In this first Toon My Heart episode for 2025, Tracy is taking a look at Disney's 2000 animated short film, "John Henry," about the black folk hero and his famous competition against a steam drill. And she's joined by the Burden brothers, hosts of "A Burden for the Times," a podcast all about clarifying conversations on culture and race. They discuss whether representation matters in media and how it can be done right, the real history behind the legend of John Henry and whether that affects how we view the film, how this tale of self-sacrifice and leading others to a promised land reminds us of the Gospel, and more. Find out director Mark Henn's faith shines through in this small but mighty animated film.

Mentioned in this episode:

• A Burden for the Times: https://www.aburdenforthetimes.com
• "A Black Hero Comes Up Short" by Jim Hill (Orlando Weekly): https://www.orlandoweekly.com/arts/a-black-hero-comes-up-short-2262183
• "American Legends (featuring John Henry)" by Ben Simon: https://animatedviews.com/2007/american-legends-featuring-john-henry
• The Tiara Talk Show: Interview with Director Mark Henn for 15th Anniversary of "John Henry": https://tammytuckey.com/the-tammy-tuckey-show/interview-with-director-mark-henn-for-15th-anniversary-of-john-henry
• "Mark Henn: Disney Animator on Frozen, Christian Faith and Fairy Tales" by Hannah Goodwyn (CBN): https://cbn.com/article/christian-life/mark-henn-disney-animator-frozen-christian-faith-and-fairy-tales
• John Henry by Roark Bradford, illustrated by J.J. Lankes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(novel)
• Steel Drivin' Man: John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend by Scott Reynolds Nelson: https://www.amazon.com/Steel-Drivin-Man-Untold-American/dp/0195341198
• "The Ballad of 'John Henry' Elicits Varied Feelings For Some Black Appalachian Residents" by Nicole Musgrave: https://wvpublic.org/the-ballad-of-john-henry-elicits-varied-feelings-for-some-black-appalachian-residents
• The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast: Mark Henn: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mark-henn/id911802874?i=1000641496547
• The Bancroft Brothers Animation Podcast: Why We Left Disney: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-we-left-disney/id911802874?i=1000504727924
• "The Legend of John Henry" (1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLRBzT7VbXc
• "John Henry and the Inky-Poo" (1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VoTLLb08R4 (beginning at 43:40)
• Light of the World movie: https://lightoftheworld.com

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com

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In each "Showtune My Heart" episode, Toon My Heart host Tracy Herold and a special guest discuss one of their favorite songs from an animated movie from a Biblical perspective. In this episode, our special guest is Donnie Lakes, the host of another Christian podcast called The Ride of Your Life and founder of Ride of Your Life Ministries, which seeks to share the gospel with coaster and theme park enthusiasts. For our conversation, Donnie has chosen the most iconic song from Pixar's groundbreaking first feature-length computer animated film Toy Story: You've Got a Friend in Me, written and sung by Randy Newman. In the movie, of course, this song is about the friendship between Woody and Andy. But how can its lyrics also remind us of our greatest friend of all, Jesus, the friend who sticks closer than a brother, and what can it teach us about what it means to be good friends to each other and love one another as God commands?

Mentioned in this episode:

• Ride of Your Life Ministries: https://www.rideofyourlifeministries.com
• @rideofyourlifeministries on Instagram, Threads & Facebook; @roylministries on X
• The Ride of Your Life podcast S4E17, "Toons with Truth": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo_b5FULAnk&list=PL1qoFCW31dQ61FJZPTVMQovey_lWdlUQp&index=3
• "Toy Story: How Randy Newman Provided the Perfect Soundtrack": https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/toy-story-soundtrack-feature/
• "Randy Newman, The Musical Voice of Toy Story": https://www.npr.org/2019/06/21/734515413/randy-newman-the-musical-voice-of-toy-story
• "Quentin Tarantino refuses to watch Toy Story 4 because Toy Story 3 ended perfectly: 'I'm done!'": https://ew.com/quentin-tarantino-refuses-watch-toy-story-4-8702960

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com

Questions, comments, or suggestions? Or do you have a song you'd like to discuss on "Showtune My Heart"? Email toonmyheartpodcast@gmail.com

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"Small but mighty" is the theme of the day as Toon My Heart takes a break from feature-length films to examine the Disney short film "The Legend of Johnny Appleseed," part of 1948's Melody Time. Featuring the song "The Lord is Good to Me" sung by Dennis Day (who also narrates and does all of the character voices), and a character who carries a Bible, interacts with his guardian angel, and goes to Heaven, this short is one of the most open and positive portrayals of Christianity you'll find in any Disney film. But that doesn't mean that Christians should watch it uncritically. Host Tracy Herold discusses the responsibility we have when watching media depicting actual historical figures, such as John Chapman (also known as Johnny Appleseed), before launching into the lessons we can learn from this fictional Disney-fied version of Johnny Appleseed-- lessons about faith, determination, kindness, and how God delights in using the weak and foolish things of the world to do His work. Also featured in this episode is an interview with special guest Alison Bond of Kindness Through Letters Mission Project.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kindness Through Letters Mission Project (KTLM Project) on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kindnessthroughletters?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Allison Bond's Paypal to donate to KTLM: https://www.paypal.me/alliebmusic23

KTLM Project Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/29PHSLW7U958Z?ref_=wl_share

Heaven by Randy Alcorn: https://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Randy-Alcorn/dp/0842379428

Music by REDproductions, sourced from Pixabay.com

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