Latest junior angels animated adventure is extended to feature length

A successful animation series for tweens returns after a near-two-year hiatus, buoyed by a recent string of big-screen superhero movies that promise heightened interest for the new “Guardian Force” adventure.

Releasing March 17, Angel Wars: The Messengers (0-24543-56961-9, $19.98) finds members of the Guardian Force brotherhood of angels once again battling agents of darkness, in the fourth animated adventure from TeleStoryToons.

Running 90 minutes—compared to the three previous half-hour installments, which sold a total of 400,000 units—the film unfolds in five episodes, centering on junior angels Kira and Eli as they strive to bring hope back to The Dark City.

For creator Chris Waters, who debuted his angelic characters in 2004, the movie is “more to do with our relationship with God and how we honor Him” than heavenly creatures.

The junior angels’ struggle to do the right thing and earn their wings is “a metaphor for our own lives. We can do whatever we want to, but until we really seek God’s wisdom, we will be limited in what we can accomplish,” he said.

Made on a $1 million budget by an international team of animators in partnership with Huhu Studios in New Zealand—where “Hermie & Friends” has also been created— Angel Wars targets a group that Waters says is largely overlooked, 5- to 11-year-olds.

They are “tough to reach, but are at this great developmental age where they are not cynical. They are still open to the wonder of imaginative storytelling,” said Waters, “yet they are old enough to really understand some of the more complex aspects of Scripture and the deeper truths.”

The first “Guardian Force” release since August 2007, The Messengers includes a 12-minute teaser for the next release, due Easter 2010, character profiles and will offer a downloadable Bible study, too.

Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment—which previewed the new movie on recent major DVD releases such as Horton Hears a Who and Nim’s Island—Angel Wars is available to Christian retailers through Word Entertainment.

Call 800-876-9673, or visit www.worddistribution.com.

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