Animated Stories From The New Testament: A King Is Born

Thank you Nest Entertainment for sending us this DVD to review!

This twenty-six minute DVD opens up with a pretty song that describes God's love for us by sending our savior. As the opening credits scrolled on, I noticed that Orson Scott Card wrote the screenplay. The story begins with Simeon telling an elderly lady (presumably Anna) that he has been promised to see the Messiah before he dies. King Herod gets wind of the Messiah's coming and vows to eliminate him. After that scene, Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear God's son and although she doesn't understand how it is possible, she complies. I was surprised to see how easy going Joseph was about this situation when Mary told him the news. In this DVD he had a dream explaining the divine pregnancy before Mary announced it. According to the Bible he was troubled by the news and later comforted by the dream and felt at peace knowing that Mary was not unfaithful to him.

Later in Mary's pregnancy, Caesar Augustus proclaims that everyone must return to their city of birth to be counted and taxed. As they near Bethlehem Mary starts to go into labor, but they have no place to stay since the inns are full. A kind man gives them shelter in a stable. Baby Jesus arrives (no gory details shown) and is visited by nearby shepherds while the wise men start their journey to meet the king.

Anna and Simeon get to meet their promised savior when Mary and Joseph present an offering at the temple. King Herod hears about Jesus' birth and tells the wise men to let him know where to find the baby. When they disobey, every baby boy pays the price (again no details are shown). Thanks to Joseph's dream warning them to leave Bethlehem, they fled safely to Egypt and raised Jesus there until king Herod died.

That is where this DVD ends and if you like Biblical stories with good voice acting, I recommend continuing the story of Jesus' life by watching Jesus, The Son of God. The animation is a bit dated since it's from the eighties, but the artwork has a Disney like style to it. While the normal price is $9.95 I have seen it for $5 on Nest Entertainment's website and for less than $12 shipped on Amazon.