Epic indeed! Here’s the first instalment of a planned trilogy of movies telling the biblical narrative with Lego characters. The series was filmed in Uganda, which is interesting as Adam and Eve have pale skin and American accents! The Bible: A Brickfilm is from Bricktime Studios.
Apparently, the videos are created by one guy – “Josh Carroll is 17 year old junior in Highschool. He is passionate about reaching the world for Christ, and currently lives in Uganda, Africa as a missionary kid. Josh has been making Bible movies, documentaries, and other Christian productions for over 7 years. His plan is to become a professional director.” (from the Brickfilm website)
So…. the film production is very good in terms of camera work, lighting, editing and audio. The range and customisation of Lego are fabulous, with great facial expressions and costumes. Characters move, even in slow motion. Heads roll. The sets are amazing in their detail. Altars burst into flame. Noah’s ark gets seriously wet. Mammoths bleed. Clearly a lot of time was spent in the production.
The script is presumably written by Josh and family/friends. It’s a modern, colloquial take on the narratives. Adam to Eve “Woah, you are beautiful!” OK, it’s not any kind of Bible translation, but rather gospel storytelling for children. Adam names the dinosaurs (they’re even on the Ark!) The temptation of Eve and the subsequent fall is almost a mini-movie in itself. So you can tell from early on that sin is going to feature a lot in the Old Testament! (A lot, get it…)
Volume One features Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Ark, the Tower of Babel, the call of Abraham and Sarah, Lot, the sacrifice of Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and Moses. Each story comes with a familiar gospel commentary about human sin and rebellion and God’s love. It’s the kind of ‘boys own adventure’ Bible series. The female characters, apart from Eve, are mainly bypassed.
The videos are certainly useful as a retelling of some of the biblical texts, although in my view a degree of selection is needed. The depiction of the narratives in such concrete detail, along with the paraphrased retelling, raises multiple questions about the stories themselves.
Josh has also made a video titled “The Passion” which is, you guessed it, about Jesus. It is available on Amazon but not in Australia at this time. BUT there are shorts from the movies on his Youtube channel here.
The Bible movie can be viewed on Amazon Prime until June 7th. I ordered my DVD from the Greensborough Christian Book Centre in Melbourne.
Of course Lego Bible movies aren’t new. Back in the day, the folks at Kippax Uniting Chuch in Canberra also made epic Lego Jesus movies, complete with credits written (and rewritten) with texta on newsprint, Jesus as a cowboy, classy soundtracks and over-the-top special effects? (You want a deluge? We’ll give you a deluge!). They were spectacular, and inspired our own attempts in the Rosefield Youth TV Studio. We decided that Jesus needed to remain a cowboy. You can see the video channel here. We also did stop-motion Lego animation in our all ageAlive@5 program.
Here’s a sample.
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