The Story Of The Selfish Giant DVD

The Story Of The Selfish Giant

When a selfish giant locks the children out of his garden, he learns a lesson on gratitude, generosity, unselfish love, and joy in this heartwarming adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Story Of The Selfish Giant.

The Story

In a faraway village there once lived a giant who had a most wondrous garden. It was filled with trees perfect for climbing, and many beautiful flowers and shrubs. For the children of the village, the giant's garden is the perfect playground. They stop there often on their way home from school, climbing the trees and running about in the beautiful flowers. One day, however, the giant returned, and angry at the children in his garden he builds a high wall to keep them out. On the outside of the wall he posts a sign in large, angry letters, "No Trespassing." Months pass by, and as the rest of the countryside blossoms into beautiful spring the giant is surprised to see his garden still cloaked in winter. Months pass by and still his garden is frozen in perpetual winter. One day, however, the giant is awakened by the sounds of birds in his ears. He looks out his window, and much to his amazement his garden is beautifully covered in springtime. It seems the children have found a hole in his wall and creeping through it are once again running about in the flowers and climbing the trees. In one corner of the garden, however, the giant is surprised to see a tree still covered in snow. A little boy stands beside it, too short to climb the tree. Seeing the error of his ways, the giant helps the little boy into the tree, then knocks down his wall and declares the garden is now the children's. For years the children run about in his garden, but the little boy never returns. One winter morning the giant awakens and much to his surprise he sees the tree in the corner of his garden covered in springtime and the little boy once more standing beside it. But who is this boy? And why has he returned? This classic telling of Oscar Wilde's beloved classic The Story Of The Selfish Giant will delight viewers both old and young alike.

Valuable Lessons

Oscar Wilde's touching story The Story Of The Selfish Giant is filled with valuable lessons viewers of all ages can learn from. The first is that selfishness does not bring joy, while unselfishness brings joy not only to others, but also to ourselves. When the giant from The Story Of The Selfish Giant selfishly keeps the children from his garden he not only saddens them, but he also loses something very special to him. Only when he shares his garden does he find true happiness, because happiness is considering the needs and desires of others more important than our own. Another lesson parents and children can learn together from The Story Of The Selfish Giant is that unselfishness can lead to larger, unexpected blessings, as the giant learns through his garden and the village children. Compassion can also be learned from The Story Of The Selfish Giant. When the giant sees the small boy unable to reach the tree branch, his heart is softened and he reaches out in compassion towards the child. Like he will learn later, sometimes one act of compassion is enough to alter the course of your life forever. The third lesson families can learn from The Story Of The Selfish Giant is that sacrifice is the greatest act of love, something the giant learns when the little boy once more returns to his garden. As you watch The Story Of The Selfish Giant with your children you will have wonderful opportunities to discuss Biblically based values and concepts with them. Perhaps dialogue on why it is important to be unselfish, or how selfishness not only hurts them, but it hurts their friends, and it hurts the heart of Jesus. Maybe discuss how they can be compassionate towards one another like the giant was compassionate towards the little boy. Finally, you can discuss how sacrifice is the greatest act of love, especially Jesus' sacrifice for us.

Oscar Wilde

Irish Born playwright, author, essayist, and poet Oscar Wilde is one of the last people you would expect to write a book for Children with Biblical values and gospel messages woven into fairytale like stories, but that is exactly what he did. In 1888 Oscar Wilde published a collection of short stories for children. Included in the volume were five stories, "The Happy Prince," "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Devoted Friend," "The Remarkable Rocket," and the story on which this film is based, " The Selfish Giant." During his early years as an author Oscar Wilde wrote many fairytale stories for magazines, but The Story Of The Selfish Giant holds a special place among them with its virtuous themes, and gospel centered focus. While the author is not known for his children's work, The Story Of The Selfish Giant made into a delightful short animated film will entertain and be enjoyed by older and younger viewers alike.

Conclusion

A fairytale like story with Biblically based values and themes, and filled with valuable lessons The Story Of The Selfish Giant will be enjoyed by viewers of all ages. The unique artwork and animation, and the touching narration of this piece, makes The Story Of The Selfish Giant a special film to share with the entire family. With themes like unselfishness, compassion, love, and sacrifice, The Story Of The Selfish Giant will not only entertain children, but will also implant valuable lessons into their hearts and minds.

The Story Of The Selfish Giant has not been rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. As always, it is recommended that parents preview all content to determine what is suitable for their children, but the film The Story Of The Selfish Giant is generally considered appropriate for most audiences.

• Release: 2005
• Run Time: 25 Minutes
• Rated: Not Rated
• Format: Full Screen
• Languages: English
• Closed Captioning: Yes
• UPC: 7279850089524
• DVD: Region 1