made a night to see both all the more enticing.

It was a quiet Wednesday night, and we were the only ones in the theater. Not a bad setting for a date- and a chance to view the film as only a true lover of it could.

Yes, go see it for the Tangled mini movie. The whole concept is pretty clever, and it is great fun to see Rapunzel, Eugene, and the rest of the crew back in action. In spite of all the film's charms, nothing can hold a candle- not even Lumiere- to the 3D treat that is Beauty and the Beast.

No, I won't spoil it for you, but I will say by the end of the film you'll be itching to explore Beast's castle and the West Wing in particular at the Magic Kingdom's new Fantasyland. Now, I really cannot wait for it to open...

(Art copyright The Walt Disney Company.)