Allegory, True Heroism and Going the Distance: A Faith- Based Look at 'Hercules.'

Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!
My current look at Disney films has two down, and two to go.

For this one, I decided to look at something a little more robust than most Disney animated fare: The 1997 film 'Hercules.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user Valyrian Wildfire on the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Hercules_(film)?file=Hercules.png)
This is obviously based on the stories of the legendary strongman/ demigod from Greek mythology, but in a VERY loose way. Most of the characters and mythological elements of it are honestly nothing like how they were in the original ancient myths, but considering this film was aimed at children and much of actual Greek mythology is not suitable for such audiences, that's understandable.

So, in this movie, after a brief narrative introduction by Charlton Heston and the catchy song 'The Gospel Truth' by the Muses that helps to set up the story, we see Hercules born to the king and queen of the Olympian gods, Zeus (Voice of the late Rip Torn) and Hera. However, not all is right among their numbers; Hades (Voice of James Woods), the disgruntled god of the dead, has a secret plan to overthrow Zeus and conquer Mount Olympus by eventually freeing these powerful ancient monsters known as Titans. He learns through a prophecy that he will be defeated and his plan foiled if Hercules is allowed to grow up and join in the battle that will ensue. So, to prevent this from happening, Hades sends his bumbling demon minions Pain and Panic (Voices of Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer) to kidnap baby Hercules, turn him mortal with a magic potion, and then kill him. The shape- shifting demons succeed in the first two parts of the plot, but fail in the third, as baby Hercules does not drink all of the potion and thus retains his incredible strength (The sight of baby Hercules then walloping them when they try to finish the job is both hilarious and adorable). He is then adopted by an elderly couple who raise him well.
As a young adult, Herc (Voice of Tate Donovan) feels like a freak who doesn't belong in the village he and his adoptive parents live in. He eventually learns of his divine origins, and that his godhood will be fully restored to him if he can prove himself to be a true hero on Earth. To that end, he seeks out the help of Philoctetes, aka Phil (Voice of Danny DeVito), a half- goat satyr who was once a trainer of heroes. Phil initially refuses, as everyone he trained ended up faltering and letting him down, but he has a change of heart when he realizes the real potential that Herc has.
After some training and a few victories, Hercules is hailed as a hero and treated like a celebrity by everyone, complete with endorsements and merchandise, yet Zeus tells him this still isn't enough. Herc eventually falls head over heels for a lovely young woman named Megara, aka Meg (Voice of Susan Egan), who has a bit of a shady past and begins to drive a wedge between him and Phil. All the while, Hades is preparing to destroy Hercules once and for all and implement his plan to release the Titans and conquer all of the cosmos.

Pretty much the only problem I have with 'Hercules' is how it portrays some of the other heroes from Greek mythology; While Phil is shown to have been the trainer of most of these heroes (As he puts it, "Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus. A lot of '-eus'es."), the movie implies that they had all been losers and failures who couldn't "Go the distance." I frankly didn't like that. In Greek mythology, those other heroes did really cool things, too (ESPECIALLY Odysseus), and while portraying them as failures did help with Phil's development as a character, they could have just as easily been portrayed as heroes who were formerly successful but are now forgotten has- beens, or as contemporaries for Hercules to interact with.

Other than that quibble, 'Hercules' was a great movie and a lot of fun.
It has a good deal of comedy, including loads of funny puns relating to the movie's setting. For instance, in one scene when two young boys are trapped under a boulder, one of them frantically shouts "Someone call IXII (aka the Roman numerals for 911)!"
'Hercules''s high- point, though, was definitely its action. It had loads of impressive fight scenes, such as a short but amusing brawl Hercules has with a boorish centaur named Nessus which acts as his first real heroic deed, and his climactic battle with the Titans in the end, but my favorite (And one of my favorite parts of the movie as a whole) is when he fights the Hydra.
This is a battle which will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The Hydra looks terrifying by Disney standards, between its long serpentine necks, its yellow eyes, and its VERY large maws of incredibly long and sharp teeth, and that's not even counting its trait of regrowing heads that have been lopped off. The computer animation they used for it looks pretty impressive for the time, too. The battle takes on a lot of different phases in its brief time frame, as we see Hercules fighting the Hydra from the ground, and then from the air with the help of the flying horse Pegasus. Everything's going a mile a minute, and the tension's high, making for a quite memorable scene. When Herc does prevail, we have to agree with his remark to Phil that "You gotta admit, THAT was pretty heroic!"
Hercules himself is a decent enough hero. We can feel most of what he's going through, between his initial desire to find the place where he's meant to be, then his desire to achieve his destiny when he learns of his lineage, and trying to protect those he cares about when things start to really hit the fan in the film's third act. The animation design for him looks great, too; Initially, the animators wanted to make him look huge and ripped like Gaston from 'Beauty and the Beast,' but eventually decided to give him more of a swimmer's build. I'd say that works, as he's clearly got some muscles, yet still seeing him display amazing strength throughout the film surprises you and helps you remember it comes from his divine lineage rather than just working out.
Megara is wonderful both as a love interest to Hercules, and just as a character in general. She's an incredibly funny character a lot of times with her snarky dialogue (Mad props to Susan Egan for her voice performance), yet some real heart, too. Her unbelievably sad backstory and her morally- conflicted nature throughout most of the film make her quite developed. She's definitely not your typical Disney gal.
Phil's a pretty solid supporting character. He too has a lot of funny moments, and seems to be heavily based on the character Mickey from the 'Rocky' films as a "Gruff, no- nonsense trainer of champs" kind of character. He's got some sympathetic moments too, though, overcoming his embitterment over his past students' failures, and desperately wanting to train just one who could really go down in history. Danny DeVito's gravelly voice is perfect for him, and his delivery in an early scene when Phil is mockingly imitating Zeus's voice never fails to make me laugh.

Hades is one of the most popular Disney villains among fans, and even just watching a couple minutes of him in this movie is enough to show why. While not my absolute favorite Disney baddie (Stay tuned for the next/ concluding entry in this series to learn who that is), he's pretty close. Most Disney villains fall into one of two categories: Mostly serious like Ursula or Jafar, or mostly comedic like Captain Hook or Yzma. Hades is a nice mixture of both, with loads of funny moments (i.e. Pointing out to the dim- witted Titans that they were heading in the wrong direction to reach Mount Olympus), and yet also some creepy, dead- serious moments (i.e. in the Hydra battle, when it looks like Herc is about to be devoured, Hades grinningly comments, "And now, for my favorite part of the game: SUDDEN DEATH."). His visual appearance is pretty neat, between his flowing black robes, his greyish skin, and his flaming hair. It's little wonder that the main animator who worked on Hades in this film won an Annie award for his work. His personality is an amusing blend of being calm and laid- back at times, while then literally exploding with rage in other scenes. Probably the best element of him, though, is James Woods' work as his voice (Which is especially remarkable, because Woods wasn't even Disney's first choice for voicing Hades; Originally, the role was going to go to Jack Nicholson, but he apparently wanted more money for the role than Disney was prepared to spend). Woods gives Hades a smooth- talking, used- car- salesman kind of voice, yet is also perfect at the scenes when he's furiously ranting and fuming. He also ad- libbed a good portion of Hades' lines, such as in a scene in which Hades is trying to trick Herc into making a bad deal with him. Hades is just such a fun villain to watch in every scene he's in.
Pain and Panic work well in an "Incompetent goons who always mess things up and whom the villain regularly takes his anger out on" sort of way. In particular, hearing Bobcat Goldthwait's rather distinctive voice for Pain always puts a smile on my face. Their shape- shifting skill makes them even more interesting, and is used to good effect.

The songs in 'Hercules' are pretty interesting, and take things in a few different directions. Herc's song 'Go the Distance,' which acts as the informal theme to the movie as a whole, sounds really nice and inspiring, a good song to help you feel brave as it's him singing of how he will keep going until he's learned his destiny and found "Where I belong." Phil's song "One Last Hope" as he's training Hercules is funny and entertaining, complete with a hysterical nod to 'The Karate Kid' at one point, and Danny DeVito proves to have a better singing voice than you'd think. Megara's song "I Won't Say I'm in Love" showcases the gorgeous singing voice that Broadway veteran Susan Egan has, and is a bit of a novelty as far as Disney songs go; Rather than giddily singing about being in love, it is mostly Meg DENYING that she is falling for Herc as her past history with men has so far not been good and she doesn't want to be hurt again, only to grudgingly accept at the end that she IS growing fond of the big lug. However, most of the songs from this movie are sung by the Muses, who help narrate and advance the story in a sweet, soulful, Gospel way. "The Gospel Truth" sets things up well and varies in its moods well to fit the scenes it's used in, "Zero to Hero" is a very fun song chronicling Herc's rise to fame, and my favorite is the song they perform in the finale, "A Star is Born." It's a gorgeous song which perfectly accompanies the film's truly wonderful ending (Indeed, 'Hercules' has one of my favorite endings to any Disney film).


I can think of a few different Scriptural lessons that can be taken from Disney's 'Hercules.'
One of the first is on endurance and "Going the distance." Near the climax of the film, when the attack on Olympus is close at hand, Hades tricks Hercules into giving up his strength for one day. Then, he sends a gigantic Cyclops to kill Herc in this weakened state. While Herc (who has become thoroughly discouraged and disheartened by this point for a number of reasons) won't fight back and seems willing to just let the Cyclops kill him, Phil eventually comes in and reminds Herc that he CAN take that bully down if he actually tries. Herc echoes a statement that Phil made early in the film that "Dreams are for rookies," but Phil retorts, "No, no, no, no, kid; *Giving up* is for rookies! I came back 'cause I'm not quittin' on you! I'm willing to go the distance; How about you?" Sure enough, this pep talk gives Hercules just the inspiration he needs; Even without his strength, he's then able to defeat the Cyclops and save the city of Thebes from destruction using nothing but a torch, some rope, and his wits. The Cyclops may have been big, but all that size added up to was a bigger crater in the ground when that bloated brute went down for good.
I think the Cyclops in this scene can be seen as a metaphor for all the huge problems we are facing, especially this year, between the continuing devastation of COVID- 19, and all the current social unrest breaking out nationwide. All that, of course, isn't even counting the personal, individual struggles that many of us our going through in our own lives. They all seem so unbeatable at times. It seems like it would be so easy to just give up and lose faith that anything will ever get better. I had a time just a couple nights ago when I briefly wrestled with those kinds of feelings.
I'm reminded of the brave example of Joshua and Caleb in Numbers, chapters 13 and 14. The two of them were among a group of twenty spies Moses and the Israelites sent to scout out the Promised Land, survey if it had good resources, and see if they could conquer the land. While most of the spies, upon returning, were afraid and essentially said "No way! The people in this land are giants! We could never take them on, we're like grasshoppers to them," Joshua and Caleb disagreed. They had faith that if God got them that far, He could give them the strength to overcome even those giants and take the city. This courage and faith was the reason why those two were the only members of that generation of Israelites managed to enter the Promised Land, while the rest who doubted God's providence and let their fear overcome their faith wandered in the desert for decades. Joshua and Caleb were willing to "Go the distance" even when things seemed hopeless, and we all need to do the same.


Another theological point to be taken from 'Hercules' is, similar to when I looked at 'A Nightmare on Elm Street 3' last Halloween, seeing the main hero as an allegory for Jesus and the main villain as an allegory for Satan.
 Right off the bat, the idea of Hercules being the son of the king of the heavens, coming down to Earth, and being raised by a childless mortal couple rather strongly resembles the early life of Jesus, who was the Son of God and came down to Earth and was raised by Mary and Joseph. The comparisons to Jesus become especially evident in the end of the film. MAJOR SPOILERS!
 Megara has died saving the life of Hercules, and so Herc goes down into the Underworld to try and recover her soul from the River Styx that it's currently floating in and thus bring her back to life. After a bit of haggling, Hades agrees to let Hercules take her place down there, if he could swim in the river and get her. There's a major catch, though: Touching the river causes Herc's body to age rapidly, and within seconds of him entering, it's clear that he will die before he can reach her. Yet, just as the three Fates are preparing to cut Herc's thread of life, it suddenly turns golden and is unable to be cut. See, by being willing to sacrifice himself to save Meg, Hercules has proven to be a true hero, and his godhood is restored to him as he then brings Meg's soul out of the river and knocks Hades down where he belongs. This all can easily be seen as symbolizing Jesus's sacrificial death for all of us, and His resurrection which defeat's Satan's plan to pull all of our souls to Hell.
Speaking of whom, there's also allegory to be found in Hades. In the original Greek myths, Hades was generally portrayed as a neutral, "Don't mess with me and I won't mess with you" type. In this film, however, Hades actually much more closely resembles how we as Christians see Satan. He seeks to overthrow the gods, conquer Olympus (Which in the movie greatly resembles how many of us would see Heaven), and kill Hercules. This is obviously similar to Satan seeking to overthrow God and take over Heaven (As described in Isaiah 14:12- 15), and kill Jesus. A scene early on makes this comparison even more clear, as a character, upon seeing Hades, says, "Well, speak of the Devil." Lastly, Hades' final defeat as the now- divine Hercules knocks him into the River Styx and the souls there drag him down into its depths, presumably forever, can be seen as resembling Satan's ultimate defeat in the book of Revelation Chapter 20, as he is cast into the Lake of Fire forever. In fact, Hades' scream of defeat when he realizes Hercules has become a god is near enough to how I'd imagine Satan reacting when he learned that Jesus had risen from the dead.
In short, I could see a Christian watching this scene with a non- Christian then afterwards saying something like, "Hey, you know how Hercules was willing to die and take Meg's place in the Underworld to save her, then became a god because of that? Someone actually did something a lot like that once. His name was Jesus, and if you don't mind, I'd like to tell you a little about Him."


Then, for one final Biblical point to be taken from Disney's 'Hercules,' immediately after the previously- mentioned scene happens, Hercules is brought to Mount Olympus, where Zeus and Hera explain to him that his sacrificial act for Meg was what made him a true hero. Zeus elaborates that a true hero is measured not by physical strength or fame, but "By the strength of his heart." This is another major Biblical theme, as many verses talk about how the state of a person's inner heart and soul is one of the most important factors to define that person. Jeremiah 17:10 says "I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." 1 Timothy 1:5 says "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." Then, of course, there's Jesus' beatitude in Matthew 5:8, which says, "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God." Indeed, the truest sign of greatness in God's eyes is a heart which is driven by love, kindness, selflessness, and faith in Him at all times. Such is what He most wants to see in all of us.

And so, there you have Disney's 'Hercules,' a great animated thrill ride with action, memorable characters, and wonderful Biblical lessons about going the distance even when it seems hopeless, what it takes to be truly heroic, and an allegory of the amazing work Jesus did for all of us.

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. My concluding film examination in this series is on its way soon, so stay tuned. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Honesty, Understanding and Fatherhood: A Faith- Based Look at 'A Goofy Movie.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!

Now that I've done my devotional to Grandma Elliott, I'll be returning to my series looking at certain Disney films.
 In this installment, I'll be taking a gander at the 1995 animated film 'A Goofy Movie.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user Valyrian Wildfire at the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/File:A_Goofy_Movie.png)

 It acts as kind of an extension to the animated TV series 'Goof Troop' which was on the air around the same time, and features most of that show's voice cast reprising their roles.

In this movie, good old Goofy (Voice of Bill Farmer) is starting to get worried that his teenage son Max (Voice of Jason Marsden) may be at risk of becoming a juvenile delinquent. His worries in that regard increase tenfold after Max gets in trouble for disrupting a school assembly to impress his crush Roxanne.
Figuring that a little father- son bonding time could help him and his son reconnect and get Max on the right track, Goofy forces Max into accompanying him on a fishing- trip vacation to Lake Destiny, Idaho, where his own father had apparently taken him on vacation once. Max goes along VERY reluctantly, both because of how embarrassed he is of his dad and because he had been hoping to take Roxanne to a party in which the highlight would be watching a Pay Per View broadcast of a live concert by the hit musician PowerLine. In trying to break the news to Roxanne in a way that'll make her less hurt about breaking their date, Max ends up lying to the girl and telling her that he and his dad were in fact heading to Los Angeles to actually attend the PowerLine concert in person.
The road trip starts on a pretty rough note, between Goofy dragging Max to an incredibly cringe- worthy roadside attraction, and them then having a dangerous camping experience in which they run into Bigfoot. Still, the father and son do bond through the latter of the two experiences, and Goofy decides to make Max the navigator on the trip, entrusting him with the map of their trip and where to make their stops along the way. Max sadly abuses this trust, altering their route so they'll instead go to Los Angeles for the concert so Roxanne won't realize he lied to her. When they at one point stay at the same motel where Goofy's neighbor/ frienemy Pete and his own rather neurotic son PJ (Max's best friend) are staying, Pete discovers what Max is really doing and informs Goofy of this as a way to subtly imply that his own methods of parenting are superior to Goofy's. It all leads to a tense confrontation between Goofy and Max, them being put in a life- threatening situation which ultimately brings about a reconciliation between the two and causes them to finally understand each other, then at last arriving at the PowerLine concert and making a big splash there.

There were a couple problems with 'A Goofy Movie,' I must admit. I felt the scene early on when Goofy takes Max on a disastrous detour to the roadside attraction "Lester's Possum Park" could have been greatly shortened or outright cut. It's not a funny or entertaining scene, all it does is worsen the divide between Goofy and Max, which didn't really need to be done as it was already established that they were rather estranged. In contrast, I feel in the climax of the film, Goofy and Max's arrival in Los Angeles and sneaking backstage into the PowerLine concert were REALLY rushed, and more could have been done in that regard (i.e. Showing the father and son's initial impressions of the city, and their discovering how to sneak past security and into the concert arena). The encounter with Bigfoot also feels a little unresolved, it seems as though the beast eventually just loses interest in them and leaves or something.

All that being said, 'A Goofy Movie' was tons of fun. Plenty of laughs, of course (Mostly slapstick and Goofy's usual antics), but a decent amount of heart, as well.
The characters returning from "Goof Troop" are mostly portrayed the same as they were on that show, with most of the voice actors reprising their roles other than Max. Jason Marsden does a decent job as the new voice of Max, truly making him sound like a rather awkward teenager and conveying all the appropriate emotions in all the right scenes, especially when it comes to anger and embarrassment. The real standout among the voice cast, though, is definitely Bill Farmer as the voice of Goofy. He's been pretty much Disney's go- to voice actor for Goofy ever since the late 80's, but I'd say this is easily his best work with it. Not only does he do an awesome job for the scenes when Goofy's his usual happy and slightly clueless self (His rendition of Goofy's famous yell will never fail to put a grin on your face), but we also see him conveying a surprising amount of emotion for the more serious scenes in which Goofy is angry or sad, especially as the movie nears its climax.

In addition to the established characters in 'A Goofy Movie,' there are some fun new characters who come in, as well. Roxanne could have maybe gotten some more development, but still is a likable character, and a good love interest for Max in a nice- girl- next- door kind of way. What's more, Max's spray- cheese- loving, surfer buddy Bobby (Voice of Pauly Shore, in one of his few generally well- liked roles), and Roxanne's talkative, overachieving friend Stacey both make for some pretty funny moments. Even PowerLine, who we only see a little of, comes across as a friendly and rather down- to- earth guy who handles the interruption of his concert extremely well under the circumstances. Lastly, even though they were only background characters, there's a group of nuns that we see popping up at various points along the road trip (i.e. Driving alongside Goofy and Max and singing along to "On the Open Road," stopping for breakfast at the same diner that the two of them stop at, and so on), and learning of their own trip's ultimate destination will definitely have you laughing.

The music for 'A Goofy Movie' was really cool, too. The opening song "After Today," in which Max excitedly heads to his last day of school with the intent of impressing Roxanne, with him and his classmates happily singing about their plans for the summer, was really fun and catchy, a perfect way to get your energy pumped and get excited for how the movie will go from there. The driving song "On the Open Road" was better than I had remembered it being, mainly for how well it balances multiple viewpoints and musical styles. We hear Goofy's optimism about the trip, Max's pessimism about it, and as other passing motorists join in, they each bring their own style to the song. The most memorable songs in the movie, though, are definitely the two PowerLine songs, "Stand Out" and especially "Eye to Eye." They each have a great Michael Jackson/ Prince feel to them, and practically scream 1990's, though not really in a dated sort of way (In fact, on a Youtube video for "Eye to Eye," one commenter got a LOT of upvotes for her comment "Attention 80's and 90's kids, please stand up for the National Anthem."). You'll definitely be humming "Eye to Eye" for a while afterwards.

So, while 'A Goofy Movie' is definitely not one of Disney's greatest masterpieces, it's still a very fun movie that kids and adults could both really like.


I can think of a couple Scriptural lessons that can be taken from 'A Goofy Movie.' The first concerns effective parenting, which is one of the main focal points of the movie in general. In the movie, we see two heavily contrasting philosophies on parenting through Goofy and Pete's respective treatment of their sons. Goofy is generally laidback and permissive of Max, while Pete is incredibly strict and demanding towards his own son PJ. Pete tries to encourage Goofy to be much harsher with Max, at one point telling him while bowling, "If you keep him under your thumb, he won't roll in the gutter." To emphasize this point, when his ball then knocks down all but one of the pins, Pete bellows for PJ to come up and knock over the final pin so it could be considered a strike. Goofy tries this approach a little with Max, but it doesn't work well. He and Max connect the most when he gives Max freedom and trust, even if Max does ultimately abuse that trust by altering the map.
The two contrasting views in parenting are especially prominent when Pete learns of Max's altering the map and tells Goofy about it in a motel hot tub. Refusing to believe it, Goofy says, "You know, maybe Max isn't all the things you think a son should be, but he loves me." Pete rather coldly responds, "MY son RESPECTS me."
The funny thing about this exchange is, even though Pete was shown to have won this little argument, that particular line of his was 100% wrong. He fails to realize that there is a BIG difference between respect and fear. PJ is shown to clearly be terrified of Pete and his temper, immediately obeying his every word not out of a son's healthy respect for his father, but purely out of fear of how Pete will react if anything goes wrong. If Pete carries on with this approach to parenting, PJ would likely grow up to be the kind of adult who deeply resents and distances himself from his father for this treatment. It definitely brings to mind Ephesians 3:21, which says "Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged." Godly parents are to provide guidance and at times discipline to their children and make sure they don't go astray, but not to let it cross the line from assertive discipline to sheer tyranny the way Pete does. Setting limits is an important part of parenting, but so are providing kids with enough freedom to grow, and making sure that kids know they are loved.
 Unlike Pete, Goofy DOES learn how to become a better father; He takes a much more active interest in his son's life and does all he can to be there for Max and help him grow into a good, responsible adult. Max starts taking Goofy's various suggestions and bits of advice more to heart through this approach, and their previously fragile relationship becomes a strong bond because of it. It ties into Proverbs 22:6, which says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."


I think another key theological message to be found in 'A Goofy Movie' relates to the themes of honesty and openness. Most of the conflicts that come about between Goofy and Max over the course of the movie are because of them not being open to each other. They don't reveal to each other their true motivations for what they do (Goofy bringing Max on the trip out of his fear of Max possibly becoming a delinquent who might end up in jail, and Max wanting to go to the party because he had a date lined up for it with a girl he was genuinely fond of and had been trying to impress for months) until near the end of the film, skirting around these issues and causing all kinds of problems for both of them in the process. If they had shared their respective concerns with each other early on, they would likely have avoided nearly all the troubles they faced over the course of the film. Psalm 119:130 sums this up well: "The unfolding of your words gives light; It imparts understanding to the simple."

These themes of honesty and openness are also shown through what unfolds with Max and Roxanne. Max's initial lie to Roxanne ended up putting him in a bad position in which his only options would be to either alter the map so they'd go to Los Angeles (Thereby betraying his father's trust), or admit to Roxanne that he lied to her (In which case she'd hate him and the rest of their friends likely would as well). Indeed, dishonesty and avoiding issues can similarly put all of us into similarly bad positions and lose- lose scenarios.
Colossians 3:9 puts it plainly, "Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices." Max ends up demonstrating this principle in the film's final scene, as even though he and his father were clearly seen on TV at the concert, he still tells Roxanne the whole truth about what happened, including confessing the lie he told her earlier.

So, that about wraps up 'A Goofy Movie,' a fun little ride of  a movie that imparts wonderful theological lessons about what good parenting looks like and the importance of honesty and understanding in our relationships.
 These messages are summed up well by the the refrain to the movie's song "Eye to Eye":
"If we listen to each other's hearts,
 we'll find we're never too far apart;
and maybe love is the reason why,
for the first time ever, we're seeing it eye to eye."

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. There are still two more entries to go in my look at Disney films, so keep your eyes peeled for them. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Tending to the Vulnerable, Gaining Wisdom, and Passing On in Peace.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!
I am putting my look at Disney movies on hold for a little bit, as something important has come up that I knew I needed to address as soon as possible.
This is a sad one for me, because I do it in memory of my grandmother, Janet Elliott, who passed away on the evening of May 28th at the age of 95. She had been my last remaining grandparent. It's sad, but I know it was her time: She's finally at peace, and reunited with my grandpa and others in Heaven.

(Here she is with Grandpa, in a picture taken shortly before his passing in 2009; I have no doubt the two are now together again in Heaven)

 Grandma's love and wisdom were such a strong force in my mother's side of the family ever since I could remember. Her smile at the sight of my family and I whenever she saw us always brought a matching one to my own face, and her soft, gentle voice always filled me with peace and contentment.
She was a brilliant genealogist who traced my mother's side of the family back over a thousand years (She once said my earliest known ancestor was a Viking warrior who lived in the tenth century AD), even before the advent of all the ancestry- type Internet sites that would come along in the last 10- 15 years or so, and uncovered links in our ancestry that I never could have imagined.
 She was a classy and sophisticated woman with a lot of appreciation for art, history and especially literature, driving home for us the importance of knowledge, both gaining it and then sharing it with others. It's why, when I spoke at her burial yesterday, I used a couple verses from Proverbs, as that whole book deals largely with the importance of wisdom and knowledge.

This last point about her is why this is going to be a strange entry on the Nightcrawler Experience. It deals with a movie that honestly does not hold much in the way of class and sophistication, and I doubt Grandma would have been much of a fan of it, yet as I rewatched it recently, it not only reminded me of Scriptural lessons, but also of her. So, I decided to look at it here in honor of her. That movie is known as 'Bubba Ho- Tep.'


(Credit for this image goes to the user Brian Kurtz at https://headhuntershorrorhouse.fandom.com/wiki/Bubba_Ho-Tep?file=Bubba_Ho-Tep.jpg)


It is a 2002 horror- comedy film (Though it is MUCH more of a comedy film than a horror film), starring one of my all- time favorite actors, Bruce Campbell, as well as the late Ossie Davis.
DISCLAIMER! This film is rated R, mainly for language. So, be aware before watching it or letting kids watch it!
The story takes place in a massively run- down and depressing Texas nursing home. Bruce Campbell plays a resident of the home who claims to be none other than Elvis Presley, apparently still alive all these decades after he had been believed dead. The explanation "Elvis" gives for this is that he had basically grown tired of fame and switched identities with an Elvis impersonator named Sebastian Haff, so it was really Sebastian Haff who had died of a heart attack that day in 1977, while the real Elvis comfortably faded into obscurity impersonating himself. Now, however, he is a fat old man stuck in this rathole of a nursing home, wondering how he could have gone from the King of Rock 'n Roll to his current miserable state. One of the few friends he has in the nursing home is a man named Jack (Ossie Davis), who has his own interesting claim on a famous identity: He claims to be John F. Kennedy. While the account "Elvis" gives of how he is still alive isn't TOO farfetched and could possibly be the truth, you definitely get the feeling that Jack is just kind of loopy (He claims that it's all one enormous conspiracy; When it's pointed out that he is black and John F. Kennedy was a white man, he responds, "That's how clever they are! They dyed me this color!").

Things start to get interesting when we learn that an ancient, cursed Egyptian mummy was stolen from a nearby museum by a couple guys. A freak storm suddenly kicked up as they made their getaway, causing the stolen bus that the thieves were using to go off a bridge and into a river near the nursing home, and the mummy eventually manages to come back to life and escape from the river, now clad in a cowboy hat and matching boots (Presumably taken from one of the dead thieves). It heads to the nursing home each night, and begins sustaining itself by sucking the souls from the elderly residents there (I'd rather not mention HOW the mummy does this, as it's not pleasant), killing them in the process. What's worse, we find out that those who die in this way don't get to go on to the afterlife or anything, as their souls are simply digested. Elvis and Jack eventually discover together what's happening, and realize that they're the only ones who can stop the mummy (Which Elvis at one point nicknames "Bubba Ho- Tep," due to the cowboy duds it wears) and thus save themselves and all their friends at the nursing home from meeting this horrible fate.


'Bubba Ho- Tep' does have a few problems, I'll admit. First up, they could have revealed more of the mummy's backstory. Elvis at one point reads a bit of the mummy's mind (Long story), causing us to see through a brief flashback that in life, he was a rather prominent Egyptian citizen, possibly the brother of a pharaoh, who for some reason was mummified alive and cursed; However, unlike Boris Karloff's Imhotep in 'The Mummy' (Or, for that matter, Arnold Vosloo's performance as the same character in the Brendan Fraser version of that film), we never learn why this particular ancient Egyptian received such a severe punishment. If the flashback scene were a bit longer, it could have revealed that. Also, we only really meet a couple of the other nursing home residents besides Elvis and Jack, and even then only briefly (Though I suppose that's somewhat understandable; Since most of the other people there clearly think Elvis and Jack are both nuts, it makes sense they wouldn't be terribly popular); Letting us get to know a couple more of them would help better drive home the urgency of the situation. A final minor issue I had with the film was that there's kind of a running joke centering around the fact that Elvis has an infected, probably- cancerous growth on a certain part of his anatomy (Fortunately, it's never seen; That fact apparently made Bruce Campbell feel much easier about accepting the role). It gets a little tiresome after a while.


Alright now, there's plenty to like about 'Bubba Ho- Tep.' First, there's how unique it is (And not just the fact that the heroes are apparently celebrities who are supposed to be dead). Since so many horror movies involve characters no older than 30 or so, seeing a horror film in which the heroes are elderly is quite refreshing. Speaking of which, the film does a good job of pointing out/ criticizing the attitude that so much of our society has toward the elderly, the way our culture views them as just unnecessary burdens dumped into nursing homes to die.
 The film perfectly fits the definition of a horror- comedy, as it has both scary moments (Particularly the way that, when the mummy is walking towards someone, all the lights near it either go out or burst, as if they cannot tolerate its evil presence), and incredibly funny moments (i.e. Many of Elvis's narrative monologues are hilarious).
     The mummy itself looks great, a brown rotted corpse in a cowboy hat and boots, with a slow walk and a few mystical powers (i.e. it phases itself through a locked door in one scene and teleports in another scene, as well as its aforementioned soul- sucking). Unlike mummies in other films, this mummy is largely silent; It only says two lines, growled out in ancient Egyptian with amusing hieroglyphic subtitles popping up to translate it. 
As for set designs, most of it takes place in the nursing home, which looks suitably dull and run- down, probably with a whole laundry list of health/ safety- code violations. I'd imagine that when elderly people are afraid that their kids might have them put in a nursing home, they envision it as being a lot like this one.
      The film's music is an interesting subject. It is mostly very well- done, taking generally the same melody but styling it several different ways, depending on what the mood is for each scene it's used in. There are times when it sounds creepy, times when it sounds rocking and fun, times when it sounds slow and inspirational, and so on. The music was all written and performed by Brian Tyler, doing every instrument. First he'd record himself playing the drums, then he'd record himself playing the guitar, and so on, and finally splice all the recordings together so it sounds like a full band doing it, and it sounds great.
      Last but not least, there's the performances. Bruce Campbell is hoestly magnificent as Elvis. He pulls off the accent perfectly, and goes on a full range of emotions throughout the movie. He starts out bitter and disgusted with himself and his present state, then obviously frightened when he learns that the mummy is real, and finally brave and stoic as he realizes the time has come for him to confront Bubba Ho- Tep and be the hero so many people viewed him as in his prime. He is also, as usual, incredibly funny, with one great line after another. I'd say it's easily one of Campbell's best performances.
 Ossie Davis turns in a good performance as Jack, aka "JFK." Even though, as I said, you get the feeling that he's probably just a crazy old man, he still comes across as quite intelligent on several topics, and is a very likable character with his own amounts of funny lines (i.e. Near the film's climax, when Elvis asks him what Marilyn Monroe was like, Jack responds, "That is classified information! Top secret! But, between you and me..... WOW!").
 A worthwhile supporting performance comes from Ella Joyce as Elvis's frustrated nurse. She comes across as a woman who has clearly put up with Elvis's rather rude behavior and the various other unpleasant duties of her job for a very long time and become grudgingly accepting of them if only for the sake of humoring him.
In short, 'Bubba Ho- Tep' is quite an entertaining movie, a great horror- comedy film worth a watch if you're into that genre. It's also currently available to watch for free on VUDU, if you have an account with that site (Which is free).



As for both Scriptural messages that can be taken from 'Bubba Ho- Tep,' and how I tie it to Grandma, the two are connected, as the Scriptural lessons I took from it can also remind me of her in certain ways.
First and foremost is the message shown on how important it is to properly treat and care for the elderly. This film is a subtle yet great indictment of the despicable apathy that so much of our society can have towards the elderly and infirm, viewing them as relics and burdens to be tossed into third- rate nursing homes to die alone and largely forgotten by those who profess to care about them. We see this early on in the film, as Elvis's roommate, "Bull," dies from an illness in one of the opening scenes. His adult daughter, Callie, comes by to clear out his things, and we see her rather callously tossing some of Bull's stuff into the trash, including even his Purple Heart medal that he apparently had been quite proud of (Fortunately, Elvis manages to save it, and keeps it with him at the climax of the film, as some "Good mojo" to help as he and Jack prepare to confront the mummy). During a brief conversation Elvis has with Callie, he notes that he had never seen her around the nursing home before, to which Callie cold- heartedly replies that she had only been there once before: When she first dropped her father off there. Bull had been there presumably for years, yet his own daughter never ONCE visited him or did anything for him during his time there.

 For how this connects to my grandma, it's because of the gratitude I have that my family and I WEREN'T like that towards her. We always stayed in touch with her and checked in on her well- being, frequently visited her, and did everything in our power to make her as comfortable as possible. When we had to put her in a home during her final weeks, even though the facility was on complete lockdown due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, one of my aunts would talk to her through the window of her (Grandma's) room! I am immensely grateful that I was able to call her four days before she passed, and she seemed to be in good spirits then. Even though Grandma's last few weeks on this Earth were not often enjoyable as her body broke down, she had the peace of knowing that her family dearly loved her, were thinking about her and praying for her, and did all they could for her.

We all as Christians are to similarly show compassion and respect towards the elderly. Even early on in the Bible, in Leviticus 19:32, one of God's commands for the people of Israel is "You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God; I am the Lord." So, God right away wanted His children to honor and respect the aged people among their numbers. In Psalm 19:32, it says "Do not cast me off in the time of old age; Forsake me not when my strength is spent." While the Psalmist is technically speaking to God with that exhortation, it can apply to people around him, as well. Lastly, there is a verse I've used a couple times in the past on this blog, but it still holds true: 1 Timothy 5:8 says "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." We must look after all in our families, young or old, not toss them aside.



Another important Scriptural point to take from the movie relates to the importance of wisdom and knowledge. In spite of how eccentric the character Jack is, he is also a surprisingly intelligent, well- read person who even at his age has not grown tired of learning new things, and the library research he conducts relating to the mummy proves invaluable in helping him and Elvis to stop it. As for why this relates to Grandma, I'd say it's because she was a good deal like Jack in the film (Minus his delusions of grandeur, of course); As I said earlier, she was an incredibly intelligent and wise person, well- versed on a variety of topics, and eager to impart that knowledge to others so they can learn as well. She remained that way all her life, striving to learn more and help those close to her do the same. Indeed, the first things I think of whenever I think of Grandma are generally her wisdom and intelligence.

We should all seek to continue to read and learn more, the way Grandma always did, ESPECIALLY as Christians. Proverbs 1:5 points out that "A wise man will hear and increase understanding, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel." Also, Proverbs 3:13 says "Happy is the man who gains wisdom, and the man who gains understanding." God would not have us be ignorant, but continue to grow and expand the incredible minds He has given us. Grandma understood that truth, and we all should do the same.



I'd say the final message to be taken from 'Bubba Ho- Tep' concerns how to leave this world in peace. In the very end of the movie, Elvis has destroyed Bubba Ho- Tep, kept his own soul intact, saved the others in the nursing home from falling victim to the foul creature, and it appears that he even managed to save some of the souls that the mummy had drained (As the mummy expires, we see what look like human souls flying out of it). However, he was mortally wounded in the process and knows his time has come. Before he dies, Elvis looks up into the night sky, and to the accompaniment of a soft yet incredibly beautiful and tranquil piano rendition of the film's theme music, he sees some of the stars move around to form Egyptian hieroglyphics that spell out a simple yet poignant phrase: "All is Well." The meaning to that is clear: With the cursed mummy destroyed and all the people in the nursing home and elsewhere now safe, harmony and balance have been restored, and Elvis can now die in peace knowing that he did the good work he set out to do.

This connects to Grandma, as I believe as she neared the end, she similarly had no fear or worry about death; She led a very long and full life, and more importantly, she knew Jesus, and thus knew that her death would not be the end, but a new beginning, so she was able to pass on with peace and ease in that knowledge. I wouldn't be surprised if her final thoughts were some variant on that phrase, "All is Well."
Indeed, for those of us who follow Christ, death is nothing to be afraid of. Jesus says in John 11:25- 26 that "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" Also, Revelation 14:13 says, "And I heard a voice from Heaven, saying, 'Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Blessed indeed,' says the Spirit, 'that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!'" For us who trust in Jesus, death means we can rest from the cares and worries and labors of this life, and experience an incredible, eternal new life in Heaven, peace in the best sense. Grandma is experiencing the truth of this firsthand at this moment.


So, that sums up my look at 'Bubba Ho- Tep,' and at the great life of Grandma Elliott. Rest in peace, Grandma, you've earned it a hundred times over.
That's the end of this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep an eye out for when I resume my look at Disney films, which will be very soon. Until then, take care, stay safe, and may God bless you all!

Shattered Pride, Selflessness and Unconditional Grace: A Faith- Based Look at 'The Emperor's New Groove.'

Hello again everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!
Well, the pandemic is still causing havoc, but things seem to have died down just a bit. More businesses are opening (With wise policies put in place to prevent anything from spreading), and I was able to get my hair cut for the first time in months! We've still got a way to go, but I'd say now there's definitely starting to be a light at the end of our tunnel, praise be to God. We must stay positive, keep praying, and keep following the "Rules" relating to how to stay safe and healthy.
After my 'Lord of the Rings' series, I decided to look at some more light- hearted fare for a while, and since I have a Disney Plus membership (Which I highly recommend, btw; It really does offer an amazing array of content for a pretty reasonable price), I figured that would be a good way for me to get inspiration in.
To that end, for the next few segments of the Nightcrawler Experience, I will be taking devotional looks at some of Disney's beloved animated films, examining them both as a fanboy and as a Christian.
I'll start this series on a lively note with their hilarious 2000 animated film, 'The Emperor's New Groove.' This movie was originally conceived as a much more serious, epic- type film which would have been called 'The Kingdom of the Sun,' but it went through a ton of re-writes, character re- designs and a near- complete change to its plot, and ultimately became instead one of the most light- hearted comedy films Disney has ever made.

(Credit for this image goes to the user "RRabbit42"at the Emperor's New Groove fan wiki @ https://emperorsnew.fandom.com/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_New_Groove?file=The_Emperor%27s_New_Groove_-_The_New_Groove_Edition_-_front_cover.jpg)


This movie takes place long ago, in an impressive kingdom located somewhere in Pre- Colombian South America. The kingdom is ruled by the teenage Emperor Kuzco (Voice of David Spade), an incredibly selfish, spoiled jerk with a snarky attitude and a colossal ego. He views his kingdom as his own personal playground in which he can do and say whatever he wants regardless of how it affects others, and he becomes furious whenever anyone disrupts his lifestyle in any way. In the first few minutes of the film, he even has an elderly peasant thrown out of a high palace window for "Throwing off my groove," by accidentally bumping into Kuzco when he was doing a dance.

As you can probably guess, Kuzco living and acting in such a way results in a lot of people not being very fond of him. The worst in that regard is Yzma (Voice of Eartha Kitt), his scheming and power- hungry royal advisor. When Kuzco fires her, she and her dim- witted but amiable hunk of a henchman Kronk (Voice of Patrick Warburton) decide to do away with him so that Yzma can then seize the throne for herself. She invites Kuzco to a dinner in which she attempts to poison him, but through a mix- up caused largely by Kronk's incompetence, he is fed the wrong potion, so rather than being killed, Kuzco is instead turned into a talking llama.

Yzma then has Kronk take the transformed emperor out of the kingdom to finish him, but (Surprise, surprise) Kronk once again screws up. The llama- fied Kuzco ends up with Pacha (Voice of John Goodman), a humble and good- natured peasant farmer who had just learned that his entire village is due to be torn down to make way for a private vacation resort Kuzco intended to build for himself.

 When Pacha realizes the extent of what had happened to his emperor (Though Kuzco doesn't yet know that Yzma was deliberately trying to kill him, he thinks it was all just a mistake), he makes Kuzco a deal: He'll help Kuzco make it back to the palace and get turned back into a human, if Kuzco in turn agrees to spare Pacha's village and build his vacation home somewhere else. Kuzco more or less agrees (He varies a lot in his position), and they set out, not realizing that Yzma knows Kuzco is still alive, and she and Kronk are actively searching for him in order to finish him for good. Along the way, Kuzco gets a much- needed dose of humility and perspective, and he and Pacha learn the meaning of true friendship.

The only minor problem I have with 'The Emperor's New Groove' is that, for the first half or so, Kuzco acts as a voiceover narrator to the story, and while it works for the beginning with introducing the major characters and whatnot, it gets old fast. It becomes almost a relief in the middle of the movie when Kuzco then tells his narrative voiceover to buzz off.

With that out of the way, I had so much fun re- watching 'The Emperor's New Groove'!
Its main strength is most definitely its humor. I don't think there was a single scene in the entire movie that didn't make me laugh at least once! It's funny in a lot of ways, too. Most of its humor is dialogue- based through how the characters interact with each other, but there's also slapstick, sight gags, and situational humor. I actually think it works better this way than as the much more serious epic it was initially conceived as, because making a movie this consistently comedic isn't something that Disney has done very often, making it even more of a novelty.
In spite of this, though, the film does manage a nice serious moment or two here and there to keep it from getting TOO goofy.

All of the characters in the movie are a lot of fun. Even when Kuzco is a spoiled, cocky punk in the beginning, he's at least quite funny to watch, especially with some of the zingers he throws around (i.e. When firing Yzma, he tells her, "Hey, everybody hits their stride; You just hit yours fifty years ago."), and he retains that humor all through the film. However, at the same time, his change by the end of the movie seems really genuine. In a brief scene in the end when he's talking to the old man he'd had tossed out the window in the beginning and making sure the poor guy's okay, you can hear real humility and regret in his voice. The old Kuzco would never have cared that much about anyone else's well- being. Mad props to David Spade for his voice performance; I'm normally not much of a fan of his, but he's truly in his stride here.
Pacha makes for an excellent foil to Kuzco. While Kuzco is over the top, egotistical and often mean, Pacha is humble, down- to- earth, and likable. His interactions with his wife and kids are really sweet, and most of the film's serious moments involve him. John Goodman's voice was perfect for him, it conveys such a warm, sympathetic tone. The friendship that these two unlikely companions build with each other over the course of the film is really nice to see, definitely one of the better hero- duos I can recall from a Disney film.

Speaking of great character duos, easily one of the best parts of the movie (Certainly the funniest) is the villains. Yzma and Kronk play off of each other in an unbelievably funny, "Pinky and the Brain"- esque way. Yzma's overly complex plans and exasperated rants and Kronk's clueless yet endearing observations (i.e. Several hours after he unwittingly runs into Pacha and a disguised Kuzco in a diner, Kronk bolts awake from his sleep with the sudden realization that "That peasant, at the diner! ..... He didn't pay his check.") make a perfect contrast to each other. Even in terms of their voices, the menacing, almost snakelike voice that Kitt gives to Yzma (Which she ended up winning an Annie award for) perfectly contrasts with the dopey, jolly voice that Warburton gives to Kronk. It's no surprise that a direct- to- video sequel focusing on Kronk was made a couple years later, and another sequel centering around Yzma was initially planned but then cancelled when Eartha Kitt died in 2008.

One scene that is probably my favorite in the movie is a scene about two- thirds of the way into it. When it finally dawns on Kronk that Pacha has Kuzco with him and thus that finding the former of the two will lead them to the latter, he and Yzma go to Pacha's house claiming to be relatives of his. Fortunately, after Yzma tries to get some information from Pacha's wife about his location, the family finds a pretty awesome and creative way to get rid of the two. It's a scene that has loads of laughs considering its short time, and makes good use of each of the characters. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE9Z6dr6WHw



I think there are definitely some Scriptural messages that can be taken from 'The Emperor's New Groove,'

First up, I think Kuzco can easily be seen as a kind of allegory for the Biblical king Nebuchadnezzar, whose story is seen in the book of Daniel, Chapter 4. Like Kuzco, Nebuchadnezzar was the supreme ruler of a large, mighty kingdom, in his case the kingdom of Babylon. Also like Kuzco, he had a horrifically bloated ego about it, and this pride led him to treat everyone around him horribly. Lastly like Kuzco, his pride ended up costing him a lot. See, he was warned by the prophet Daniel that his pride would be his undoing, and for a while, he did act in a more humble way, but it didn't last long. His egotism returned, and on one day when he looked over his kingdom and pompously said "Is not this great Babylon, that *I* have built...by the might of *my* power... For the glory of *my* majesty?," God had enough and punished Nebuchadnezzar for his pride. Nebuchadnezzar was driven mad in an instant, fled his kingdom, and for quite a while he lived like an animal and even ate grass like one. This makes a good parallel to the scene in the film when Kuzco, at his lowest point when he fully realizes just how much of a failure he has proven to be, blends into a herd of regular llamas and attempts eating grass like the rest of them. Eventually, after this, Nebuchadnezzar regained his senses and was restored to his sanity and his throne, and reigned with much more humility and decency for the rest of his days.
 As both Kuzco in the film and Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible came to discover the hard way, holding yourself up so high means the only way you have left to go is down. Our pride can blind us, both to what things around us are really like, and to specifically what God is doing around us. This is just one of many reasons why we need to stay humble, and not think too highly of ourselves. C.S. Lewis once made a good description of humility in one of his books: Humility can be seen as, if you were to build a great building or other structure, being just as proud of it and admiring of it as you would have been if someone else had made it. We can think well of ourselves (God wouldn't want us feeling too poorly of ourselves, either, since He created us), just not let pride blind us from what's really important or set us up for a fall. Proverbs 11:2 sums it up well by saying that "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Kuzco in the film and Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible found that out, and the sooner we learn that ourselves, the better.

A second lesson that the film teaches is regarding selflessness. Kuzco at the start of this film only cares about or even thinks about his own immediate wants. His initial plans for Pacha's hilltop village are the perfect example of this, as he was going to force Pacha, his family, and all the other families in that village to lose their homes just so he could build a gigantic private resort purely for himself. As the film progresses, however, he very slowly learns to care more about the needs of others than about himself. We see this through the aforementioned scene in the end with him apologizing to the old man, as well as with what Kuzco finally decides to do regarding Pacha's hilltop. Selflessness is an important theme for us as Christians, too. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says "Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." The world teaches that everyone should only look out for number one, but once again, Jesus came to teach His followers to go against the secular world's bad example. We need to strive to show God's love towards others by seeking their good more than our own, as Kuzco eventually learned how to do.

Another Biblical lesson that the film teaches is, I think, a pretty good lesson on God's grace and love towards us. It, again, involves the scene when Kuzco has hit rock bottom and begun eating grass with a regular llama herd. Out of nowhere, he hears a familiar voice, and realizes that Pacha (Whom he had coldly rebuffed and run away from in an earlier scene) has followed after him and is now talking to one of the other llamas in the herd to try and find him. While talking to the llama, Pacha makes a simple but pretty powerful statement: "You know, call me crazy for following this guy all the way out here, but as much as he tries to deny it, I KNOW there's some good in him!"
 Even after how unbearably selfish Kuzco was, how much he mistreated Pacha and turned away from him all throughout the film up to this point, Pacha still came back looking for him. By this point, for Pacha, it wasn't even about saving his village anymore (After all, if Kuzco were to remain a llama forever and never return to the palace, he'd never be able to have Pacha's village demolished); It had become about looking past all of Kuzco's many faults to the good he had deep inside him, and the friend he could be. This is similar to what Jesus has done for all of us, through His grace. Even though we all sinned so many times, turned our backs on God so many times and in so many ways, He still knows that there's something worth loving in us, worth saving. That's why He sent His Son Jesus to save us. Romans 3:22-24 sums it up well by saying that "This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus CHrist to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Even though we've all sinned, God showed us His grace by sending Jesus to pay for all of our sins so we can all be redeemed through Him.

There you have 'The Emperor's New Groove,' a fun, hilarious movie that teaches great lessons on humility, selflessness and on the incredible grace God shows to all of us. As Kuzco himself would put it, "BOOM, BABY!"
That's it for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series, which I should hopefully have up soon. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Loyalty at all Times, Exalting the Weak, and Accepting Destiny: A Faith- Based Look at 'Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
Well, the Coronavirus pandemic is still raging, but for us who trust in Jesus, we know that God has us all in the palm of His hand. I continue to pray everyday over this situation, that God will weaken and eventually halt its spread, heal those who are afflicted with it, and comfort their loved ones. I encourage all of you to do the same, and of course continue to follow the various guidelines relating to staying safe and healthy in the meantime.
I also got a bit of good news recently even in the midst of our current times: After taking a hiatus from music for several years when she got married and started a family, Rebecca St. James (My favorite singer, who had been a major name in Contemporary Christian music in the 2000s) is finally working on a new album again, with its first single dropping next month!

Now then, speaking of returning to working for the Lord, the time has come for me to conclude my series looking at the 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy.
Of course, this means I will be looking at the final film in the trilogy, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.'

As with the previous film, this takes us on several different plotlines, following different characters.

Frodo Baggins, his friend Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, and their freaky guide Gollum (Whose unhappy backstory is revealed in the film's disturbing prologue) continue to make their way to Mount Doom. However, Gollum betrays the hobbits, manipulating them into turning against each other and leading them to a deadly encounter with the giant spider Shelob. After this and more, the hobbits finally arrive at Mount Doom. By the time they get there, it may be too late, as the Ring has begun seriously influencing Frodo's mind so he might not even want to give it up even though the fate of Middle Earth hangs in the balance.

Merry and Pippin are reunited with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf, but not for long.
Eventually, Gandalf has to take Pippin to the kingdom of Gondor, where they discovered an attack is imminent. They meet Boromir's father Denethor, who has been driven half- mad with grief over Boromir and is unwilling to yield his position as the kingdom's steward to Aragorn (Its rightful king).
Denethor is furious at learning that his other son, Faramir, let Frodo and Sam go with the Ring, and expresses even more vicious contempt toward his younger son than ever for it, leading Faramir to be gravely wounded and near death in a fruitless military attack to try and gain his father's favor. Denethor loses what little sanity he had upon discovering this and tries to get his people to surrender as he prepares to burn himself and Faramir's still- living body on a funeral pyre, with Pippin and Gandalf having to rush to save Faramir from this awful fate.

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Theoden come to prepare and aid in Gondor's defense, only to realize that they will be greatly outnumbered and in need of more help. The elf lord Elrond, father of Aragorn's true love Arwen, gives him his now- restored ancestral sword (Which his ancestor used to defeat Sauron the first time), and sends him, along with Legolas and Gimli, on a dangerous mission to try and gain the support of "The Dead Men of Dunharrow," an army of ghosts that in life did not honor a vow they made to Aragorn's ancestor but may redeem themselves by coming to Aragorn's aid now. This extra backup may provide the heroes with enough help to save Gondor from the invasion.

It all comes down to an ultimate showdown with the remaining forces of good marching on Mordor to try and distract Sauron's forces long enough for Frodo and Sam to at long last reach Mount Doom and destroy the Ring (And, with it, Sauron) once and for all.

The only real problem with this movie was the prevailing problem with all of the films: Its length. It is easily the longest film in the trilogy, and even after the Ring is destroyed, it takes another 40 minutes or so before we finally see "The End" appear on the screen.

Now that that's out of the way, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' is truly a cinematic masterpiece. It completely swept the Oscars that year, taking home all eleven awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture (A still- standing record for the highest clean- sweep of the Oscars). It deserved every last one it got.

The film's action sequences are as top- notch as they have always been. Although the initial siege of Gondor is a little too similar to the Battle of Helm's Deep in the previous film, the land- battle that followed it (When Aragorn and co. enter the fray) was brilliant, with a lot of quite impressive visuals.
Another key action sequence is when Sam has an intense battle with the monstrous spider Shelob. You truly will be on the edge of your seat all throughout that scene.

All the characters are as wonderful as ever. We feel how the quest has been really taking its toll on everyone, especially Frodo, yet see them still endure. Frodo has been carrying the Ring for such a long period that he can barely function or even remember his old life in the Shire (Which, we find out from the prologue, is similar to what happened to Gollum as the Ring warped his mind). Then afterwards, when his quest is done, we see him attempting to settle back into normal life and find peace after all he went through.
A character who really shines in this is Sam. We feel his despair as he and Frodo have their brief falling- out, his courage and loyalty as he faces Shelob single- handedly, and his general kindness and devotion all throughout the film right up to his well- deserved happy ending as he returns to the Shire, marries his crush (Shooting down that stupid and baseless "Frodo and Sam= Gay lovers" fan theory), and starts a family with her.
Gollum is taken in a somewhat different direction than he was in the previous film. While the previous film gave him loads of comedic moments and showcased how torn he was between his two personalities, this one gives him many more serious moments and has him becoming pretty much completely evil. In particular, the way that he turns Frodo against Sam (First by getting Frodo to believe that Sam might try to take the Ring from him, then by framing Sam for stealing their rations) is so reprehensible and cruel, it really shows how longing for the Ring can strip people of all the good they once had and make them complete fiends.
Aragorn we see truly becoming who he was always meant to be. From the ragtag ranger he was in the first film, to a leader of armies, and ultimately a king. We see his struggles, relating to his love of Arwen and if her father will accept it, how to redeem his family name, and ultimately how to save all of Middle Earth. The speech he gives to his army right before the battle at the gates of Mordor is truly unforgettable.
Gimli, my favorite character, gets plenty of good play in it, too. He has a lot of funny moments (i.e. a scene early on when he and Legolas have a drinking contest, and later when ghostly hands form towards him out of the mist and he nervously attempts to dispel them by blowing them off with his breath), and yet also some nice serious moments. One that sticks out is a brief but poignant exchange he and Legolas have as the final battle at the gates of Mordor is about to begin: Gimli looks at Legolas and says "I never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an elf." Legolas then asks him, "How about side by side with a friend?" Gimli responds, "Aye. I could do that."

Probably even more than the other two films in the trilogy, this is one in which watching the "Extended Edition" is an absolute must, for a lot of reasons. First, it includes scenes showing the final fates of the evil wizard Saruman and his lackey Wormtongue, who were both completely cut from the theatrical version of the film. Saruman's actor, Christopher Lee, was understandably quite offended over that fact, and refused to attend the film's premiere for that reason. Second, on a related note, it includes the death scene of the foul and sadistic orc general Gothmog. We see him doing so many vile, savage things (One that sticks out is when he, to demoralize the people of Gondor before the siege, has catapults launch the severed heads of many of Gondor's slain warriors over the walls into the city), deeply wish to see him get killed for that, and yet he seems to evade death several times; It's only in the Extended Edition that we see him finally taken down for good by Aragorn and Gimli together double- teaming him. Lastly, the Extended Edition also includes a very funny cameo from the film's director, Peter Jackson, in which he appears as a rather unlucky pirate.

This movie also has truly remarkable and diverse set designs. From the impressive white buildings of Gondor, to the imposing cliffs of Mount Doom, to the dark and creepy environments of Shelob's lair and the kingdom of the Dead Men of Dunharrow, and back to the beautiful hills of the Shire, this movie truly is an incredible feat in production design. It's no wonder that one of the film's many Oscars was for Best Art Direction.

A scene that sticks out as probably the most memorable for me in the film is in the end, when Aragorn is crowned king. We see him accepting the crown, see how he even has some of his friends assist him in it (i.e. Gimli presents him with the crown, and Gandalf kind of presides over the coronation ceremony, like a minister at a wedding), and walks along the courtyard, acknowledging the other friends and allies that helped lead him to this victorious moment. He is finally reunited in person with Arwen, and they passionately kiss. Then (And this is what makes this scene so unforgettable), the crowds part as we see Aragorn and Arwen approach the four heroic hobbits standing in the back of the crowd. The hobbits bow respectfully to the new king, but Aragorn stops them. "My friends," he says, "You bow to no one." Then he, Arwen, and all the rest of the crowd kneel to the hobbits who went through so much to save their world, as the beautiful theme music for the Shire plays loudly in the background. All the performances in this scene are great, ESPECIALLY Viggo Mortensen, and that final scene with the hobbits served as a wonderful reminder that the physically smallest ones among them were the ones who proved to be the greatest heroes. If I remember right, it was this very scene that was used for its "Nominee preview clip" when it ultimately won the Oscar for Best Picture.


Like the previous two films in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, 'The Return of the King' has a multitude of Scriptural messages and themes.
One example is the the message that we should be wary of false counselors. Gollum, as part of his scheme to reclaim the Ring, tries to turn Frodo and Sam against each other. He deliberately sows mistrust and paranoia in Frodo's heart (Which is already becoming strongly influenced by the Ring), by telling him that Sam wants to take the Ring for himself. We likewise need to be very careful of those who might lead us astray with bad advice. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, it was listening to the serpent's bad advice that drove Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit and allow sin to enter the world. Proverbs 25:19 tells us that "Trusting in a treacherous man in a time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips." We indeed need to make sure that people are trustworthy and seek God's discernment before we blindly put our trust in them and their advice.

A second important Scriptural lesson to be taken from 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' concerns the accepting of one's destiny, as seen mainly through Aragorn finally accepting his destiny to become king of Gondor. The key moment in this regard is when Elrond, who had previously expressed reservations about Aragorn, both in terms of Aragorn's destiny as king and in terms of his love for Arwen, accepts this and convinces Aragorn to do the same by having Aragorn's ancestral sword Narsil reforged and presenting it to him. He tells Aragorn to "Put aside the Ranger: Become who you were born to be."
 This can tie into us as Christians due to the concept of the callings that God puts on all of us. Both in Biblical times and today, God calls people to do incredible things, if they will trust in Him and seek His will. Romans 8:28- 29 says that "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn of his brothers and sisters." It's essentially saying that if we love and trust in God, He will make things work together well for us (Even if we can't see it at the time, such as these trying times we're currently going through). This is because He knew us before we were even born and destined us to become more like Him through following the example of Christ and go on to do great things for His Kingdom. It's just a matter of stepping out in faith and trusting Him to accomplish the incredible things He intended for us.

Another lesson is regarding loyalty, especially when it comes to helping others through trials. When Aragorn is initially planning on seeking out the aid of the Dead Men of Dunharrow alone, Legolas and especially Gimli will have none of it, and insist on accompanying him. Even though they know how unbelievably dangerous this mission is (When we first see the spooky mountain path leading to the Dead Men's lair, we are told that none who go down that path have ever returned), they not only didn't hesitate to join Aragorn on it, they made it clear there was no way he'd be going on it without them. However, the best example of this kind of loyalty in the film is definitely Sam. He sticks by Frodo in all of it. Even when they have a brief falling out due to Gollum's machinations, Sam before long comes back to Frodo. Finally, in the last stage of their climb up Mount Doom, Frodo has become so weak from exhaustion and carrying the Ring for so long that he feels he cannot move another step. Sam tells him, "I can't carry (The Ring) for you, but I CAN CARRY YOU!" He then lifts Frodo up onto his shoulders, and physically carries him up the mountain.
 Keeping loyalty to those we care about, even when it gets tough as it was for the heroes in those scenes, is an important part of being a Christian. Proverbs 3:3 instructs us to "Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart."Also, Galatians 6:2 tells us to "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." It's one thing to stay true to your friends when the going is easy, but when it gets a lot harder to do so (i.e. When we are going through the stresses associated with this pandemic), that's a sign of real, Godly loyalty. It's what Gimli and Legolas showed to Aragorn, what Sam showed to Frodo, and what we should show to those around us.

A final theme is on the exultation of the meek and seemingly unimpressive. Much like the previous lesson, there are several characters who demonstrate this. First concerns a brief exchange between Pippin and Faramir; The latter of the two is expressing sadness and regret over the fact that his father looks down on him so much compared to Boromir, and acknowledges that he will never have the strength that Boromir had. Pippin responds to this by saying, "I think you have strength, of a different kind." That indeed is true of Faramir. While he may not be as mighty or accomplished of a warrior as Boromir was, he demonstrated an amazing inner strength of will in the previous film when he refused the temptation to take the Ring for himself, a strength that Boromir had proved to be lacking. For the second example of this, an interesting pairing of sorts that develops in this movie is between the hobbit Merry, and Theoden's brave niece Eowyn. In the battle for Gondor, they both want to serve and help in the battle, but both are turned down because of who they are (Eowyn because she's a woman, Merry because he's a hobbit). Nevertheless, the two disguise themselves to blend in with the rest of the army, and both fight bravely in the Battle of Gondor. In fact, Eowyn single- handedly takes down one of Sauron's deadliest generals, the Witch- King. Lastly, there's the previously- mentioned coronation ceremony scene, in which everyone, even the newly- crowned king Aragorn, kneels to the four humble hobbits in gratitude for their heroism.
 This idea of even the seemingly weakest and least impressive of people and things being used to accomplish great things is very much a Godly principle. 1 Corinthians 1:26 has Paul telling the people in the church of Corinth, "Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; Not many were powerful; Not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence." Then, 2 Corinthians 12:9 has him saying that "(God) said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." God loves using people and things that the world sees as weak or foolish or unimpressive to help do His will on Earth. Moses had a speech impediment, David was the youngest and smallest of his brothers, and Jesus's disciples included uneducated fishermen, corrupt tax collectors, political extremists (I can't even imagine the arguments that must have gone on between Matthew and Simon the Zealot behind the scenes), and others not looked on highly by society. In this blog, I've often looked at movies, shows, etc., that some in the world might see as foolish or useless, yet God, through me, has used those same movies, shows, etc., to help teach His Word in a relatable way. Indeed, it is through people and things that the world looks down on and sees as having no value that God's glory can shine the most brightly.

There you have 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,' a marvelous ending to an unforgettable film trilogy which teaches a lot of timeless lessons to us as Christians.

I hope you all have enjoyed this journey we've been on together through Middle Earth these last few weeks, the great stories it's produced, the wonderful characters we've met, and the incredible lessons we've learned on how to better walk with Jesus.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I already am well into the next series of entries I'll be doing for this blog, the next one should debut in less than a week, so keep your eyes oen for it. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Hope in Trying Times, Stewardship, Reconciliation, and Restoration: A Faith- Based Look at 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
Hope everyone is bearing up well under the continued quarantine, and continuing to stay safe and healthy!
I'll be continuing my look at the 'Lord of the Rings' film trilogy by looking at the second (And probably my personal favorite) entry in them, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.'

Unlike in the previous film, 'The Fellowship of the Ring,' in which the heroes largely kept together and there was one major narrative, the Fellowship is now divided after the death of Boromir, and as such there are now three different major storylines going on:
First up, Frodo Baggins and his friend Samwise Gamgee are continuing on their journey to Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. They soon run into the twisted creature Gollum (Andy Serkis), who had once possessed the Ring, which he famously refers to as "My Precious," for a long period and is determined to get it back. He eventually is convinced to help guide them on their trip, and we see that he is kind of wrestling between two different personalities, one friendly and the other not- so- much (They are differentiated by the fact that the latter personality is generally referred to as "Gollum," while the former personality is referred to by his real/ former name, "Smeagol"). They eventually have an encounter with their late comrade Boromir's younger brother Faramir, who is held to much lower regard by their father (Especially as seen in a wonderful yet sad scene in the Extended Edition in which the brothers celebrate a victory only to have their celebrations ruined by their overbearing father arriving and praising Boromir while nastily criticizing Faramir, favoritism at its worst), and consequently is eager to prove himself and believes that bringing the Ring back to their kingdom is the perfect way to do so. The Hobbits try their hardest to convince Faramir to let them go, not realizing that the seed of betrayal has been planted in Gollum's heart.

The second subplot involves the other two Hobbits, Merry and Pippin. We see them initially the prisoners of the orcs, as they were at the end of the previous film. They escape into the nearby Fangorn Forest, however, and meet Treebeard (Voice of John Rhys- Davies, who also plays Gimli), the leader of a race of living trees called Ents who act as kind of the protectors of the forest. As time goes on, they become determined to convince him to get the other Ents to help lay siege to the evil wizard Saruman's fortress. Eventually, they do so by leading Treebeard to see how heartlessly Saruman has wiped out a large chunk of the forest in order to get materials to strengthen his army. Outraged at this destruction of so many trees, an act he views as no less than mass- murder, especially as he personally knew some of the felled trees and some of them could talk like he could, Treebeard leads the Ents in a siege of Saruman's castle in Isengard, with Merry and Pippin joining in as much as they can.

The third storyline involves Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. They start out determined to rescue Merry and Pippin, but when they see that the two escaped and are safe with Treebeard, they go on other missions. They are reunited with their wizard friend Gandalf (Who we see survived his encounter with the Balrog in the previous film), and together set out to save the human king Theoden (Bernard Hill), whose mind is being controlled by Saruman through his vile and underhanded royal adviser Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif). When they help restore Theoden to his old self (I'll talk more about that incredible scene in a bit), they all together help Theoden lead his people to the much more secure fortress of Helm's Deep, where they are preparing for a brutal invasion by an enormous army of Saruman's mutated super- orcs. This group makes ready for the most intense battle of their lives to help foil this attack and save the people within.

As I said, 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' is probably my favorite film in the trilogy. It works in so many ways. It has great character development (Which is saying something, considering how many characters it has) and nice moments of drama and emotional impact, plenty of funny moments to help ease the tension, and TONS of incredibly well- done action scenes, usually in the form of various battles between different factions. I think it balances those elements better than either of the other films in the trilogy managed to do.

One of the main focuses of the film is on the Battle of Helm's Deep, and it is pulled off flawlessly. We get a great anticipation for it early on as the various characters (Both the major heroes, and just the regular soldiers that will be aiding them in the battle) nervously prepare for it in various ways. Even when Saruman's army arrives, the two sides merely face each other for a couple minutes without doing anything (Other than Gimli humorously complaining about the fact that his Dwarven stature makes him too short to be able to see over the battlement he has been stationed behind and thus wants to know what's happening), as rain begins to fall. Then, a stray arrow is accidentally fired, and all Hell breaks loose almost immediately from this.
In the battle itself, the scope is immense. We see just how massive the armies are and how well- fortified (Other than one key weakness) the castle is. We see the different battle strategies that each side uses, and how they each adapt to the changing circumstances of the battle and adjust their tactics accordingly. I cannot imagine how many people must have been involved in this scene, from the countless actors, to the costumers, makeup artists, prop designers, set designers, and so on.
This battle also features some pretty awesome visuals of the major heroes proving their strength and battle- skill. We see Legolas using a shield as kind of like a skateboard to slide down a flight of stairs while pouring arrows into enemy fighters (And even arranging so that, when he reaches the bottom, the shield is propelled into the chest of one of the orcs), Gimli throwing himself from off the top of a shattered wall to help fight off an orc charge on the lower level, and him and Aragorn then launching a fearless sneak attack to stop them from breaking down a major door. There is, in addition, a nice little running joke involving Legolas and Gimli (Who have gone from being intensely distrustful of each other in the previous film due to the rather shaky relations between Elves and Dwarves, to very slowly becoming friends) having a friendly competition as to who can kill the most Orc warriors in the battle. Hearing Gimli loudly counting off each one he takes out never fails to make me chuckle.

This movie also is our first real introduction of quite a few memorable new characters.
Theoden makes for a great addition to the cast, once he is freed from Saruman's influence (Again, more on that in a bit). He's shown to be a good king, effective military strategist, and capable warrior in the battlefield.
Faramir is pretty interesting as well, seeing his desire to prove to both his father and himself that he is useful and capable of defending his kingdom, and how conflicted he is over this as he comes to better know Frodo and realize just how dangerous the Ring can be.
Grima Wormtongue works wonderfully as a supporting villain. Brad Dourif (Best known as the voice of the killer doll Chucky) gives him such a creepy, menacing, smarmy personality, making your skin crawl every time he talks. From the moment he first appears, you pretty much instantly get the feeling that he is a very dangerous person trying deliberately to lead Theoden and all of Rohan into ruin.
Treebeard is a LOT of fun. His voice and body language are perfect, exactly how you'd imagine a sentient tree to move and talk. He has some funny moments largely involving how he and his fellow Ents believe in doing everything VERY slowly (Complete with his catchphrase of "Let's not be too hasty") and the frustration this causes Merry and Pippin, and yet it would be impossible to not sympathize with him when he looks on in horror at the destruction Saruman has begun inflicting on the forest.

Best of all the new characters in 'The Two Towers,' though, is most definitely Gollum. Even though Gollum technically appears a couple times in the previous film, these appearances are extremely brief, with you not even seeing much of what he looks like. In 'The Two Towers,' he is front and center, and steals every single scene he's in. He is often incredibly funny, especially in a scene when he brings Frodo and Sam a couple freshly- killed rabbits to eat, then reacts with horror when he sees Sam cooking them (Gollum prefers to eat his kills raw). The odd split- personality he has with his "Smeagol" and "Gollum" personalities is pulled off brilliantly, especially in a scene halfway through the film when the two personalities actually have an argument with each other. Between Andy Serkis's performance, the animation, and the camera work, it almost seems as if it is two different characters talking rather than just one talking to himself. He's probably the single- best CGI character I've ever seen in a movie, the effects for him still hold up well after all these years, and between that and Serkis's performance as not just Gollum's voice but also acting as his motion- capture double and the on- set stand- in for him, it really seems at times like he could be an actual living thing.


My favorite scene in this film, and easily one of my favorite scenes in the entire trilogy, is when Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf enter the throne room of King Theoden to have words with the king. Saruman's toxic influence over Theoden (Through a combination of his hypnotic magic and Wormtongue's foul advice) has caused the once- mighty king to become an incredibly frail, ancient- looking man who appears as though the slightest nudge could make him fall over. Sensing something's amiss, Gandalf approaches Theoden's throne while his three companions fight off the guards and Gimli grabs Wormtongue before the gutless little creep can sneak away. Gandalf begins attempting to magically release his old friend from Saruman's influence. While Saruman possesses Theoden and has him laugh off Gandalf's initial attempts and threaten that "If I go, Theoden dies," Gandalf brilliantly redoubles his magic efforts. As he puts it, "I withdraw you from Theoden as poison is drawn from a wound!" Sure enough, it works, and Theoden is saved. In a truly breathtaking use of visual effects, we then see Theoden de- age and regain his strength and sanity. He, his friends (Including Gandalf and co.), and his loved ones all rejoice that he is back to his noble self, and we then see him give Wormtongue the boot as he should have done long ago. This was such a magnificent scene in every way. All the performances are spectacular (Especially Ian McKellen and Bernard Hill), the music in that scene is gorgeous, and it just conveys a great feeling of victory and renewed hope. We can almost feel the joy in the scene spreading out to all of us, as though we were right there in the throne room celebrating alongside the heroes.
I remember the first time I saw this movie, being disappointed and saddened at Theoden's initial frail and decrepit appearance. I mean, in the book, Theoden is old, but he's still strong enough to kick some orc butt when he has to. Then, in this scene, when the spell is broken and Theoden regains his proper age and strength, I remember smiling broadly in the theater and thinking to myself, 'Yeah, THAT'S Theoden! THAT'S what he should look like!'
Those are just some of the reasons why 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' is my favorite film in the trilogy.

There are a whole bunch of Scriptural lessons that can be taken from 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.'

A major theme in 'The Two Towers' is on hope even when things seem hopeless. Each of the three subplots has characters dealing with that in some way: Merry and Pippin feel at one point like they don't have a chance of convincing Treebeard and the other Ents to join in the fight against Saruman and should just go home to the Shire. Aragorn and his companions, especially Legolas, feel at one point as though attempting to defend Helm's Deep against Saruman's gigantic army is a useless effort which will only result in getting them all killed. Frodo and Sam, in turn, come at one point to feel as though there's no way they'll be able to get the Ring to Mount Doom. Eventually, all find the courage and hope within them to resist despair and persevere in their missions. Sam even gives this truly unforgettable monologue near the end of the movie which sums this up (I'd simply write it out, but believe that to do so would be a disservice to Sean Astin's amazing delivery of it):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6C8SX0mWP0
(Credit for that video goes to the Youtube user EgalmothOfGondolin01)
As Sam points out, things can at times seem hopeless, like there's no way out and no way that good can come from our circumstances or things can ever go back to even remotely what they were before. For us trying to get through this pandemic, it can certainly seem that way. However, again as Sam points out in his monologue, the times of darkness WILL pass, and the dawn will shine all the brighter for it. Similarly, the trying times we are going through now because of the Coronavirus WILL one day be in the past, and our world will be all the brighter and happier for our having conquered it. This kind of hope and endurance is very much a Biblical trait, something that we as Christians should demonstrate. We recently celebrated Easter, which was all about that. The suffering, darkness, and hopelessness of Good Friday were overcome by the victory and light of Easter Sunday. 2 Corinthians 4:17- 18 says "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." The hardships we are faing now as a result of the quarantine are merely temporary, and in a time will be over, but the eternal glory that awaits us in Jesus is eternal and so infinitesimally better and more significant than our past hardships, which will by that point seem like mere afterthoughts.

Another Scriptural theme in 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,' which is especially relevant since last Wednesday was the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, is the importance of taking proper care of the environment that God entrusted to us. Treebeard at one point mentions that Saruman used to enjoy walking among the trees and woods, but lost that enjoyment when he became evil, hence why he came to see nothing wrong with wiping out large chunks of Fangorn Forest to gain the resources to fuel his army. We have a responsibility to protect the planet that God gave us. He put man in charge of the Earth, we the intent that we should be good stewards over it. While we are His highest an most beloved creation, He still has a great deal of love and care for plants, animals, and all other living things on Earth, and wants us to have that love and care for them, as well. Many verses in Scripture speak of the importance of properly caring for the land, trees, and animals. For instance, one which particularly applies to Saruman's devastation of the forests to support his army is Deuteronomy 20:19, which says "When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?" God cares enough about the trees that He doesn't want to see them cut down in a war, a compassion that Saruman was clearly devoid of, but that God wants all of us to have.

An additional Scriptural lesson to take from 'The Two Towers' is the importance of resolving conflicts fast. About 2/3rds of the way into the film, Frodo is put into a position in which he is forced to lead Gollum to be captured by Faramir's troops (It was the only way to save the poor freaky guy's life, as Gollum had trespassed into a sacred pool, and Frodo doing this was the only thing that prevented Faramir's archers from simply killing him). Gollum is unaware of how close he came to death, and believes that Frodo had simply betrayed him, and of course doesn't take it well. In the end of the film, Sam tries to explain to Gollum what happened, but does so in an extremely brief and unsatisfying way that doesn't really convey that Frodo did what he did because it was the only way to save Gollum's life. I think that, if Frodo had done more to help Gollum to understand what had actually happened, things could very well have ended differently, and Gollum likely wouldn't have done the treacherous things he ended up doing in the final film. Ephesians 4:26 says "...Do not let the sun go down on your anger," and Jesus says in Matthew 5:24 that, if you are about to present an offering to the Lord but remember that you still have a quarrel with someone, that you should "Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." Letting anger and conflicts endure without being promptly resolved causes them to get worse, for the anger and hurt feelings to fester and grow, which can have big consequences for you and others in the long run, just as Frodo not quickly and properly talking out his issue with Gollum led to a lot of problems for them in the next film.

A final major theological message that can be taken from 'The Two Towers' concerns the wonderful scene I talked about earlier with the exorcism of King Theoden. This is significant in a couple ways: First, because it is similar to the ways that Jesus would exorcise demons from the people they were possessed, such as how He saved the man who was possessed by Legion. Also, as I said earlier, I felt like Theoden being freed from Saruman's influence and changing back to normal was him regaining his TRUE self, what he's supposed to be like. In much the same way, when Jesus becomes our Savior and Lord, He does a very impressive transformation in our lives, helping to dispose of our sinful old selves and making us into our TRUE selves that we're supposed to be like. 2 Corinthians 5:17 illustrates this by showing that "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." I've indeed always believed that Jesus's main goal in life is to help us ascend and become who He meant us to be, the best servants of Him we can possibly be, through His miraculous transformative work on us.

There you have 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'. It's a truly marvelous movie which teaches us a lot of very valuable lessons on what it means to be a Christian.

I have one more thing to add, rather unrelated. Richard Smith, a dear old friend of mine from our seminary days, an Episcopal priest and an awesome guy in general, has started a new online ministry called "Binary Sunset Church" which seems to be kind of in the same vein as what I do here on the Nightcrawler Experience. Each Sunday, he performs a livestream online worship service in which he uses themes and concepts from 'Star Wars' to help communicate the messages in his sermons, similar to what I do here. While his services are Episcopal in delivery and liturgy and whatnot, the doctrine  Richard preaches in his sermons appears to be pretty nondenominational. So, if you have an interest in that, check out "Binary Sunset Church" on Facebook, and you'll be able to watch their services at 1:00 on Sundays.

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Stay tuned in the next week or so, when I finish out this series with a look at the final movie in the trilogy. Until then, take care, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!