I interviewed Michael Landon Jr. this week as part of his media blitz for "The Velveteen Rabbit" (one of my all-time favorite stories), which releases on DVD this month--March 17. The film features the vocal talents of Golden Globe® winner Jane Seymour (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” Somewhere in Time) as the mom, with Emmy Award® winner Tom Skerritt (Top Gun, "Picket Fences") as the skin horse, and Oscar® winner Ellen Burstyn (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Requiem for a Dream) as the swan. (You can watch the trailer here.)

I love the way Landon did this film in that part of it takes place in the “real” world and some is animated. My fourteen-year-old daughter watched the review copy with me to the very end--a good sign!

During our interview, I asked Landon, "If you were to speak to artists about how to communicate faith effectively, what would you tell them?"

His answer: "Use metaphors. Allegory. You do try not to just hit spiritual things right on the nose--that's why you go to church. But even a good preacher tells stories. Jesus told stories. Otherwise, you only speak to the person’s mind and not his or her heart. Good story telling does both."