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Insights:
Neverland
is the realm of childhood where Peter Pan, the spirit of
youth, resides. Disney's new film, Return to
Neverland, is aptly named, for the movie is about the
loss of a child's heart and how a young girl must return to
Neverland in order to find it.
Jane,
Wendy's daughter, loses her heart the moment her father
departs for war. Without realizing the impact of what
he is saying, he asks Jane to take care of her mother and
brother while he is away. From that moment Jane
assumes a responsibility that she was never intended to
have. The result is a loss of heart and a loss of
childhood. This loss is beautifully captured in the
song, "I'll Try."
On
the eve before being sent off to the country with the other
children, Jane is whisked away to Neverland by Captain Hook
and his pirates. It is an incredible picture of how
the wounded heart of a child is easy prey to the powers of
darkness. Finding herself in a supernatural land, the
land of her mother's stories, does not phase the shut-down,
unbelieving heart of Jane. She continues to make her
lists and is determined to find her own way home. Her
pathetic little raft is a powerful metaphor for an
unbelieving heart trying to get to God on its own terms.
During
the hunt for Captain Hook's treasure, Jane experiences the
joy, laughter, and fun of childhood. It is no surprise
then that the treasure Jane finds is really her own
heart. Having found it, she is initiated back into the
realm of childhood by becoming the first "lost
girl".
The
recovery of heart does not come without repentance; it never
does. Jane's unbelief has had serious
consequences for Peter and Tinkerbell. With her heart
restored, Jane is at last able to fly, a symbol of a heart
set free. No longer weighed down with duties and
obligations beyond her years, Jane is able to return
home. She is not only restored to her mother and
brother, but to her father as well. For this heart,
the war is over.
Scripture:
Proverbs
4:23
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