A conversation for parents & grandparents
What are we showing our children?
And what would we love them to carry into tomorrow? A little more kindness. A little more wonder. The reassurance that they belong.
From a grandfather’s heart
Children deserve
a beautiful welcome.
“I want to offer something better.”
Carl Vanderheyden · Creator of Jesus Has a Horse®
Carl has sat in movie theaters with his grandchildren and found some of the imagery deeply unsettling. His concern reaches across children’s animated films and series from the past decade that feature sorcery, witchcraft, occult themes, demonic imagery, or intense supernatural peril. As a grandfather and a disciple of Jesus Christ, he asks what very young children are being invited to imagine, admire, and fear. These experiences and convictions are the starting point for a wider conversation about the worlds we place before our children.
A scene that stayed with Carl · Film spoilers. During his own viewing of The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, Carl was especially troubled by the altar scene, where the Flying Dutchman uses SpongeBob to free himself from a curse. Carl understood the scene as an innocent character being sacrificed and dying so someone else could be set free. That experience deepened his concern about what very young children are being shown.
Plot context: SpongeBob becomes a ghost when the curse transfers to him, and later returns to normal after the horn is destroyed. Altar and curse details · Plot summary and resolution.
His answer is to create a world centered on the boy Jesus, where the overlooked are noticed, friendship grows, and love is expressed through small, ordinary acts of care.
For Carl, choosing good over evil begins with the world we help children imagine: compassion instead of cruelty, welcome instead of rejection, and courage rooted in love. This is the heart of Jesus Has a Horse: stories that invite every child to feel seen, valued, and loved.
Families already have worthwhile choices. We want to contribute another one—beautiful, gentle stories that parents and grandparents can explore with their children. Families around the world, of every faith or no religious affiliation, are warmly welcome.
Concern, with care and evidence
What the research can tell us.
Children respond differently.
Some enjoy mild suspense. Others remain upset after frightening scenes. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises families to consider a child’s sensitivity, look into specific content, and watch together. New fears or disrupted sleep can be signs that a story was too intense.
The kind of story matters.
A randomized study of 565 children ages 3–5 found better parent-reported sleep after a family intervention replaced violent or age-inappropriate programming with educational and prosocial content.
This studied a supported change in media habits. It did not test Jesus Has a Horse, any particular movie, or religious themes.
These findings support thoughtful family choices. They do not establish that every fantasy story is harmful or that frightening imagery proves a filmmaker’s intentions.
Look beyond the label
Every story deserves
a closer look.
A rating is a starting point. Read the content advice too. These four examples illustrate different kinds of intensity; they are not a ranking of good and evil or a complete survey of children’s films. Content descriptions below contain mild spoilers.
David (2025)
Biblical adventure · U.S. PG
Angel lists this animated film as PG. The British Board of Film Classification describes battles, an animal attack, chases, and an enemy force in frightening animal-skull masks. It also describes the threat as mild, not prolonged, and resolved reassuringly. Those details help explain why one family may welcome the adventure while another may choose something gentler.
The Young Messiah (2016)
Jesus’s childhood · U.S. PG-13
Universal describes a story imagining a year in Jesus’s childhood and lists a PG-13 rating for violence and thematic elements. A boy-Jesus film does exist; the separate question is whether its intensity fits a particular young child.
The King of Kings (2025)
Animated life of Jesus · Passion scenes
The BBFC content advice includes whipping, crucifixion, threat, and injury detail. A story about Jesus can be meaningful and still contain scenes that a parent may want to preview before sharing with a very young child.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (2025)
Fantasy adventure · Supernatural peril
The BBFC describes ghosts, fantastical creatures, comic fighting, and threat with reassuring resolutions. The story also includes an altar scene in which the Flying Dutchman’s curse transfers to SpongeBob, turning him into a ghost. This is later reversed when the horn is destroyed. Carl experienced that scene as a depiction of sacrifice and death, and found it deeply disturbing. Families can preview these specific scenes and decide what suits their children.
BBFC content advice (see the 2025 English cinema entry) · Altar and curse details · Plot summary and resolution
How U.S. MPA ratings work. BBFC content notes are from the UK; classifications and released versions can differ by country.
The world we choose to build
Let love be the lasting impression.
When a story feels too much…
Overwhelming peril. Threatening images. A little viewer who wants to turn away.
…there is room for gentleness.
A friend who notices. A quiet moment of reassurance. Laughter, beauty, and belonging.
In Jesus Has a Horse, tiny Nudge carries a question children can recognize: Do you see me? Jesus notices. Maggie, the horses, and their friends make room for one another. These imagined adventures draw on Carl’s love for Jesus and a simple creative aim: to make kindness visible.
Our aim is gentle storytelling. Children’s sensitivities differ, so preview each story—including ours—and choose what suits your family.
A small, practical beginning
Choose together. Watch together.
Preview.
Check the actual scenes and sounds, not just the poster or age rating. Start with a short story. For preschoolers, consider frightening faces, separation, loud surprises, and unresolved danger.
Stay close.
Watch alongside your child. Let them know they can pause or stop. A good family experience does not require finishing a movie that feels overwhelming.
Make room to talk.
Ask: “How did that feel?” and “Who showed kindness?” Follow the story with a drawing, a hug, or a small act of care.
Informed by AAP guidance on children and frightening media.
A little wonder. A lot of love.
Come into a gentler world.
Explore our stories and free creative activities. Tell us what you hope your children and grandchildren will carry in their hearts.