Bernadette: The Princess of Lourdes (CCC of America)

This week I am taking a break from book reviews at Stuart's Study. It is a welcome break as it allows me to catch up on some reading of heavier thinking books. However, it also gives me a chance to review products I normally wouldn't have as much time to do. CCC of America sent me their Marian Collection from their Saints and Heroes Series. There are eleven total movies in this series, but based on their home screen (the image above), there is potentially another one coming. The three pack of Marian animated movies includes Bernadette (Our Lady  of Lourdes), Juan Diego (Our Lady of Guadalupe), and The Day the Sun Danced (Our Lady of Fatima). I will be reviewing one Monday, one Wednesday, and one Friday. Today, we will start with Bernadette.

Bernadette: The Princess of Lourdes is a story that is within a story. It begins with the story of a young family that includes a father, mother, and a sick little boy. I'm not sure exactly what the little boy has, but he cannot see and cannot walk either. It seems the parents have tried everything to get the child healed, but nothing has worked. The mom seems to be having a crisis of faith, which is sad, but I would hate to pass judgment on her (even if she is a cartoon), because I don't know how I would act in her situation. The dad, however, is taking the family to Lourdes to see a cure for the boy, which leads us back to Lourdes in 1858.

The story of Bernadette Sobuirous is a pretty familiar one for most Catholics. She was a sickly little girl who was always behind in school. However, she had a deep love for the Lord. One day she was out with other girls and she say a "small young lady." She was asked to come back to this grotto for fourteen days straight. She was told that by the "small young lady" that there should be a Church built where she was appearing. And Bernadette was also told to drink water at a place there was no water yet. Bernadette followed all these instructions, despite ridicule and people thinking she was crazy. All she wanted to know was the "small young lady's" name. Eventually, she learned that her name was "The Immaculate Conception." A church was built in her name, and the waters where Bernadette was told to drink healed not only people in her day, but still continue to heal people this day.

The animation style for this film is not Disney "quality," but reminds me of older movies like The Last Unicorn or The Hobbit, kind of Rankin and Bass if you know what I mean. The film itself was short, approximately 30 minutes, but each DVD contains the film in both English, Spanish, and French. The time and availability of several languages makes it great for not only home use, but also religious education use. It's just long enough to give your children the basic message, but just short enough to leave them wanting more and asking questions, which is what you want when instructing your children in the faith. I highly recommend this for children aged 2-8. If you'd like a preview of the video look below.

This DVD was provided to me for free by CCC of America.


Bernadette from CCC of America on Vimeo.