Disney and Pixar's newest original animated film Elio hasn't had much success in getting audiences into the theater. But does that mean it's not worth watching? Find out why Toon My Heart host Tracy Herold believes this outer space adventure about loneliness, family, and finding a place to belong is worth seeing on the big screen, and how it even reminded her of the Biblical prophet Elijah and his encounter with God in 1 Kings 19. In this episode she also discusses elements of the animated sci-fi film that Christian parents might be concerned about or at least want to know of in advance, and offers some suggestions for discussions to have with your kids after watching the film.

Buy Toon My Heart merch at teepublic.com/user/toon-my-heart
Donate to Toon My Heart at buymeacoffee.com/toonmyheart
Follow Toon My Heart on social media: @toonmyheart on Instagram, X, and Facebook
Other links at linktr.ee/toonmyheart

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

It's time for another special "Showtune My Heart" episode, in which "Toon My Heart" host Tracy and a guest discuss a song from an animated film, analyzing it through a Christian lens. Today's guest is writer, editor, and podcaster Faith Moore, host of the "Storytime for Grownups" podcast and author of the book Saving Cinderella: What Feminists Get Wrong About Disney Princesses and How to Set it Right. Faith's song choice is "So This Is Love" from Walt Disney's Cinderella, and she and Tracy discuss how to understand fairy tale symbolism, why princess stories still matter, some interesting parallels between the Cinderella story and the Biblical account of the life of Jesus, the importance of love in both fairy tales and in the Christian life, and how to become your true self.

Find Faith Moore at faithkmoore.com and @faithkmoore on X.com

Buy Toon My Heart and "True Myth" merch at teepublic.com/user/toon-my-heart
Donate to Toon My Heart at buymeacoffee.com/toonmyheart
Follow Toon My Heart on social media: @toonmyheart on Instagram, X, and Facebook
Other links at linktr.ee/toonmyheart

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

Why did the highest-grossing film of 2024 strike such a chord with audiences and critics? To mark the end of Mental Health Awareness Month, host Tracy Herold welcomes back special guest Pastor Jay Nepomuceno, founder of a Christian mental health advocacy ministry called The Climb, to talk about Disney Pixar's Inside Out 2. All of our favorite emotions from the first Inside Out-- Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust-- are back, but as Riley enters puberty, they're joined by new emotions-- Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Nostalgia-- and a struggle for Riley's sense of self ensues. We discuss the fantastic pictures the film paints of how our brains work and the effects that anxiety can have on us, talk about the lessons we can learn from the movie about our mental health and sense of identity-- and how those lessons can be made more complete with the addition of Biblical truths-- and debate whether Anxiety is a villain or merely a protagonist, and how we can put her in her proper place either way.

Find The Climb at theclimbministries.com and facebook.com/theclimbministries

Buy Toon My Heart and "True Myth" merch at teepublic.com/user/toon-my-heart
Donate to Toon My Heart at buymeacoffee.com/toonmyheart
Follow Toon My Heart on social media: @toonmyheart on Instagram, X, and Facebook
Other links at linktr.ee/toonmyheart

Also mentioned in this episode:

• "Inside Out 2 Was the Hit Pixar Needed, but the Laid-Off Employees Who Crunched on It Are Still Hurting" (IGN): https://www.ign.com/articles/inside-out-2-was-the-hit-pixar-needed-but-the-laid-off-employees-who-crunched-on-it-are-still-hurting

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

Disney's Moana is the "No. 1 movie in streaming history" according to the Wall Street Journal, having been streamed for more than 1 billion hours! But it's also a story about gods, demigods, monsters, and spirits. Is it okay for Christians to watch such a film? Can we maybe even find glimpses of the gospel within it? Grab a boat snack and set sail with Toon My Heart host Tracy Herold and special guest Tim Ingle, creator of the Bearly Biblical cartoon series, as we explore how the story of this unconventional "Disney Princess" echoes the Bible's story of creation, fall, and redemption, and demonstrates our need for a savior, serving as a great illustration of the idea espoused by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that man-made myths (both ancient and modern) ultimately point toward and find their fulfillment in the "true myth" of Jesus Christ.

Find Tim Ingle on social media: @intellectricanimation on Instagram, @intellectric on X
Watch Bearly Biblical at loor.tv/project/bearly-biblical
Buy Bearly Biblical merch at bearlybiblical.com
Read Tim's animated movie reviews at cartoonsgotsaved.com

Buy Toon My Heart and "True Myth" merch at teepublic.com/user/toon-my-heart
Donate to Toon My Heart at buymeacoffee.com/toonmyheart
Follow Toon My Heart on social media: @toonmyheart on Instagram, X, and Facebook
Other links at linktr.ee/toonmyheart

Also mentioned in this episode:

• "It's Disney's Biggest Surprise Hit--8 Year After Its Release" by Ben Cohen: https://www.wsj.com/business/media/moana-disney-streaming-movies-frozen-452ef412
• C.S. Lewis' letter to Arthur Greeves about the concept of "the true myth": https://www.cslewis.com/lewis-on-tolkien-3
• J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter: https://www.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-Biography-Humphrey-Carpenter/dp/0618057021
• "Myth Became Fact" from God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis: https://judithwolfe.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/files/2017/08/Myth-Became-Fact.pdf

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

The first of three Bible-based animated films coming out in 2025 came out just in time for Easter-- but is it any good? Toon My Heart host Tracy Herold and her daughter share their thoughts on The King of Kings, the first full-length feature film from Korean director Seong-ho Jang of Mofac Studios, a creative retelling of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ inspired by Charles Dickens' short book "The Life of Our Lord," featuring an all-star cast, including Kenneth Branagh, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Uma Thurman. Tracy discusses the history behind the source material, the arguments for and against depicting Christ on film, the positives that both kids and parents can get from the film's immersive storytelling, and some of the shortcomings Christian parents should be aware of as well.

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com
Follow @toonmyheart on Facebook, Instagram, and X
toonmyheart.com
linktr.ee/toonmyheart

Dav Pilkey's Dog Man series of graphic novels have proven extremely popular with children around the world, with more than 60 million copies published in 47 different languages. So it was only a matter of time before someone made a movie out of them. But does it live up to the source material-- and if so, will it prove as popular with parents as it is with their kids? In this Toon My Heart: First Impressions episode, host Tracy and her daughter Darcy-- one of Dog Man's biggest fans-- weigh in with their thoughts on this action-packed, silly, and surprisingly heartwarming animated adaptation from Dreamworks and explain why it's childishness is in fact its super power.

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com
Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com
Follow @toonmyheart on Facebook, Instagram, and X
toonmyheart.com

In this first Toon My Heart episode for 2025, Tracy is taking a look at Disney's 2000 animated short film, "John Henry," about the black folk hero and his famous competition against a steam drill. And she's joined by the Burden brothers, hosts of "A Burden for the Times," a podcast all about clarifying conversations on culture and race. They discuss whether representation matters in media and how it can be done right, the real history behind the legend of John Henry and whether that affects how we view the film, how this tale of self-sacrifice and leading others to a promised land reminds us of the Gospel, and more. Find out director Mark Henn's faith shines through in this small but mighty animated film.

Mentioned in this episode:

• A Burden for the Times: https://www.aburdenforthetimes.com
• "A Black Hero Comes Up Short" by Jim Hill (Orlando Weekly): https://www.orlandoweekly.com/arts/a-black-hero-comes-up-short-2262183
• "American Legends (featuring John Henry)" by Ben Simon: https://animatedviews.com/2007/american-legends-featuring-john-henry
• The Tiara Talk Show: Interview with Director Mark Henn for 15th Anniversary of "John Henry": https://tammytuckey.com/the-tammy-tuckey-show/interview-with-director-mark-henn-for-15th-anniversary-of-john-henry
• "Mark Henn: Disney Animator on Frozen, Christian Faith and Fairy Tales" by Hannah Goodwyn (CBN): https://cbn.com/article/christian-life/mark-henn-disney-animator-frozen-christian-faith-and-fairy-tales
• John Henry by Roark Bradford, illustrated by J.J. Lankes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(novel)
• Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend by Scott Reynolds Nelson: https://www.amazon.com/Steel-Drivin-Man-Untold-American/dp/0195341198
• "The Ballad of 'John Henry' Elicits Varied Feelings For Some Black Appalachian Residents" by Nicole Musgrave: https://wvpublic.org/the-ballad-of-john-henry-elicits-varied-feelings-for-some-black-appalachian-residents
• The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast: Mark Henn: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mark-henn/id911802874?i=1000641496547
• The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast: Why We Left Disney: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-we-left-disney/id911802874?i=1000504727924
• "The Legend of John Henry" (1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLRBzT7VbXc
• "John Henry and the Inky-Poo" (1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VoTLLb08R4 (beginning at 43:40)
• Light of the World movie: https://lightoftheworld.com

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

Follow @toonmyheart on Facebook, Instagram, and X

toonmyheart.com

In each "Showtune My Heart" episode, Toon My Heart host Tracy Herold and a special guest discuss one of their favorite songs from an animated movie from a Biblical perspective. In this episode, our special guest is Donnie Lakes, the host of another Christian podcast called The Ride of Your Life and founder of Ride of Your Life Ministries, which seeks to share the gospel with coaster and theme park enthusiasts. For our conversation, Donnie has chosen the most iconic song from Pixar's groundbreaking first feature-length computer animated film Toy Story: You've Got a Friend in Me, written and sung by Randy Newman. In the movie, of course, this song is about the friendship between Woody and Andy. But how can its lyrics also remind us of our greatest friend of all, Jesus, the friend who sticks closer than a brother, and what can it teach us about what it means to be good friends to each other and love one another as God commands?

Mentioned in this episode:

• Ride of Your Life Ministries: https://www.rideofyourlifeministries.com
• @rideofyourlifeministries on Instagram, Threads & Facebook; @roylministries on X
• The Ride of Your Life podcast S4E17, "Toons with Truth": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo_b5FULAnk&list=PL1qoFCW31dQ61FJZPTVMQovey_lWdlUQp&index=3
• "Toy Story: How Randy Newman Provided the Perfect Soundtrack": https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/toy-story-soundtrack-feature/
• "Randy Newman, The Musical Voice of Toy Story": https://www.npr.org/2019/06/21/734515413/randy-newman-the-musical-voice-of-toy-story
• "Quentin Tarantino refuses to watch Toy Story 4 because Toy Story 3 ended perfectly: 'I'm done!'": https://ew.com/quentin-tarantino-refuses-watch-toy-story-4-8702960

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Or do you have a song you'd like to discuss on "Showtune My Heart"? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

Follow @toonmyheart on Facebook, Instagram, and X

toonmyheart.com