[easyazon-image-link asin="B004G600A4" alt="Tangled" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/6194D-hiQtL._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="113" height="160"]Tangled is about a young princess, Rapunzel, taken from her parents because of her magic hair.  The witch who takes her (known as ‘mother’ in the film) wants to stay young and live forever.  She has discovered she can do this by listening to Rapunzel singing whilst combing her extraordinarily long hair. Rapunzel is kept captive in a tall tower and has never been allowed into the real world.  One day a young man, Flynn, comes across the tower and finds the princess.  He agrees to help her escape and in the process, they fall in love.  The rest of the film revolves around the adventures and fun they have as they make their way to the village for the lantern festival.  The pair have to escape from all sorts of problems and eventually come face to face with the witch who has kept Rapunzel captive all these years.  The film has a happy ending however, as eventually the princess is reunited with her real parents and lives ‘happily ever after’ with Flynn.

Scene 10 from 1 hour 17 minutes until 1 hour 24 minutes (or until the end of the film if you have time) Approximately 7 minutes.

The scene I have chosen from this film shows two acts of self sacrifice by Rapunzel and Flynn, due to their deep love for each other.  This would be a great way to introduce the Easter story and the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.   This film clip will help the children to understand the concept of ‘sacrifice’ and also to appreciate how much Jesus loved us, that he gave up his own life, so that we could be friends with God and have the opportunity of eternal life with him.

Towards the end of the film, whilst Flynn is trying to rescue Rapunzel, he is fatally stabbed by the witch.  Rapunzel knows that her hair can save him and so she requests that if the witch will allow her to save Flynn with her magic hair, then she will agree to stay with the witch for ever and let her use her hair to stay young.  This is the first sacrifice, ie that Rapunzel is willing to give up her chance of freedom and a ‘normal life’ so that her friend Flynn can live.   Flynn, however, has other ideas and decides to cut off Rapunzel’s hair so that the witch will no longer be able to use its power and will therefore die.  By doing this he gives up his one opportunity to be healed from the stab wound and for his life to be saved.  His love for Rapunzel is so great, that he cannot face the thought of her having to stay with the witch for the rest of her life.   The second sacrifice is therefore the fact that Flynn gives up his own life so that Rapunzel can be free from the witch.  (Younger children could find some parts of this film a clip a little scary and so I would aim to use it with your older children.)

[easyazon-image-link asin="6304676956" alt="Free Willy 3 - The Rescue" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V4MSGP0JL._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="110" height="160"]

A great film clip which can easily be linked to the crucifixion, forgiveness and also how God sees us as His children.

Scene 21 until the son and father hug each other.  (Approximately 5 minutes)

In brief this clip involves Max, a young boy, who has become good friends with a whale called ‘Willy’.  Max’s father however is an illegal whale hunter and intends to kill Willy.  Whilst on the boat and about to shoot Willy, the father falls into the water and comes face to face with Willy and tries to kill him with his knife.  The father comes to the surface for air at which point the net on the boat accidentally falls on to the father and pushes him under the water and he is unable to escape.  Willy sees the father is in danger and rescues him.  The father later realises he was wrong and the son forgives him.

Willy was willing to save the father, even though the father wanted to kill him.  In fact Willy risked his own life to save the father.  The link to the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross is pretty obvious.  Jesus died on the cross to save us and to allow us to have eternal life with God.  He did this, even for the people who tried to kill him.  Indeed on the cross, Jesus says “forgive them father”.

The father says to his son, ‘what am I supposed to do now?  I’m a whaler, that’s what I am.?’  Max is quick to reply and says ‘not to me, you’re my dad’.  Max could see past the wrong that his father had done and saw him as what he was, ‘his dad’.  Despite the fact that we are not perfect and we all sin, God still sees us as what we are……his children, hating the sin but loving the sinner.

Max quickly forgives his dad, even though he was trying to kill his friend Willy.  If you watch the clip for an extra couple of minutes you will see some friends discussing the fact that they could not have forgiven and saved the father like Willy had done.  Another friend then states, “maybe Willy is smarter than we are?”.  How much wiser or ‘smarter’ than us is God!  He knows better than us and will forgive us when we have done wrong if we are truly sorry.