User reviews

I was looking forward to this movie as a christian and also a keen John Bunyan reader how ever I had to stop watching this as it is not faithful to the book which really does not need additions like a modern story plot, like this movie adds. This is the type of movie that needs a trilogy and alot more care and effort in giving the viewer its proper Godly message. It was not so much the animation and its quality as that was pretty impressive for the budget and 3d animation is technically the hardest of visual crafts to master. What really was a negative for me was the abreviation of the story. Pilgrims progress is epic and really cant be abreviated into one film like all modern films have done. 5 out of ten and mainly those stars are for the effort in the animation.

It is an allegory that represents the way of conversion of a person towards Christianity. I recognize the effort to create a plot with conflicts to adapt this classic literary work of Christian literature, but I found very distracting that the quality of animation is not very polished, and it is a very long film for the story it tells, getting me to sometimes nod.

Unlike most movies, this is all about the story and not the production. The story is a great classic about the Christian spiritual path, and this version is done in a way that the message is clear to all ages. I really enjoyed it.

The best adaptation I have seen of this book so far. Very encouraging. I enjoyed it. The animation and the music was well done.

It's true that sometimes the animation is found a little lacking in this movie, but the heart and soul of the message of the film more than makes up for that! I never read the book, but was always intrigued by it, and this was a wonderful and accessible way to see what it was about!

Overall animation = C-/D+. While the storyline shared the essence of Christian's journey to the Celestial City, the level of animation reminded me of 1st generation video games at best. Too much effort was put upon making the characters with which Christian interacted a weird amalgamation of characters from the Capitol City of "Hunger Games," or bizarre adaptations of characters from "Alice in Wonderland." Good story but with very hokey adaptation and extremely questionable animation strategy.

I was very touched by the message It brings to our hearts. I read the book and could say this film reveals exactly and with many details, what the author wanted his readers to understand and believe.

The plot and writing are okay, everything else especially the animation are pretty bad, so overall, its not so good

From a material standpoint this movie doesn't have the 'cutting edge' tech for animation along w some mildly hokey moments (like the judge speaking at the vanity fair). And it's not completely true to the book in many ways (but how could it possibly be given the several hundred page original by Bunyan). This is the best adaptation I've seen and I've seen nearly all of them. Would I like to see a big budget, live-action version? Absolutely! But both I, my friends and my kiddos Loved watching this together. I truly hope they follow through on the time be continued' at the end which I can only assume that means they are considering making the 2nd part of Bunyan's work on Christiana and her kid's journey to the Celestial City. So even though I never saw this in the movie theatre (I never even knew it was there until too late unfortunately, or I would have) and I only rented this from the library; I will do my minute part in supporting it by buying it for my family (and maybe some friends for Christmas!) as well as talking it up online.

When you have stopped viewing life way beyond the physical, only then can you truly understand the messages relayed in this movie. Thank you for this as it will continue to be an inspiration to many.

He who has ears let him hear what the Spirit is saying.

I thank God for you, John Bunyan.

i will gladly recommend this.

The entire film looks like a game from the early 2000's and the message isn't welcoming of all faiths and is purely geared towards only Christians. It's the same nonsense I remember being thrust on to me before my school had to stop showing us religion themed kids films.

This is a religious film. Yet it's clear before the first 15 minutes are even over that the bad guys are clearly allegories for christians/catholics and the way in which such inherently evil institutions operate. I thought they were trying to appeal to the followers of these religions? Instead they're openly exposing them for what they really are through sheer incompetence, it's crazy.

A hilarious failure on every level.

Yep - I'm a Christian and have long enjoyed spiritual things and the original book for some time. So yes, I am this movie's target audience.

With that in mind, I thought it was on the whole, faithfully done. We've been reading Dangerous Journey, which is the children's book abridged version with my young children (7, 8, and 5) and they enjoyed seeing the book in an animated format.

The animation wasn't Pixar level, but I didn't expect it to be. It is a crowd funded labor of love, it's not created by a big budget graphics studio. But it wasn't so bad that I found myself distracted. It was fine.

On the whole we found ourselves encouraged and inspired and it opened up some good dialogue with my children. I'm glad I saw it and we'd watch it again.

This is one of most useful and inspiring animation movies I have seen in all my life over 20 years.

The people who rated low are blind and dont see the goodness this movie has to offer.

The CG could have been a lot better and the only way to really review it is to be honest. If you are a Christian and have a deep understanding of the spiritual world then you will love this movie - if your not it will be painful and pointless to watch.

The story is a timeless classic and my 6 and 7 year old watched all 100 'minutes with only one visit to the bathroom (usually about 10 visits per movie when they are bored).

I would definitely recommend and will watch again.

Maria

C. S. Lewis once said "The first qualification for judging any piece of workmanship from a corkscrew to a cathedral is to know what it is - what it is intended to do and how it is meant to be used." This animation is a project lovingly created on a shoestring budget to portray a book lovingly written by an ancient Christian who was imprisoned for his love of God. A Kickstarter campaign raised $60,000 to help complete this project; the vision is to translate this animation to 26 languages to be donated to mission organizations around the world. You may not know this before, but now you know, and this is the kind of movie where the purpose matters. Don't be silly, I am not trying to guilt you stranger into watching this movie or giving it 10 stars before watching it. I gain nothing from that other than maybe some warm fuzzy feeling that the love of someone I don't know was recognized (hmm, strangely I actually dig that). What I am saying is that the purpose of this animation is to express love and the background to its creation helps us understand its purpose. And love it did express, very much.

As an average movie-goer who'd watch the latest action movie, I'd say while the CGI is much better than I expected for that budget, it certainly is not top-notch by Hollywood standard. Yet this is a movie that is larger than its CGI and larger than Hollywood. I find the technical quality to be decent enough that its limitations faded in the grandeur of its message. As a long-term Christian a little jaded here and there, this faithful portrayal of the ancient, epic journey of Christian tugged at all the right strings. There is nothing new that I did not already know as a Christian, but it reminded me of everything that mattered in faith, and ultimately that is what mattered.

There is a reason why this story may seem cliched just like Shakespeare's plays may seem dramatically familiar. The Pilgrim's Progress is the very first novel written in English and the source from which many Christian allegorical clichés were derived. Slough of Despond, Valley of Shadow, Vanity fair... this is a book that talks about the real deal - what is the purpose of faith, and why Christianity mattered.

I would extend Lewis' statement to say that this animation embodies one of those things in life where the value lies in the intention of the viewer. Why did you watch the movie? What are you looking for? If you are looking for jaw-dropping CGI, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for novelty, you may be bored. If you are seeking a faith-building message, however, you shall be rewarded. This animation and the background of its creation left me encouraged and refreshed in continuing my own faith journey; ten stars from this viewer for serving its exact purpose.

I have an old DVD version of the story which had been difficult for me to follow, but I fully understood everything in this production, and the graphics and voices and everything else were really well done.

One of the powerful allegorical book ever written by John bunyan. I heard of the book but never read it, after seeing the movie I concluded I must. I'm sad for people who did not understand the powerful interpretation of life in this movie. The scares and terrors of life well portrayed. I encourage you not to miss this life changing experience. God bless...

The Pilgrim's Progress movie is a eye opening allegory of how the spiritual world is existing. It is an encouraging and realistic view of what happens in our lives. It shows deeply how choices affect our lives. I haven't encountered a movie that has done this about choices. It is not only entertaining but very helpful. I watched it with my grandson who is 10 and will be watching it with others. He plays video games and has seen many A list movies with super high budgets and the animation here did not discourage him at all. He was very interested! He also said certain character seemed very real. I highly recommend this movie.

Although I haven't read the book and therefore can't compare it to the movie, this was a story well-told in its own right. A bit scary at points for young kids, but not gratuitously so. Some reviewers who complained the movie is blatantly religious or Christian obviously don't what The Pilgrim's Progress is all about. The animation was not up to modern standards and is a bit disappointing, though.

While imprisoned for his faith during the mid 1600s, John Bunyan wrote one of the most impactful, theologically important , and well-constructed novels of all time. I was very young when I first read The Pilgrim's Progress, but my admiration for the genius work of art that it is, has never waned. This animated drama is a fantastic adaptation of the novel. When a compelling story is combined with beautiful animation, a masterpiece is created. And that's what we see here. The story is an allegory of a lost person's journey to salvation and his life of faith afterwards. This unfolds as an epic fantasy full of deep theology and meaning. To create a coherent story where almost every single thing means something is a spectacular achievement. It was fascinating seeing how spiritual and emotional conditions took physical forms. It's a fantastic display of creativity. I found the story deeply convicting at times. The question is, can a movie teach us so much doctrine without feeling preachy or cheesy? This one proved it's possible. Every truth taught and lesson learned is an important part of the story. I was both entertained and felt challenged in my faith. The voice acting is superb and the animation is visually pleasing. It creates a big and beautiful world to explore that is full of both horrors and delights. It definitely made me think of The Lord of the Rings a few times. Those wishing to enjoy a fun animated fantasy flick while also learning the essentials of Christianity will find this film very intriguing and entertaining.

Animation is pretty bad. The story was wonderful. It's a story that symbolically displays the complexities of becoming a Christian without the deep theological and wordy discussions. My 6 year old found this scary so maybe the animation isn't as bad as I think. I'm struggling to understand why there are negative reviews saying it's propaganda. It's a movie that is made from a classic 1600s book which was written about the Christian journey.... A negative review because a movie is everything it is obviously claiming itself to be is a bit awkward.

The struggle with making it a child's film is their lack of understanding of the symbolism. A previous reviewer thought the city of "not cursed" was the Catholic Church however I believe that's actually a depiction of the human condition. I don't think a kid will grasp all the symbolism. But does a lack of understanding mean he shouldn't be exposed to it? Im not sure. I am in my 30s and the watch inspired me to pick up the book again as well as CS Lewis pilgrim's regression. I was deeply moved by the fact that we all go through the same struggles. And the journey seems to progress similarly to the story outline. The road gets harder, there's always help, understanding grows but struggles never really cease; they just take on a different look but humility, dependence, and hope grows. Good movie overall.