Theo - God's Heart DVD

Theo Presents: a new animated children's DVD series in the spirit of classic Disney animation connecting children to God's Word and the Good News of salvation. Theo and his two trouble-making mice, Belfry and Luther - explore value lessons that come directly from the iconic stories of the Bible. In the third DVD - God's Heart - the topics of justification, adoption into the kingdom of heaven, and prayer are presented in easy to understand ways that are designed to help children learn about the Christian Faith.

In our media saturated worlds it’s not always easy to help children understand the basic truths of the Christian faith. Meet Theo, a teacher of God’s word, and namesake of the new animated series from Whitestone Media.

Theo: Oh, there you are. Do come in. I have some good news for you.
 
Theo lives in a cosy corner of a quant English village, along with his two mouse friend Belfry and Luther...

Luther: Hello, hello what’s this then?

... a perky bluebird and a cast of colourful characters. In each episode Theo carefully explores a new doctrinal theme, such as salvation, obedience, sin ...

Theo: Did you know that because of our sin we owe a debt to God we can never repay, but God is gracious.

... God’s love and forgiveness.

Belfry: Do you forgive me Luther?

Luther: Well, alright sure, what are mates for?

The beautifully animated episodes are filled with illustrations and Bible stories that are fun for viewers of all ages, while encouraging children to learn more about the Christian faith. Theo is a tool to help mums and dads, Sunday school teachers, home schoolers and missionaries teach God’s word. Why not make an impact for eternity, begin the journey with Theo today and help present the gospel to audiences of all ages around the world.

Theo: When you ask Jesus to be Lord and saviour of your life, he will not only give you eternal life but an abundant life of joy and goodness right here on earth. Won’t you receive him today?

The ‘Theo Presents’ DVD series has gone down a treat among children across the USA and the world. I think the decision to set the series in an English village, with the central protagonist being a classic English academic is what clinches it for this series. By doing this, the US audience find the series different and original, while British viewers aren’t put off by characters with American twangs (the main reason my parents kept me well away from Veggie Tales).

The setting is just the first of many positives that the ‘Theo Presents’ series has. As the trailer says, ‘doctrinal messages’ are taught - this might seem fairly high brow or even worrying, depending on your own doctrinal standpoint. However, really these are just central themes within Christianity - obedience, prayer and forgiveness for instance - that are taught in a sensitive and entertaining way.

A feature that viewer opinions really differ on is the length of the DVDs. The average time for each themed episode is about ten minutes. While some call this an advantage - short, snappy and high impact - others perceive this not to be long enough to teach in much depth, or entertain/occupy children for long enough. Your view will depend a bit on the ways in which you plan to use the DVD. Users have highlighted the fact that episodes are good enough that they can be watched over and over without losing their impact or entertainment quality.

Another criticism I came across was a review in which the viewer objected to Theo’s humming rather than singing the line in Amazing Grace ‘that saved a wretch like me’. This particular viewer accused ‘Theo Presents’ a palatable rather than a rounded view of God. Personally, I commend this viewer on her observation skills, and I agree that Theo should be careful to present the full truth of Christianity. However, themes such as justification and sin are addressed in other episodes - perhaps Theo didn’t sing that line because it would have been confusing for the target audience and would have required a good explanation, that may have taken away from the central theme of that particular episode.

Overall, reviews for Theo are massively positive. Having no children of my own (I’m 19), I trust that the numerous mothers who express their joy over their children’s love of the ‘Theo Presents’ are judging well - it’s not difficult to believe. ‘Theo Presents’ is a fabulous way in which to teach your children biblical lessons, this new release is the third in series - don’t forget to get the other ones too!

The most important thing about any DVD teaching series for children aged 4 to 8 is that children aged 4 to 8 will want to watch it and, hopefully, retain the teaching. This means that any children’s DVD must be first of all entertaining and engaging. It doesn’t matter how much value is in a 60 minute DVD if the children walk away from the screen after the first five minutes. Secondly, the teaching set out before the children must be sound, wholesome and relevant. This means staying close and faithful to the Bible, without becoming so deep and convoluted as to become meaningless to young viewers and to their young lives.

Parents, guardians and teachers will pay great attention the first criteria (entertainment and engagement) when it comes to choosing a children’s DVD. But when it comes to the second (teaching and content) they may well take the material and interpretation simply on trust. After all, it’s a Christian DVD, isn’t it? This isn’t a criticism of those who select DVD material for children. Sometimes that information just isn’t available or is glossed over by the producers. But it’s often helpful to know where the makers of children’s resources are ‘coming from’ doctrinally in order to be equipped to answer the questions of the young viewers as well as adult leaders, helpers and parents.

The makers of the ‘Theo’ series: ‘God’s Love’, ‘God’s Grace’, and third in the series, ‘God’s Heart’ have set out where they’re coming from in a comprehensive ‘Statement of Faith’. This summarises what they feel is important about their interpretation of the Bible and the Christian faith, and what they want to say about it to children for today. The Theo series, they say, is created to “introduce children of all ages to the gospel of Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith with sound biblical orthodoxy.” Theo’s teaching carries no denominational colouring, but is "Nicean" in that it rejoices in the hope of Christ’s return and seeks to find the uniting fundamentals of Christian living.

Setting out their beliefs, the producers of ‘Theo: God’s Heart’ look to God's saving work in Jesus Christ as the only way that human beings - alienated by sin from God, can be rescued, reconciled and renewed. Advancing a simple view of faith in Jesus Christ as God in the flesh paying the full penalty for sin, trust in the risen Christ is firmly based in the orthodox understanding of John 3:16-18. Indeed, the makers of Theo rely on the Bible as God's written, inspired, infallible, and without error in the original manuscripts.

The interpretation and presentation of the Trinity as one God, eternally existing and manifested as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is also traditional and orthodox as is their promotion of Jesus as conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary. Jesus death by crucifixion, burial and resurrection is the Theo series’ fundamental understanding of Jesus as co-existent with God as Father and Holy Spirit.

‘Theo: God’s Heart’ is, as with the other two DVDs of the series, has a strong focus on reflecting Christian belief in Christian living. God's grace can’t be separated from his power and purpose in children’s daily life, insist the producers. Faith motivates us to love God supremely and others sacrificially, living out faith with care for one another, compassion for the poor and justice for the oppressed. Theo also includes Christ's commission, to make disciples among all people while proving the truth of the gospel in word and deed.

Now, with experience gained from his animation projects for commercial companies including Hasbro, McDonald's and Playskool, cartoonist Mike Joens brings to the screen his 30 year long vision of using his skills to present the Word of God to children. It’s Mike's hope that God will use his growing Theo series to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ to children and adults in every country of the world. – Les Ellison