Parents' Guide to

The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Birth of Christianity artfully animated; biblical violence.

Movie NR 2000 91 minutes
The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 8+

Based on 6 parent reviews

age 18+

The whole point of this movie is to lie about Jesus that he never did any real miracles

Christians beware, do not show this to your children. It teaches that every miracle Jesus did was not a miracle at all. This movie is designed to rob children of their faith in God and His power. Please throw it in the garbage.
1 person found this helpful.
age 3+

An underrated masterpiece

This is a simple retelling of the adult life of Jesus. There's nothing really new added to it, except that it's through the eyes of the daughter of Jairus. That and the claymation- the animation is phenomenal. You know how so many times a film can have so many things going for it, yet in the end it just doesn't work? For whatever reason, this works. I's greater than the sum of it's parts. There's something very heartfelt about it, something that it's live action counterparts have never brought to the table. It's one of those that we watch every Holy Week without fail, and I highly recommend you watch it!

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (6):
Kids say: Not yet rated

For young viewers, the film's complex themes, life-and-death situations, and climactic crucifixion scenes may be too intense. And, as an introduction to the teachings of Jesus and the precepts of Christianity, sharing with grown-ups is recommended even for older kids and tweens.

This production garnered an A-list of voice actors in principal roles, including Ralph Fiennes as Jesus, along with Julie Christie, Miranda Richardson, William Hurt, Alfred Molina, and Ian Holm as supporting players. The animation, painstakingly created over several years, is a stellar example of the stop-action genre. The filmmakers' intention of making this movie true to Luke's Gospel and family-friendly at the same time is obvious; leaving out the sexual nature of Mary Magdalene's transgressions and creating the character of Tamar, a young girl, as the centerpiece in Jesus's healing powers certainly will help those intentions. The integrating of traditional cell animation to depict past events and parables may be confusing to some; others will find that it enhances their experience.

Movie Details

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