Need Good Christian DVD for five year old.

August 8, 2009 9:51 PM

What is a good Bible Based DVD or movie that I can offer to my five year old daughter. I want her to get more knowledgable about the bible, but at her age, I'm not looking for a lot of blood or violence. Also, she asks me a lot why there are not girls in the stories. So maybe you know of a good movie that has Mary or Ruth in it? I want her to learn, but I need it to be age appropriate. She likes animation or live people. Thanks, Lynnie-the-pooh
posted by lynnie-the-pooh to religion & philosophy (17 comments total)

I think this was asked in April. Are you looking for something different?
posted by k8t at 9:58 PM on August 8

Is it possible to get a Netflix subscription and try some out?
posted by k8t at 10:03 PM on August 8

Veggie Tales is in fact very Christianity-based (you can debate its theological content, of course). There was actually an interesting Metafilter thread about it a while back; unfortunately the link for the series' creator's long discussion of his company's financial problems and eventual bankruptcy. Apparently religious references have been edited out significantly in the adaptations of the series for TV. The Wikipedia article on the series has episode descriptions: there are episodes based on the stories of Ruth and Esther you can search for.

Here is a decent article to peruse: this lists most of the "big names" in religious videos for kids.

Here's an interesting-looking website I came across, I haven't got into it much, it looks like it covers the spectrum of pop entertainment and does not exclude its coverage to just Christian viewpoints. Doesn't seem to be a great place to search for general kids titles, but a big database of reviews to peruse details about specific videos

If you're on Netflix, there is a category called "Faith and Spirituality" which includes a sub-section called "Kids Inspirational."

Personally I proceed pretty cautiously with this stuff. Creators can have their own theological axes to grind.
posted by nanojath at 10:40 PM on August 8

Pretty much the only good video adaptation of (part of) the Bible is Kieślowski's Dekalogue.

Dekalogue might be over the typical child's head, but it was made for (Polish) TV.
posted by b1tr0t at 11:04 PM on August 8

Veggie tales is ass. When I was a kid we watched these animated videos that animated actual bible stories, with humans instead of tomatoes. They were made in the 80s. They...I think had key in the name? Damn, I can't remember the name of the series, but I'm still answering to point out that there are high quality animated bible videos for children, and they are not veggie tales. We really enjoyed them. Some were about apocryphal things like st nicholas, which we were given cause my brothers name is Nick, but that was our fav
posted by jeb at 11:06 PM on August 8

Incidentally, wrt that Veggie-Tales Metafilter post I linked above, I meant to say the original link to the founder's story of Big Idea's problems no longer worked (uh, didn't quite complete that thought), I found that it is available at a different link here. It's a pretty interesting look into that world.
posted by nanojath at 11:08 PM on August 8

If you don't mind Old Testament, Prince of Egypt and Joseph, King of Dreams were hits with my kids.
posted by angiep at 11:45 PM on August 8

I remember watching Superbook and The Flying House as a kid. Both shows are anime, from the 80s, and have adaptations of Bible stories. (Strangely enough, they were the idea of Pat Robertson in an attempt to reach Japan - there's nothing weird or fundamentalist in them, though.)
Looks like a DVD of The Flying House is available on Amazon and there are a few clips of the shows on youtube as well.
posted by flod logic at 12:42 AM on August 9

I only listened to the cassette tapes, but I think there are also cartoons of The Adventures in Odyssey. They usually have a biblical story that goes along with what the kids are up to.
posted by meta87 at 12:53 AM on August 9

I'm not looking for a lot of blood or violence. Also, she asks me a lot why there are not girls in the stories.

Those are really good opportunities for discussion with your child. Talking about why women play such a small role, and why religion too often goes hand in hand with violence, is probably more useful to her, in terms of preparing her for the real world out there, than just avoiding the issues.

Also, seconding the two Dreamworks films (Prince of Egypt and Joseph). Surprisingly decent.
posted by rokusan at 1:23 AM on August 9 [5 favorites]

Check out The Miracle Maker (which features awe-inspiring claymation by award-winning Russian artists). You can watch it for free at IMDb and Hulu. I think Steven Greydanus is the best film critic who happens to be a Christian. Here's a link to the specifically religious themed films he's reviewed.
posted by keith0718 at 1:45 AM on August 9

She and her friends could also do some live-action sock-puppet theatre type stuff. A cool project for the summer would be to help them construct a stage, get some glue-gun action going, and act out the stories herself. She's also free to add other characters, reinterpret the stories the way she sees fit, and generally have fun with them. It's a pretty active way of engaging with a text, whatever the text may be.
posted by mdonley at 1:54 AM on August 9

I have very little patience with "twee" Bible story videos and too many of them are animated but with story lines that are too advanced for small kids. After all, it's the Bible and little kids are often not able to process metaphors and allegory very well.

I lean towards liking Max Lucado's and Allia Nolan's books and videos because they tend to be pretty savvy, kind and gentle treatments of biblical stories and concepts for kids, without being so "Christian Right" or fundamentalist (a BIG turn-off for my family). I've heard intriguing things about the Zondervan's Storykeeper's series.
posted by jeanmari at 5:25 AM on August 9

The Living Scriptures seems to be what you're looking for. There is a clip that you can watch to see if that's up your alley or not.
posted by Sassyfras at 9:13 AM on August 9

When I was a kid I LOVED The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible. Three kids travel back in time and see Bible stories happen. And one of the episodes is about Queen Ruth! Other sellers on Amazon have them pretty cheap, and there are lots of clips to preview on YouTube
posted by itesser at 11:08 AM on August 9

Reading the linked VeggieTales article led me to Jelly Telly, which has online videos. Today's video is even about a girl who wanted to be a princess.

Men are the protagonists in the majority of Bible stories, especially the ones that get turned into movies. We get Ruth and Esther but no one does stories about Deborah and Jael or any of a number often-nameless women of great faith. This Bible says it tells the stories from the women's perspectives but I haven't read it.
posted by wallaby at 3:51 PM on August 9

I teach a large kindergarten class at church, and once in a while we let them watch a video from the Storykeepers Collection. They all seem to hold their interest and are great biblical tales.
posted by littleflowers at 4:39 AM on August 16