C'era una volta Gesù

Wow! This movie has such stunning visuals. The first time I saw an ad for it on TV, I could not tell that they were clay figures. They really looked lifelike. Not only this, but I thought this movie was really a lot better than most of the live action "Jesus" movies I've seen. Its dialogue was a lot more down to earth and probably closer to the way He would have spoken. Even though I was annoyed by the switching back and forth between drawn animation and claymation at first, it grew on me, and I think it had a good effect. Even though the voice actors were too dramatic at times, they really delivered a great performance overall. In short, this movie was a great ending to my Easter.

This movie is about Jesus Christ. And any movie that glorifies Christ is worth seeing; this one is actually quite good at it. The animation is unique and effective. The voice acting is convincing. The whole family can enjoy this one. The cel animation that appears throughout the movie is neat. At least rent it for a viewing, you'll be glad you did. The DVD has some neat special features.

As the title indicates, this movie centers on Christ's miracles, but has plenty of parables, counter-legalism interactions with the teachers of the Law, historical clues, relationships, calling of the 12, Gethsemane, the miracle of the Cross, and most importantly the resurrection. My favorite scene is the woman who touches His robe.

Of the many life of Christ films, this should be rated as one of the best. Some viewers have called it a "claymation" film, it is not. This is a stop motion puppet film. Anyone who has the DVD version can view the "making of" film and see that the figures are flexible puppets made of foam and plastic and not the crude figures done for "claymation". There is a vast difference in stop motion puppets and claymation figures.

What sets this film apart is that through the puppet medium, the figures look like people from the time and place of the original happening, not Hollywood actors in costumes and make up. Since the viewer does not associate a certain actor with the part, it is much easier to accept the puppet as the "real" character. You don't see Jeffrey Hunter, the actor in "King of Kings", playing a part but see more acceptable versions of Christ and the apostles.

The combination of 3D and 2D animation works well in separating the parable stories from the "real" action. It is a jolt at first, but becomes very acceptable as the film goes on.

Don't let the "puppet" idea keep an adult viewer away from this wonderful film. It is a concept that makes the Bible stories wonderfully accessible to all age groups.

...very enjoyable and moving stop-motion/animated movie condensing the life of Jesus into 2 hours. All the flashbacks and the temptation scenes are hand-drawn, all else is stop motion puppets. I felt there was a scene or two they could've added, but they were probably on a tight budget. Possibly the loaves & fishes, and the expelling the demon from the man into the pigs, and the dialogue between Jesus and the other two crucified thieves could've been added. I'm sure you'll see this on every Easter from now on. It's not preachy by any means, and very enjoyable. I also liked how Pilate was portrayed as an evil man, yet his decision with Jesus' fate was not based on his character. Temptation scenes with Satan were excellent also. Highly recommended.

I woke up this morning to the alarm on my bedroom TV. I could hear familiar voices... Ralph Fiennes?... Richard E Grant?... William Hurt?... When I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I realised that the program on BBC2 was an animated version on 'Jesus of Nazareth'.

Not being a particularly religious disposition, this was not the reason that prevented me from getting up out of my nice warm bed. Alas, it was the unbelievable animation that bedazzled me. I come from a design/multimedia background, and so I found this example of animation very interesting, and the more I watched it, the more I was amazed.

The flow of the animations; the realism of the characters' features; the expressions on their faces; the interlaced, drawn animation 'dream-sequences'; all these aspects aggregated to form a top class exhibition of animationary excellence.

And to top it all off, the dialogue and storyline were superbly written in a way that would appeal to young AND old. I a twenty-nine year old man, but I have to admit that watching this brought a tear to my eye, and a lump in my throat.

Whether this was an empathetic reaction to the plight of Jesus, or an inherent appreciation of the animation quality... one can only guess.

10 out of 10 (and I only caught the last half hour!!) I shall be ordering a copy of this on DVD as a Christmas present. Thats the easy part... the hard part is deciding which one of my four favourite neices to give it to!