Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:50 — 62.5MB) | Embed

Earlier this month, and just in time for Christmas, Focus on the Family made a fun announcement: an upcoming theatrical adaptation of Adventures in Odyssey. Dubbed Journey Into The Impossible, this 3D animated film will explore the town of Odyssey before the establishment of Whit’s End. What kinds of adventures will a young John Avery Whittaker enjoy? (This special episode was recorded live.)

Episode sponsors

1. Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queen
2. A Faie Tale by Vince Mancuso
3. MYTH: Reign of the Immortals by J. F. Nickens

Mission update

• ‘Stranger Things’ Season Five Gives Weight to Parents’ Fears, A. D. Sheehan
• Subscribe free to get updates and join the Lorehaven Guild

Quotes and notes

• ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ Goes to the Movies? , Lorehaven, Dec. 4

‘Adventures in Odyssey’ Goes to the Movies?

• Adventures in Odyssey is releasing a new animated feature film.
• The working title is Journey into the Impossible.
• It’s scheduled for a theatrical release in fall 2026.
• Unlike previous video releases, this film is canon to the audio drama timeline.
• It serves as a prequel set years before the main series.
• The film will focus on a younger John Avery Whittaker (Whit), his wife Jenny, and their son Jason.
• The movie will feature 3D animation stylized with a “2D storybook appearance.”
• Creators say this will blend modern production quality with a nostalgic visual aesthetic.
• The project is led by long-time Adventures in Odyssey showrunner Dave Arnold.
• It also features work by former Disney animator John Pomeroy, ensuring faithfulness to the show’s legacy.
• A major goal of the film is to introduce the franchise to a new generation of families who may not be familiar with the 1,000+ episode audio drama.
• We discuss Whit’s enduring appeal as a “positive patriarch.”
• He is a wise, capable, and gentle male role model, contrasting with many father figures in modern media.
• The creators are prioritizing a theatrical release to encourage families, churches, and homeschool groups to watch it together as a community event, rather than just streaming it individually.

Next on Fantastical Truth

“In one cataclysmic moment, millions around the world disappear.” Jesus returned thirty years ago. Or rather, He sort of pre-returned, the warm-up act, if you will. Many faithful Christians believe in this kind of “rapture.” And in December 1995, two authors teamed up and used this idea to create the most successful biblical end-times thriller we’ve yet seen. Last summer, we looked back on the Left Behind series legacy. Yet now we’ll ask how that first Left Behind novel has aged, thirty years after its release.