The Cedarmont Kids Movie (1997)

The Cedarmont Kids Movie is a 1997 live action film centering on the christian children's band Cedarmont Kids released in 1997. It released on January 17 of that year.

Plot
One day while attending church, the Cedarmont kids learn that Jesus had the power of healing. They want to know if they can obtain that power to heal their sick grandparents. So they travel back in time to get what they need.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The film is known to be one of the greatest christian movies of all time and it doesn't tend to rehash anything that the modern christian movies from 2010-present would do.
 * 2) The concept of a group of children traveling back in time to get a healing power from the lord and savior is creative.
 * 3) The kid actors have their usual look to them from the early 90's. In fact, the movie was in development since 1994.
 * 4) It's not afraid to do rap in a christian movie. As most of them are very clean and don't contain any cussing to make it safe for christian audiences and families.
 * 5) It does a very good job at advertising Parappa The Rapper which released one month earlier. Speaking of Parappa The Rapper, during the Like A Prayer scene, the choir resembles characters from that game. Especially when Mrs Donna raps about teaching Eleanor how to drive a bus.
 * 6) Jesus's counterpart is very well done. Even better, Keanu Reeves was the voice of him.
 * 7) The kids are very likable and their singing is very heartwarming.
 * 8) It tackles some mature themes such as autism, death, disability, racism, divorce, incarceration and dealing with a traumatic event.
 * 9) Despite being a movie about Cedarmont Kids, their songs are used mostly in the movie.
 * 10) Some very emotional scenes, such as when Eleanor is banished from Bethlehem in the past and sent back to the future and she goes to a church to cry.
 * 11) The film has some very strong messages. All of which can help christians learn more of.
 * 12) The original score by David Newman is outstanding and plays out like it tells the audience a story.
 * 13) It tells us that saying curse words can sometimes be considered a sin.
 * 14) Eleanor's death is one of the most emotional scenes of all time in a christian movie.
 * 15) It became the first christian movie to reach the billion dollar mark.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Depending on your view, showing rap in a christian movie wasn't a good idea.
 * 2) The visual effects in the movie haven't aged well.
 * 3) Some scenes can be terrifying to younger audiences, such as Tifa's hallucination of what hell looks like.
 * 4) There are a few songs that do not sound suitable for a religious movie such as Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks And Cannibal Girls by White Zombie. In fact, both this and Beavis & Butt-Head Do America were almost box office bombs due to both movies having the same song. Thankfully, the title was changed just for the film, which was known as Rats, Tanks and Women.
 * 5) The concept of kids driving a bus was a really weird and poorly executed idea since in reality, you have to be 16 or older and have a driver's license to drive stuff.