ANGELA YOUNGMAN speaks to award-winning UK animator Jonny Hall about his ambitious project to produce a year of animated devotionals to help young people engage with the Gospel…
Norwich, UK
Oscar and BAFTA-winning animator Jonny Hall has begun an ambitious program to produce 365 animated devotionals aimed at engaging young people with the Gospel.
Manna is a project Hall, who is also a church elder in Norfolk, has been developing over several years and exploring Bible content while highlighting the work of the Creator God.
The first pilot devotional has just been launched with the title of ‘Honey’, highlighting the way the word of God sustains and brings life. Given that each minute’s animation costs about £20,000 to make, he has launched a crowdfunding appeal to make two further episodes.
Hall talked to Sight about the project…
Jonny Hall. PICTURE: Courtesy of Jonny Hall.
Is this the only project where you have linked your faith with the animation industry?
“I’ve previously worked on a lot of animated projects for Christian organisations such as projects [for] Care for the Family talking about grief, and…Children of Shanghai but this is the first time I’m creating something of my own.”
What was the motivation behind creating this program?
“I love reading my Bible and I get so excited about all the fullness and depth you can discover in it. Not just big picture stories like David and Goliath, but all the intricacies and details we can find when we start to dig deeper.
“I felt that young people could really benefit by having something that had spiritual depth, in a short, digestible format. I also felt that it needed to be well produced in order to connect with them. I want this project to ignite in them the passion that I have for the Bible, and inspire people to discover it for themselves.”
How did you choose the devotionals?
“Generally, if I feel God speaking to me about something I’ll jot it down in my phone as a rough devotional – I’ve got about 50 so far. Then it’s just a case of selecting one and coming up with an idea for the visuals. The message has to come first though – it’s great to have nice animation but it’s essential to have a strong message because it’s the truth that changes lives, not good animation.”
What is the most challenging aspect of the project?
“Making the actual thing has challenges but it’s more-or-less within the realms of my skillset. Fundraising and promoting however is all out of my comfort zone. I’m so thankful that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness because I’ve definitely seen his hand at work in the areas that I lack. My wife also has many of the skills I don’t, so she is a tremendous source of support.”
What has been the audience reaction to the initial one? Is it being used as a teaching aid?
“It’s all very early days so far and we’ve got a long way to go yet, but the response to what we’ve made so far has been fantastic. We’ve also had a few school teachers eager for more episodes because they want to show them to their students.”
“I’m not aware that it’s been used as teaching aid in church but I hope that it can be in the future. I can see how watching one of our videos at the beginning of a talk, or in a home-group could set the scene for a topic of discussion. I also hope due to their short length that the videos will serve as a good evangelistic resource for people to share.”
A scene from one of the Manna animations. PICTURE: Courtesy of Jonny Hall.
IN SHORT – JONNY HALL
A favourite Bible verse…”I have loads so it’s hard to pin one down, but I do love John 21:7 when the disciples are fishing after Jesus’ crucifixion. Having caught nothing, a man tells them to throw in their nets on the other side to which they catch loads. John then realises who it is and says to Peter ‘It’s the Lord’. Peter then jumps in and swims to Him. I get such a impression of their excitement in recognising not just the Lord’s hand at work, but Jesus himself. We should all be just as excited to see God’s work in our lives.”
My favourite animated movie…”Spider-Man – Into the Spider-Verse. I’m not a avid fan of superhero films, but this movie blew my mind! From an animation perspective it’s beautiful and the story is so good too.”
My favourite Bible character?…”(Apart from Jesus!) I like Daniel – he is such a great picture of a man exercising his faith in a foreign land. He provides a good example for us because we become foreigners in a foreign land when we choose to follow Jesus.”
It is often argued that children spend too much time on screen. These animations could increase that time. What would be your argument regarding this extra screen time?
“I think we all hate how much time people spend on screens, children and adults alike – mainly because of how much rubbish is on there. However we can’t escape the fact that this is where people are. Jesus Himself came down to live amongst us – He came to where the people were. In the same way I believe that Manna is a way to penetrate the digital world and feed people with spiritual nourishment that would otherwise consume rubbish. Also they are short and powerful so hopefully not consuming too much screen time.”
You say there is a gap between content for children and adults. How exactly does Manna fill that gap and appeal to both audiences?
“I was brought up going to church and I can reflect now and see that there was a point at which the kid’s stories weren’t enough for me anymore and yet I couldn’t have sat through a sermon. Manna stands in the gap because it provides deeper content, but in a more visual and accessible format – something I believe will really resonate with younger generations.”
I understand that you have received help from Christian organisations. Can you say which ones and whether the crowdfunding appeal is succeeding?
“I spoke to several Christian organisations, who I’d prefer to keep confidential, but needless to say they were really generous with their time and advice. They liked what they saw in Manna and suggested that I should make 3 episodes to establish it as a brand, rather than one video.
“As for the crowdfunding appeal, I’ve been so blessed by people’s response. It was certainly not the route I would have chosen (putting myself out there in front of everyone I know and asking them for money!) but I really felt that’s what the Lord was asking me to do. We’re already halfway which means I can start production on the first episode whilst simultaneously raising money to make the second.”
A city scene from the Manna devotionals. PICTURE: Courtesy of Jonny Hall.
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What devotionals are you planning next and how long does it take to make them?
“You’ll have to wait and see but we’ll update our social accounts with visuals throughout the production. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
“They take roughly six to eight weeks to complete which involves writing, storyboarding, animation, colour, compositing and editing…so there’s lots’ to do! I’m currently storyboarding for our second devotional and will be forming the team imminently to complete the project.”
How can people access the animations or become involved in the project?
“We’ll upload them to our YouTube channel, Instagram and TikTok so make sure to subscribe and follow us! Then please do pray, give if you can and share this with your friends. We really want to build a solid community of people who want to see this succeed and are willing to release it into their own networks.