Lion King Animation Artist Tells Children: Search for Your God-Given Talents

By Luke Leung

Towards the end of last year, Davy Liu, who was recruited by Disney Animation in the early 90s and worked on such feature films as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, and Mulan, led a children’s gospel rally titled “The Enchanted Tree” at the Evangelical Chinese Bible Church in Vancouver.

That night, Liu shared his testimony of faith and revealed his most recent project "The Enchanted Tree" that will be published in 2011 through his company Kendu Films. This project is part of the series of 12 feature animated films based on the stories from the Bible, as told from the animals' perspectives. The series is called the Invisible Tails series (IT's).

Liu’s family immigrated to the United States from Taiwan when he was thirteen. He found refuge in his natural talent – art – while he struggled to adapt to the new culture and language. Prior to discovering his natural talents, he thought that he was an inconspicuous marble, but later realized that in God’s eyes he is a bright and shining diamond.

His testimony sends off the message that inspires the listeners to search for their own unique God-given talents without the need to compare with others. The most important thing is to live out a life of worthy of eternity. Afterwards, he led many children to place their faith in Jesus Christ.

Liu enjoys traveling to China, where he leads tours, gives workshops, and finds new subjects and inspiration for his painting. Liu maintains a dynamic, public, working studio and gallery in Laguna Beach, California with his wife, Joan, their daughter, Sabrina and their cat Daisy.