AMAZING STORY
The Story Behind Superbook's "Let My People Go!"
By Zsa Zsa Palagyi
The 700 Club
CBN.com
–Superbook characters Joy, Chris and Gizmo are on another adventure! At a time when kids need God’s supernatural strength, freedom and direction more than ever, CBN presents its latest Superbook episode: “Let My People Go!”
From mighty miracles -- like God speaking through a burning bush; to insecurity issues -- like Moses confessing his inability to speak in public; to the widespread destruction God sent on the Egyptians; the extreme frustration Pharaoh displayed when he declared to Moses “I will never let your people go;” To the victorious escape the Israelites made out of Egypt, Superbook’s “Let My People Go!” brings the word of God to life with the latest computer animation, providing biblical truths for today’s youth.
“We used to have in America a biblical context about sin and redemption,” Pat Robertson shares. “People knew they were doing wrong when they were doing wrong. We don’t have that any longer. It just isn’t being taught.”
Superbook producer John Schafer says, “I think our biggest thing is how do we reach a generation to give this message, that there is someone who loves you. He created you, He has a purpose. But how do you do that in a way that if they’re not going to go after the Bible and read it or go to a Christian bookstore, what do you do? And we have to find a vehicle and a medium. And that’s where animation is strong.”
In each episode of Superbook, best friends Chris and Joy are faced with an everyday problem that Superbook helps them to solve -- by actually placing them “in” the stories of the Bible and letting them meet and interact with characters, like Moses.
In Superbook’s pilot “A Giant Adventure ,” children learn that they can conquer giants when they trust in God’s power. “In the Beginning” broke tradition by taking the familiar story of temptation and sin in the Garden of Eden all the way back to the fall of the angel Lucifer. And by July 2011, CBN plans to complete 10 more episodes -- 13 total -- encompassing scripture and lessons from Genesis to Revelation.
Schafer states, “When you think about the Bible stories, when people watch it whether they’re believers or not, there’s some type of spiritual truth that just resonates in them, And that’s why the original Superbook Series, you always hear so many people saying it touched them.”
CBN created Superbook as a part of a huge campaign to reach Japan nearly 30 years ago. It was a monumental success, drawing a weekly audience of nearly 4 million people. During the fall of communism in the 1990’s, Superbook aired across the former Soviet Union where millions of lives were changed by the series. People in more than 100 countries watched the original Superbook. It was translated into 43 languages and viewed by an estimated half billion people.
The updated series will reach millions more. With the best writers and producers and CG animation, the new Superbook rivals major studios like Disney and Pixar.
“Probably the show that is as epic as ours is probably Star Wars/Clone Wars. Usually characters you see on typical animation, there’s typically three or four characters on there, only a few set pieces.” Schafer adds, “Our shows typically have 22 characters in an episode, 15 of them are talking characters. The set pieces we use are very epic, like Pharaoh’s palace. Our shows are almost like little mini movies.”
Every detail and historical account is fact checked for accuracy and cultural credibility. In “Let My People Go! ,” Superbook producers were challenged with what really happened to Pharaoh.
Schafer smiles, “If you want to see how we handled the death of Pharaoh or the escape of Pharaoh, you have to watch and watch very closely to see how we handled it.”
And people are invited to do more than just “watch” Superbook. “The 22 minute show is a catalyst, a vehicle to get kids to draw into the bible, but we want them to have tools to learn, experience the bible more, and so we have to bring them into the interactive site, whether it’s on the web, whether it’s on an app,” says Schafer. “We have to make sure it’s in an area that they’re comfortable with.”
So how’s Superbook weighing in with its target audience? Kids who got a sneak peak at the latest episode -“Let My People Go!” - all agree… “We give Superbook two thumbs up!”
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