What Pixar teaches kids about spirituality

For two decades, Pixar has entertained and tugged at the heartstrings of children and their families through beautiful animation and great original storytelling.

But with the release of the studio’s latest, “Inside Out,” this week, some writers are calling attention to other characteristics Pixar films nurture in children — namely, spirituality.

Relevant magazine’s Jon Negroni says “Inside Out,” and its animated predecessors, have a lot of religious relevance.

“Christians should be action-oriented, and we experience a full spectrum of emotions in order to carry out God’s purpose in our lives,” Negroni wrote. “Pixar movies might make unusual sermon illustrations, but just like with any piece of art, at the core, they hit on deep truths that can inform and challenge our faith.”

And Pixar aims to take its subtle spiritual messaging a step further this November when it unveils a new short to precede its next release, “The Good Dinosaur.” Called “Sanjay’s Super Team,” the short film looks at meditation through the eyes of a young boy pulled into the Hindu faith of his parents. It’s based loosely on Pixar artists and director Sanjay Patel’s balancing of his Indian heritage with his American identity.

“I want to normalize and bring a young brown boy’s story to the pop culture zeitgeist,” Patel said in a statement about the short. “To have a broad audience like Pixar’s see this … it is a big deal. I’m so excited about that.”