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.

Newsong Films’ debut feature, in which a man’s search for Civil War treasure leads to an unexpected discovery, has been picked up by Cloud Ten Pictures. Treasure Blind (7-45638-00843-0, $19.98) releases Feb. 10.

Newsong founder Brian Shoop wrote and directed the 89-minute drama in which he also stars as Cliff Edwards, a lonely, down-on-luck cabbie whose treasure-hunting hobby sets him on the trail of Confederate gold. But the driver’s plans are interrupted when he finds himself left to care for Henry, a 9-year-old grandson he did not previously know existed.

Shot in and around Tulsa, Okla., the film also features Shoop’s son, Joe, as Cliff’s estranged son, on the run from creditors. Henry is played by Daniel Brookshire, who is blind in real life. Cloud Ten took on the film after suggesting cuts to tighten the pace.

Cloud Ten CEO André van Heerden said the company was drawn to the project because of its engaging story, which had a “solid Christian theme” without being “preachy.” “We are contacted about a lot of different titles and pass on 97% of them,” van Heerden said.

DVD bonus material includes several deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and a mini-documentary about Brookshire. Promotional plans include a possible church-screening release.

To order, contact Koch Entertainment Distribution at 615-577-0088.

Delilah voices another familiar Old Testament  name in VeggieTales’ latest

There is a bumper crop of VeggieTales products brought to market this month, with the latest DVD from Big Idea arriving in stores alongside The VeggieTales Bible from Zonderkidz. Abe and the Amazing Promise (8-20413-11309-4, $14.99, Word Distribution) arrives in Christian retail stores Feb. 7, as usual three days ahead of its general market release.
The latest adventure features the voice of popular radio host Delilah, who is Sarah in the episode based on God’s promise to Abraham and his wife, and subtitled “A Lesson in Patience.”

Strong sales for California pastor Francis Chan’s May 2008 book from David C. Cook about radical Christian living, Crazy Love, prompted the publisher to create the Crazy Love DVD Study Resource (978-1-434-76627-4, $24.99), released this month.
The 85-minute program, filmed on location in and around Simi Valley, Calif., where Chan is pastor of Cornerstone Church, is divided into 10 sessions following the book’s chapters.

In his book, Chan writes about Christians who have made dramatic changes in lifestyle to try to truly live out their faith, and recounts his own efforts that have included downsizing his home and supporting ministry to the poor. Songwriter and worship leader Chris Tomlin called Crazy Love one of the most challenging books of the year.

The makers of the hit movie Fireproof (6-02341-00339-1, $24.98) are looking for a second harvest as it releases on DVD this month from Provident Films, reaching beyond cinema-goers and its central pro-marriage message.

They believe that while the drama itself can help save and strengthen more marriages, the generous extra materials included in the home-viewing edition may have a gentle evangelistic role, helping dispel negative stereotypes that some people have of Christians being narrow-minded and judgmental.

Though his work has appeared on everything from umbrellas to coasters, “Painter of Light” Thomas Kinkade’s art has just reached the small screen for the first time.

Released Nov. 11 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage (978-1-400-31424-9, $19.98) brings the artist’s signature style to life in a semi-autobiographical holiday drama that stars multi-Oscar nominee Peter O’Toole.

The veteran actor plays mentor to a young Kinkade (Jared Padalecki, Gilmore Girls), whose commission to paint a mural helps his hometown rediscover the true spirit of Christmas. The film, which runs 103 minutes and is rated PG, also stars Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River).