Children’s movies
and cartoons are aimed at the immature, but many cartoon characters have
uttered beautiful words of wisdom while entertaining children with their
heroics and antics. With upstanding characters starring in kids’ favorite
movies, it’s safe to say that they’ve got some excellent role models. An online
post called “50 Inspiring Life Quotes From Famous Childhood Characters” said
exactly that. Some examples of such characters are Cookie Monster, with “Friend
something better than chocolate ice cream ... maybe friend somebody you give up
last cookie for”; Dory from Finding Nemo,
with “Just keep swimming”; and Rafiki from The
Lion King, with “Oh yes. The past can hurt. But you can either run from it
or learn from it.”1
Consider
especially Disney’s Pocahontas, who says, “How high does a sycamore grow? If
you cut it down, then you’ll never know.” The movie Pocahontas is not a
historical account of the real Pocahontas, but in the movie, this daughter of a
Native American chief is a noble, spiritual young woman. She expresses wisdom
beyond her years and offers mindfulness to those around her.
Pocahontas
is the first one to spot the ship carrying the Europeans. She later encounters
one of the settlers, John Smith, and the two get to know each other. They ask
all sorts of questions about each other’s peoples and cultures. The
conversation goes sour when John Smith unintentionally reveals his prejudice
toward Native Americans. Pocahontas then challenges his understandings and
explains to him the beauty and importance of nature and respecting the heart,
through the song Colors of the Wind. [Suggestion: Find a video clip of
this song on YouTube and play it for your congregation.]
Pocahontas
challenges Smith’s view of the world by showing him a new way, a world of
peace, love, justice and connection. The way the “Spirit” as she knows it is
portrayed is beautiful: images of wind, leaves blowing and the light that is in
everything she touches. Her song shakes up John Smith, bringing him outside of
the world he knows. She comes alongside of him to show him that there’s more to
the world than what he sees, and it’s not unlike what t
