From Tim Burton to Brad Bird, many iconic artists, animators, and directors first cut their teeth at Walt Disney Animation Studios. As a result, many of our modern animated masterpieces (with and without the Disney brand) come out with a certain magical flavor fans adore.
One of the newest projects to hit the big screen this summer comes from the legendary Tom Bancroft. Bancroft is an artist who has had his pen attached to some of the most iconic Disney characters on the studio's roster. However, his film, Light of the World (2025), has a familiar flavor that might make Disney nervous.
Tom Bancroft and The Light of the World
If you don't know who Tom Bancroft is, you definitely know his work. Brother of fellow Disney alum Tony Bancroft, he was the pen behind many immortal Disney characters such as Simba, Iago, and Pocahontas, but he is most famously known as the creator of Mushu for Disney's Mulan (1998).
Since leaving the Walt Disney Company, both Bancroft brothers have been involved in a multitude of projects under various brands and studios. However, their most ambitious project yet is an adaptation of the life of Christ told through a very familiar style reminiscent of the Disney Renaissance.
One look at the trailer above, and die-hard Disney fans will recognize a style that feels like it would be right at home in Aladdin's Agrabah or even the depiction of the ancient Israelites in Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt (1998). In a time when fans are desperately craving classic Disney styles and stories, Light of the World could be an answered prayer.
Bancroft has never made his faith a secret, and his recent comments about his time on the new film speak volumes.
The animator shared,
"I'm applying the things I learned at Disney, and I'm guiding people within the production who didn't hear those things. And as we're sharing that and kind of working that together, I'm having more fun than I did on Aladdin, on Pocahontas, on Mulan, and I created Mushu... Now here's Light of the World and I could actually, for the first time, speak to my faith through my art.... I didn't know it at the time, but I've been working toward this moment my whole life. God has had me on a path that I could be here and help make this movie and have it touch me every single day."
Although its reputation has changed since Bancroft's day at the studio, Disney is no stranger to biblical epics and stories from scripture. Just look at The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997). However, Bancroft's vision seems to go places Disney was too cautious to tread.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that a lot of love and passion went into creating this film, and the visuals alone are striking enough to warrant interest. Hopefully, Bancroft and his team of artists, animators, and performers give us a film that makes us all remember what traditional animated films used to be like.
Light of the World hits theatres in the summer of 2025.