Southern Gospel News SGNScoops Digital

The Stray captures the heart in a big way

The Stray

Sometimes God answers prayer in the most unusual way. Sometimes hardships and family crises become just the catalyst needed to make a change. And sometimes help comes from the most unlikely place. In “THE STRAY,” help for the Davis’, a family on the brink of falling apart, arrives in the form of Pluto, a stray dog who saves their lives—literally.

When one of the Davis kids prays for a dog, Pluto, a stray, shows up and makes himself at home with the struggling family. Mitch Davis, a workaholic father, seems unsure about taking on a pet, but when Pluto—“the Wonderdog,” they lovingly call him—manages to save one child and bring companionship to another, he can’t help but agree to keep him. But Pluto is not only a guard dog, he’s a guardian angel. While on a camping trip, Pluto the Wonderdog saves Mitch’s life during a freak lightning storm, and the act changes the Davis family forever. “He was the answer to problems we didn’t know we had,” someone explains in the film.

Based on the incredible true story of Hollywood producer Mitch Davis (The Other Side of Heaven) and starring Michael Cassidy (Argo, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) and Sarah Lancaster (Everwood, The Judge), “THE STRAY” is a film for all audiences and illustrates how the unconditional love of a pet can change your life and how important the love of and making time for family are. The film also received the Dove Family Approved seal for its portrayal of positive values. “Although The Stray reflects my personal story, I know there are countless families across America who could say the same thing about a pet that greatly impacted them with its unconditional love—which is why I hope families will see this film together,” Davis explained, adamant that audiences understand that God can work through the most unlikely circumstances.

Though it took a shock from God for Davis to learn, he hopes families who see the film together will come away knowing that “Families are what life’s all about. Families are hard, but they’re by far the most important thing,” in life. For the Davis’, Pluto helped them learn this lesson. “Pluto was a dog, but in our family he was an angel. He showed up in answer to prayer at a time when our family needed something, and we didn’t quite know what we needed,” Davis described. “Pluto gave us our lives back. We saved the dog, and then the dog saved us.” In the film, Davis ruminates to Pluto while staring at the stars in the sky, “We’re awfully small, aren’t we boy? Or maybe we’re just a part of something awfully big.” For the Davis family, Pluto was both.

THE STRAY released October 6, 2017 via Pure Flix. Visit THE STRAY movie website at www.TheStrayResources.com and follow THE STRAY movie on Facebook and Twitter and follow the conversation at #TheStray.

Reviewed by Suzanne Mason. Special to SGNScoops.

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Homeschoolers Hit the Big Screen June 5!

CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 20, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ — Apologia is excited to have partnered with Burns Family Studios on the successful April release of Beyond the Mask, created by homeschool alumni Aaron and Chad Burns. More than 70,000 moviegoers turned out to see the film in its Gathr opening, smashing the record for a theatrical on-demand release.

The record-breaking opening captured the attention of major film distributors, and the film was recently acquired by Freestyle Releasing, distributors of the wildly successful 2014 film God’s Not Dead.

Beyond the Mask is scheduled for a traditional release in select theaters on June 5, 2015.

“When we partnered with Burns Family Studios last month to promote the release of their new film we had no idea what to expect. But we knew it was an endeavor we wanted to support and to rally our homeschooling community around,” says Davis Carman, president of Apologia Educational Ministries.

Join us in celebrating this victory in the promotion of Christ-centered, family-friendly entertainment.

Plan to see Beyond the Mask in theaters June 5!