The Legend of the Sky Kingdom

Two of my students in Children's Church had their mom give me a copy of this movie -The Legend of the Sky Kingdom- to watch, saying, "Marylynn will love this movie." Well, they knew me well and they were right! More importantly, I believe they know why I'd appreciate it so much. This highly creative, greatly imaginative movie depicts the message of the salvation of Jesus Christ in a highly unusual medium.

Before we come to know Jesus (Prince Ariel in this movie's case), we're serving an evil master and going nowhere. When we realize there might be something more - a sky kingdom we've never heard of before! - we'll do whatever's necessary to get there including stepping out in faith on a bridge that's invisible before we can begin. The life's journey includes pitfalls along the way, like the Jungle of Despair and the Desert of Desolation.

What the writer and producers from Africa (Zimbabwe) of this movie did must surely have been a first. They had a very small budget and so they created a genre - "junkmation" - in which they used all kinds of junk to create their characters and scenery. Brilliant. Thank you, Nathaniel and Matthew, for sharing this movie with me. And thank you and congratulations to the creative geniuses behind this movie. I truly believe God gave them their talent, but more importantly, they used it to bring His loving and exciting message to children in a way never heard of before!

OMG like thi s mivo is really scaey and i got super spooked while wotching it so dont ever watch it please becuase it sucks butt

I was highly impressed and filled with admiration at this "junkmation" adventure, and was surprised and pleased to learn that it was Zimbabwean. The story is a simple Pilgrim's Progress allegory, and is the weakest aspect of the film, but it is made up for by the fact that every character, prop and set is made entirely out of junk and trash. The characters are engaging and have a remarkable degree of personality, the animation is painstaking and highly imaginative, and the overall effect is remarkably sophisticated. I hope all involved will continue to have opportunities to exercise their inventiveness and creativity in the future, as this is a real little gem of animation, unique and brilliant.