CD Review: The Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament - Dramatic Audio Bible

Our culture today (particularly among the so-called millenial generation) is a media-soaked culture. Millenials consume media at a greater rate than any other generation. With this in mind, Thomas Nelson published the Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament in a dramatized audio version. The star-studded cast features a number of younger Hollywood stars including Sean Astin, Anasophia Robb, Corbin Bleu, Jordin Sparks, and many others. The idea is simple: present an audio drama version of the New Testament targeted towards millenials who are more likely to sit and listen to a drama than read the Bible.

Pros
This is a high quality production. It's pleasant to listen to and makes for an enjoyable experience. I felt like I was really immersed in the biblical narrative through the presentation.

Some of the casting choices were quite good and performed better than I expected for an audio drama. This is a much different type of acting where you have to relay a wide range of emotions and thoughts through the voice.

Each book of the bible also has an audio introduction by Max Lucado and Jenna Lucado. These were very helpful in setting up the context for each book so that the listener could fully understand what was happening at the time the book was written.

Cons
The production is obviously targeted towards a younger audience. The producers chose to use the International Childrens Bible (ICB) translation for the script. While this offers the benefit of having plainer and simpler language (particularly in the narration) it felt a little like the scripture was being watered down for the audience. The ICB lacks the beauty of other English translations of the Bible and this is particularly apparent when it's being read aloud.

The intentional casting of younger actors to appeal to a younger audience also seemed like a bit of a drawback. As a result, some of the performances lacked a bit of gravitas that you would hope for in a presentation such as this.

That being said, this is still a reasonably good production. Families who are looking for an audio bible to listen to with younger children will do well with this production.

The audio bible comes on 3 MP3 CDs as well as a behind the scenes DVD that offers insights into the production.

I would recommend this for families with pre-teen and teenage children.

This product was provided for review through the Booksneeze program. No compensation apart from the product to be reviewed was provided in exchange for this review.

DVD Review: Peter Pan

One of our family's favorite Disney movies is Peter Pan. The timeless story about a boy who doesn't want to grow up is one that we never get tired of watching. When I heard that Disney was going to release the movie in a new 2-disc edition I wondered whether it would be worth owning especially since I already had the VHS and earlier DVD version of the movie. Once I saw everything that had been added for this new edition I was blown away.

The film itself has never looked better. The updated digitial remastering of the video as well as the home theater Surround Sound mix have both dramatically enhanced the movie.

The second disc offers a number of terrific bonus features that will enhance the viewing experience. For the first time, viewers will get to hear in Walt Disney's own words "Why I Made Peter Pan". There is also the alternate opening to the film in "The Peter Pan That Almost Was". The photo gallery features storyboards and live-action reference photographs that were found in the Disney archives. Also included is a 1952 featurette "The Peter Pan Story" and a look at the many different variations the story took on during production and why it took so long (16 years!) to bring the movie to life.

Music also plays an important part in this movie. Viewers will get to hear the songs that didn't make it into the film (as well as the concept art for those numbers). T-Squad performs "Second Star to the Right" in what clearly is a Disney Channel music video.

But the brightest spot musically speaking is a new song that was written by Richard Sherman, legendary Disney composer. The lyrics to an unfinished song were found in the archives. Sherman was commissioned to compose the music. The end result is a marvelous ballad which is beautifully performed by Paige O'Hara (the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast).

Anyone who is a fan of Peter Pan or is being introduced to the movie for the first time will thoroughly enjoy this DVD. The continuing appeal of this film should be enhanced by this 2-disc set.

This article was originally published at Blogcritics.