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Mel Gibson’s film Braveheart continues to grow in popularity two decades after it was made, perhaps because its story of William Wallace and the Scottish people fighting for independence resonates with Americans and their past – and their modern-day struggle to keep that freedom.
The story of Wallace is now being made into a family-friendly audio theater CD for children, and on this week’s Off The Grid Radio, executive producer Bill Heid joins us via Skype from a London studio to tell us why Wallace’s story is so important to Americans, what we can learn from it, and why he felt compelled to make it into a CD.
As it turns out, the fight for American independence would have been impossible without the Scottish people. Bill tells us why.
The CD is based on GA Henty’s popular book In Freedom’s Cause and features an all-star cast: Billy Boyd (Pippin) of Lord Of The Rings, Cathy Sara (Mrs. Drake) and Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates) of Downton Abbey, Skandar Keynes (Edmund) of Chronicles of Narnia, and Jimmy Cosmo (Campbell, Father Christmas) of Braveheart and Chronicles of Narnia.
Heid tells us:
- What Braveheart got wrong about Wallace.
- How the modern-day movement for Scottish independence – there is a vote this fall – relates to Wallace and his 14th century movement.
- Why audio theater, unlike television, can help awaken a child’s imagination.
- How Wallace can serve as a hero to kids.
Wallace’s fight for freedom against an invading king is a story that has inspired people around the world for centuries.
