Customer Reviews

Francesco's Friendly World:Gifts of C [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's not always easy to show little ones that gifts aren't always shiny and beautiful, wrapped up in fancy paper and tied with ribbon, but this video shows how it can be very satisfying to give nontraditional gifts. I used it for an elementary Sunday School class and it was very effective. Wish it were available on DVD.

it's a nice story, but i would like to see it on dvd. ever since we had to get cable instead of analog we couldn't watch vhs.
it's a cute story about the true meaning of christmas: giving gifts stronger than the kind wrapped up in nice little bows.

I bought this movie for my kids and it moved me to tears when Francesco sang 'Silent Night'. I don't cry so easily, especially while watching cartoons! I won't spoil it for you. Watch it yourself to see why. I don't mind the talking animals at all. The kids get a kick out of the animals and their funny voices. We watch this movie every year, among only a handful of others, because it is one of few that remind us of the true meaning of Christmas: Christ's birth. It also reminds us that 'it's better to give than to receive.' Two solidly Christian messages. I, like the other reviewers, wish it was on DVD. I also wish there was a Francesco movie that explains what Halloween is really about.

Since info on this title is scarce, let's start with the Plot: It is Christmas Eve. Francesco (the main character, obviously based on St. Francis of Assisi) is decorating the church at San Damiano for Christmas. He tells his (talking) animal friends that he will have a surprise for everyone that night. The animals decide to get three presents for him in return: a new robe to replace his old, tattered one, a Christ Candle for the middle of his Advent Wreath and a cake for Baby Jesus' birthday. They go to great lengths to acquire these presents, but chance encounters force them to decide whether to give the gifts to needy people instead.

Very moving, with music of a better quality than many other children's television shows (includes a few well-known Christmas carols). I was impressed by the message that "It is better to give than to receive," and how they tied that into the story. It runs over 40 minutes which is longer than most of the Christmas specials I show my children. I suppose I could nitpick over the anachronisms if I wanted to, since the Christmas carols featured were written well after St. Francis' time and he didn't have an Advent Wreath, either (though he did produce the first Nativity scene, a historical fact that is incorporated into this story). However, it's such a good show that it's easy to give it a pass. Besides, if they went for historical accuracy they'd have to use medieval Christmas carols in Latin or Italian which few would recognize anyway, and I don't think St. Francis would mind the hymns in this show since they glorify Our Lord. Were he around today he'd probably be singing them.

The only other problem I imagine some might have would be the talking animals, but hey, it is a kid's cartoon after all. Though it's not made by Disney, I imagine this is how Disney would have done a movie about the Poverello. Besides, there is an old medieval belief that animals receive the gift of speech on Christmas eve, so maybe you can take solace in that thought while watching it. All in all, the show glorifies God, keeps Christ in Christmas and teaches children to be charitable, so if that's what you want in a children's show then why not try it? I just wish they would release it on DVD one day.