'Light of the World' Movie a Lifelong Pursuit for Co-Directors to Share Gospel

'Light of the World' image courtesy The Salvation Poem Project
WASHINGTON – For co-directors John Schafer and Tom Bancroft, the journey to making Light of the World, a new 2D animated movie opening in theaters nationwide this weekend, is a lifelong ambition, one fueled by childhood desire and the calling to share the Gospel message with the world.

Schafer began his quest as an adolescent when he began using his father’s 8mm camera to make short movies with friends. With topics ranging from action movies on bicycles to Indiana Jones-flaired adventures, the Ohio native quickly realized he was destined to chase a career path that could be quite unforgiving.

Conversely, through the years, Bancroft has built a reputation as a sought-after animator. With film credits ranging from Beauty and the Beast to Mulan and back to The Lion King, he made the decision to leave Disney in the early 2000s to create movies with meaning, ones that glorified God. That led him to help build the Veggie Tales brand and assist the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) with their animated productions.

Schafer and Bancroft eventually collaborated on the Superbook series at CBN, forging a meaningful friendship in the process. An outgrowth of that friendship was Schafer’s decision to bring Bancroft aboard for his next big project, a full-length animated feature film about the life of Jesus that eventually became Light of the World, produced by The Salvation Poem Project.

Together, they have crafted an uplifting animated feature that clearly presents the Gospel message to all ages.

I recently sat down with Schafer and Bancroft to discuss their heart for evangelism through animation, their collaboration process, and what sets Light of the World apart from the many movies that have been made about Jesus.

I am always fascinated by collaboration, how people work together to create something, whether it be a film or just a piece of art or even if you're planning a church supper together. And you two have collaborated to co-direct this new movie, Light of the World. I'm interested to know what that process looks like for the two of you.

Tom Bancroft: It's funny because we've known each other for 18 years. And we started together, helping to create the Superbook show, a series for CBN. And now, kind of fast forward later, we get to make this amazing movie, a feature film about Jesus. Our collaboration is that we both have things that we're good at. And honestly, God put us together, not only our friendship, but our creative collaboration because of the things that we're each good at. John (Schafer) has a really good eye for detail. He's got a great eye for special effects too. And that was where he kind of showed his expertise, and also on the music side and post-production. Meanwhile, with my Disney animation background, I'm an animator and so I can get into character design. I can get into environmental design too with the art director, but then also help with the acting and performance of characters. So, I thought it was like a perfect collaboration that way.

John Schafer: And after working on Superbook for so long, you start to know each other's sensibilities. You can know how you can push each other. And also, at the end of the day, it's about trust. And we really trust each other. Sometimes we had to because this film was so big, we would have to divide and conquer. And Tom would have to trust me with a lot of things just as I had to trust him. And that's what really brought it together.

This movie has been a four year journey to get where we're sitting today. And somewhere along the way, you learn things about each other that you didn't know before. You pick up on a quality that you didn't see. Is there anything that you have learned about each other that was important to you?

Tom Bancroft: I can't say I learned this just on this film because of our background. We've known each other for so long. But I will say we leaned into it, which is that John is a prayer warrior. He was the guy that, whenever we would hit a challenge, and I love him so much for this, he would say, “Let's stop and pray.” He was the first to do it every single time. And it was what we needed throughout this production. He also has a Bible right in front of him. And when we needed to go to the Scripture, he had it there. We all knew the storyline and the plot at that moment that we were trying to tell. But he would bring something out of the Bible and say, “Well, here it says this little detail. Let's not forget that.” And so, it's hugely important. And shame on me for not always being the one to not go there. But honestly, that's the thing that I love about John.

John Schafer: Tom is a Disney legend, working on The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and others. He was the designer and creator of Mushu (Eddie Murphy) from Mulan. I was on this film for about a year when I realized I needed help. And the first person that came to mind was Tom. We've gone through the trenches together. We know each other. I trust him. And when you work on a film like this, there was a moment where I did have a fear factor. And when he stepped in, because of the Disney background, he very much could have had a sense of this is the way it needs to be done.

But it was the complete opposite. Tom, in his career, with his stature, he's much bigger and he's taller too. But he never looked down on me. He really helped me through a lot of things. That meant a lot. I've known him for a long time, but never to work on a film this big and there is a lot of heavy weight to this film. There's gravity to this film to tell the story about the life of Jesus. And so, I would say Tom has been an amazing friend, an amazing mentor, and he’s helped me through. We can't believe we made this movie that's coming out on September 5th!

There are a lot of movies and television programs that have been done about the life of Jesus. Some have been really excellent, while others have collected in the dust bin of history. What sets Light of the World apart from all of the other movies that have been made about Jesus?

John Schafer: It is the way we told the story. This is the story of the life of Jesus, but through the eyes of the young Apostle John. Going through that perspective, I think what sets us apart too is the style we did it in. We wanted to be 2D animation first and foremost. We love 2D animation, but also, there's something about being hand drawn, being kind of imperfect in hand drawing that makes it perfect. And also, we are imperfect and making a film about the one who is perfect. It just felt like our form of worship to God, of why we are doing this. We are keeping it in our skill craftsmanship. But at the end of the day, I really feel strongly it's a story about how we're introducing Jesus to a whole new generation of people around the world. For us, we never look at any other faith-based film animation, or live action. They're not competition. We compliment one another and we are going to reach different people in a different way. And so for us, I think when people come see this in the theaters, they are going to experience a children's storybook about the life of Jesus that comes to life. And so those who are familiar with the story, they're going to see it in a way they have never seen before.

Tom Bancroft: And that perspective is we are telling the story through the eyes of a 13-year-old boy that is leaving his family and going off to find this messiah, one that many people had stopped believing that he was ever going to come. He had been talked about for hundreds of years. And now this boy is going to go and find not only a messiah but a best friend. Being able to portray that is what makes this film different. Kids are going to see themselves in this movie.

What went into the decision to make John a young teenager? As you well know, a lot of people are going to see this movie and think, ‘Hmm? I don’t think John the disciple was a teenager.” I’m not sure either but I am well aware there are a lot of accounts that indicate most of the disciples were teenagers.

John Schafer: Originally, when we started on this movie, we had John as an 85-year-old on the island of Patmos. The idea was that children would always come and see him, he would tell the stories and we would go into flashback sequences. And then that way, if there was something that the children didn't understand, they could come back out. And older John could explain to them. But what we realized was the fun story was the one of being with John in real time. Everything he discovers for the first time; the audience is discovering it with him. And then it became more of that Disney type coming of age film. That's where we started shifting that direction.

A final question for you both. It's a simple one, but has far reaching implications. What is your greatest hope for this film?

John Schafer: When looking at the big picture my hope is that it will be shown in theaters all over the world and that millions, dare I say billions, would accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Tom Bancroft: Life change. How can that not be the goal? We are set up to do that. Honestly, when Matt McPherson (executive producer) started the Salvation Poem Project, he came to both of us at different times and said, “I want to make this movie. It's on my heart, and has been since the 1990s, to make a film about Jesus.” It always had the intention of reaching people that have heard the story but having them look at the story in a different way. And I do think that's what's going to happen in the United States but also people that have never heard this story, how can it affect them? How do you hear this story and not be changed by it? I think that He guided us in a way that we were able to accomplish that. This is going to be a movie that's going to change lives.

Light of the World opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, September 5th.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR LIGHT OF THE WORLD: