Tom Bancroft, a seasoned animator who contributed to numerous Disney classics such as "Beauty and the Beast," "Pocahontas," and "Aladdin," and even designed iconic characters like Mushu from "Mulan" and young Simba from "The Lion King," made a surprising career move around the turn of the millennium.
Despite being offered the prestigious role of lead animator on a major Disney feature film, Bancroft chose to walk away. His decision was driven by his deepening Christian faith and a growing discomfort with the direction Disney was heading, which he felt was straying from the wholesome family values it had once embodied.
"I honestly saw the direction Disney was going in, all the way back in 2000, and I felt very uneasy about it," Bancroft confessed in an interview with Tr Goins-Phillips of the Christian Broadcasting Network. "At that point, my faith was mature enough, I think, for me to go, 'OK, I don't need to stay here, even though this is my dream. ' God gave me a new dream," he revealed.
According to the Western Journal, Bancroft's new dream led him to Big Idea Entertainment, where he worked on "VeggieTales," an animated series that retold Bible stories through the antics of anthropomorphized vegetables. "I was about to be a lead animator on 'Lilo and Stitch.' And I gave that up to go work with vegetables,"
Bancroft humorously recalled. Despite the perceived downgrade in his career, Bancroft found a silver lining in his new role. "Honestly, I just saw 'VeggieTales' as this bright and shining light," he expressed.
Bancroft relished the opportunity to work with fellow Christians, a stark contrast to his previous environment at Disney where he felt unable to openly discuss his faith. However, his journey took a turn when Big Idea Entertainment declared bankruptcy a few years after his move.
Undeterred, Bancroft ventured into writing and teaching, while also creating characters for major companies like Lego, Warner Bros., Dreamworks, and Marvel.
Presently, Bancroft is once again combining his artistic prowess with his faith, directing a new animated film about the life of Jesus Christ titled "Light of the World," set to premiere on September 5. He described the project as the most challenging endeavor of his career. "Every single part of making this movie was hard," Bancroft admitted, "even stuff that I had done for 35 years, like having a character emote. But now its Jesus. Theres nothing in my career thats been this kind of a challenge, 'cause we knew we had to get it right."
Designing an animated Jesus, particularly capturing the essence of his eyes, was an intimidating task. Bancroft explained, "One of the first things we learned in our animation classes is that, you know, the eyes are the window to the soul. If you cant capture that loving eye look that Jesus needs to have at all times throughout the movie, then were not doing our job right. Can we always see that love, that he means exactly what he says? And I think we did it."
Despite the challenges, Bancroft and his team found the project immensely rewarding. "It was the hardest thing that our team has ever done," a team member acknowledged, "but also, its been the most rewarding."
Bancroft's story serves as a testament to the power of faith and the courage to follow one's convictions, even when it means walking away from a dream to pursue a higher calling.
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