I was provided by the publisher with a copy of this DVD to facilitate my review. As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

We’re usually very happy with the resources we find at Tommy Nelson – and we like the Legend of the Three Trees (the story/book).  But I’ll be honest: I’m pretty ambivalent about this DVD.

The Story

For those who are not familiar, the story is about three trees who have dreams of greatness.  Their dreams do not come true; however, each one ultimately plays a significant role in Jesus’ life.  It’s a wonderful picture of how we each fill a different role in the kingdom of God, even if those roles aren’t the ones we would have pictured.

This story is a fantastic way to bring meaning to Arbor Day!

The Movie

The movie is not super-long – only about 25 minutes – but it felt a little slow-moving or dragged out.  The music was matched up a little oddly, with a line about rain coming in just as the whole screen was filled with falling snow.  I wasn’t a big fan of that first song, either, which had a feel-good message implying, “Just dream it and it will happen.”  (I doubt my kids were paying that close attention, though.)

If you have avid movie-watchers or non-readers, or otherwise have a preference for the screen, this might be a good choice.  The animation is solid.  There are some critters added, too, that are appealing to the little ones and add some minor comic relief.

But if reading is an option, I would personally just stick with the book.