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If you happen to share your home with a small child, you probably spend a fair amount of time with cartoon characters. Kids tend to latch on to their favorite shows and movies, getting to know the characters and their stories almost as if they were real. So with The Beginner’s Bible: Volume 2, they can get to know some famous characters from the Bible while enjoying their colorful, musical animated adventures.
This DVD collection of animated Bible stories includes three classic Sunday school favorites: Noah’s ark, the creation story, and David and Goliath (which, for some reason, run in the order listed instead of their order in the Bible). Each half-hour feature uses likable characters, bright colors, and even songs to tell the beloved tales in a way that will grab kids’ attention.
Admittedly, these animated shorts haven’t aged especially well. The opening titles—complete with a theme song performed by Kathie Lee Gifford—feel rather cheap and cheesy. The animation here is about as basic as it gets—pretty typical for a straight-to-home-video release from the ‘90s. It’s desperately in need of a little bit of cleaning up, too—because the picture looks quite fuzzy on an HD TV. But young viewers will still enjoy the colorful, cartoony animation and the entertaining stories.
The first feature, The Story of Noah’s Ark, is the best in the collection; just ask my two-year-old, who specifically requests it. Noah is a wise but happy-go-lucky guy who loves all of God’s creatures—and who works together with his lovably bumbling sons to build the massive ship and care for the animals on board. Kids will love the easy-going storytelling, the variety of animals, and the catchy musical number, too.
But while the other stories may not be quite as beloved as the story of Noah’s ark, they’re still fun to watch. The creation story has all kinds of animals (as well as a silly song about naming them)—and a couple of good-natured main characters. David, too, is a likable little guy, who goes to take on the giant Goliath with a spring in his step and a song in his heart. And while both deal with difficult subjects—the fall of man and the killing of Goliath—the stories are handled in a way that gets the point across without getting too dark.
Of course, your kids probably won’t give up their favorite Disney Junior shows in favor of these grainy, twenty-year-old cartoons. But, thanks to the beloved characters and their entertaining antics, young viewers might just reach for this collection from time to time—and they’ll learn some important lessons from the Bible in the process.
