Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Polar Express

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

Welcome to the second movie in the Christmas At The Movies series. It’s a fun look at Christmas movies and the leadership lessons they can teach. We’ve partnered with our church, The Gateway Church, to provide supplemental content as they share the faith-based lessons these movies can teach.

Red movie theater curtains

Today, we’re diving into the leadership lessons in The Polar Express. Fun fact for those of you who haven’t been following Reel Leadership and the blog for an extended period of time, I welcomed my friend, James W. Schreier, to share his thoughts on it. He’s a lover of leadership and trains. It was a perfect fit for him. Now, we’re bringing you our take on this family-friendly movie.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Godzilla Minus One

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

Godzilla has been terrorizing audiences since 1954 when he debuted in Godzilla. Now, in 2023, it feels like he’s returned to his roots in Godzilla Minus One.

Godzilla Minus One is a complicated movie with lots of themes. Guilt, shame, love, loss, triumph, forgiveness, and more are packed into the two-hour, five-minute runtime.

The film is set in the 1940s during and after World War Two. Kamikazee pilot, Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), returns his plane to a Japanese military repair outpost. The problem? Shikishima’s plane wasn’t damaged. He was fleeing from the battle and didn’t want to die. He wanted to survive.

Giant monster with spikes on back attacking a city and scowling

Shortly upon landing, the irradiated monster Godzilla appears, killing most of the other soldiers on the island. This leaves Shikishima with more shame.

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

Christmas At The Movies

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

I’ve partnered with my church, The Gateway Church, for a mini-series called Christmas At The Movies. In my blog posts, I will examine the leadership and personal development lessons movies can teach. The Gateway Church will examine the spiritual and life lessons you can take away from them.

Red movie theater curtains

It’s a great partnership and one that works well for this blog. 

Today’s Reel Leadership Christmas At The Movies movie is the 1966 classic Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It’s the story of the Grinch (voiced by Boris Karloff), a mean green creature, who hates Christmas and will stop at nothing to destroy the joy, hope, and love of the people of Whoville. 

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From Disney’s Wish

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

Thanksgiving weekend saw the release of the latest Walt Disney Animation Studios. That movie? The heartwarming Wish.

Written by Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore, and Chris Book and directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, Wish tells the story of the young Asha (Ariana DeBose). Asha is a precocious young woman who desires to be an apprentice to King Magnifico (Chris Pine). Little did she know how evil the king was.

Asha, a young girl from the movie Wish, looking up with a blue background with circles

Upon finding out, she’s disgraced. Kicked out of the palace. Sent on a new journey. 

As she’s bemoaning the fact that the king is evil and stealing the dreams of his citizens, Asha wishes upon a star. This wish changes everything.

This story lends itself well to leadership principles, especially since you can see the negative path King Magnifico took. Let’s take a look at the leadership lessons in Wish!

Quotes And Leadership Lessons From The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes

A Reel Leadership Article

My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book.

It’s been 9 years since we visited the capital city of Panem, created by Suzanne Collins. In The Hunger Games, every year, there is a reaping (choosing of contestants) and The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a fight-to-the-death battle between the randomly chosen contestants of various districts. It’s a brutal way for the government to control the districts.

But The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is different. We’re not at the 75th annual Hunger Games. We’re near the beginning, taking place during the 10th Hunger Games. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is a prequel to what has already come.

Scene from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler. Blonde man in a red suit coat looking intently at a girl with brown hair.