The Little
Red Truck is about magic.
It’s about the incredible things kids can achieve
when they believe in themselves.
The natural storyline of following kids in different communities as they rise to the challenge, however valiantly, of achieving the common goal of staging a one-hour musical fairy tale in just six short days provides for loads of entertainment. But it also provides the framework to communicate the film’s real message: that the arts are an impactful, important and necessary part of children’s lives.
The takeaway for the cinema audience is that when children have the opportunity to create art together, they learn to express themselves while working as a team; they gain self-confidence while learning to trust others; and they break through personal barriers while learning to accept others. And, when the show is over and the whole town is cheering for them, kids learn how it feels to be successful. The skills and attitudes learned during one intense week of immersion in the arts will help kids as they go through life, whether they want to grow up to be an actor or a zookeeper.
The sad news is that, in many of the 1,100 communities the little red truck from Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) visits each year, funding for arts programs has been slashed from school budgets. For many children, the week with MCT is the only exposure to the arts they have all year. Even in such an unlikely place as the Hollywood Schoolhouse in Hollywood, CA, the math and science departments are trying to steal funding away from the arts programs. The director’s vision is that the film will do its part in helping people to reconsider and eventually reverse this trend.
The director chose to film this story using small HD P2 cameras to capitalize on the bright, beautiful colors of the sets, costumes and theatre lighting used in many of the filming venues. The small cameras made it possible to get in amongst the children without them feeling afraid or self conscious. The HD quality will deliver a visually delicious experience for the cinema audience.
The natural storyline of following kids in different communities as they rise to the challenge, however valiantly, of achieving the common goal of staging a one-hour musical fairy tale in just six short days provides for loads of entertainment. But it also provides the framework to communicate the film’s real message: that the arts are an impactful, important and necessary part of children’s lives.
The takeaway for the cinema audience is that when children have the opportunity to create art together, they learn to express themselves while working as a team; they gain self-confidence while learning to trust others; and they break through personal barriers while learning to accept others. And, when the show is over and the whole town is cheering for them, kids learn how it feels to be successful. The skills and attitudes learned during one intense week of immersion in the arts will help kids as they go through life, whether they want to grow up to be an actor or a zookeeper.
The sad news is that, in many of the 1,100 communities the little red truck from Missoula Children’s Theatre (MCT) visits each year, funding for arts programs has been slashed from school budgets. For many children, the week with MCT is the only exposure to the arts they have all year. Even in such an unlikely place as the Hollywood Schoolhouse in Hollywood, CA, the math and science departments are trying to steal funding away from the arts programs. The director’s vision is that the film will do its part in helping people to reconsider and eventually reverse this trend.
The director chose to film this story using small HD P2 cameras to capitalize on the bright, beautiful colors of the sets, costumes and theatre lighting used in many of the filming venues. The small cameras made it possible to get in amongst the children without them feeling afraid or self conscious. The HD quality will deliver a visually delicious experience for the cinema audience.