First off, I have not seen this film and thus will not offer any judgment on its merits or lack thereof. That said, there are a couple of things in the review that merited a response.
To my knowledge, "This Little Light of Mine" is not usually regarded as a holiday song, but rather one that may be used year round and most often (though not exclusively) when children are involved. The light in question is usually represented by the light of a candle (this is the first I've heard of it representing the light of a firefly), though it's symbolic and often tied to the Bible verse about placing one's light on a lampstand rather than hiding it under a bushel.
Also notable is that no animals are mentioned in the Biblical stories of Jesus' birth. St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is credited with introducing the idea of including animals in nativity stories and settings. St. Francis has since become the patron saint of the animal kingdom.
Is salvation available to animals as it is to humans? In 2009, the book "Will I See My Dog in Heaven?" by Friar Jack Wintz was published, presenting arguments based on the Bible and the known works of Francis of Assisi in favor of salvation for animals. When I posted a review, it attracted a vehement rebuttal from a guy who was certain that the afterlife was strictly the purview of mankind and that when animals die, that's it. He dismissed out of hand anything not from the Bible, and was dead certain that his interpretation of any relevant Bible passages was the only correct interpretation and was not really open to the possibility that there may be other valid interpretations (believe it or not, this person was a furry). A quick google search reveals plenty of others arguing against animals having any kind of spiritual existence beyond their earthly life, though as the aforementioned book indicates there are also those who are strongly in favor of it. Don't kid yourself for one minute that there's anything close to a consensus across various Christian faiths on this point.
First off, I have not seen this film and thus will not offer any judgment on its merits or lack thereof. That said, there are a couple of things in the review that merited a response.
To my knowledge, "This Little Light of Mine" is not usually regarded as a holiday song, but rather one that may be used year round and most often (though not exclusively) when children are involved. The light in question is usually represented by the light of a candle (this is the first I've heard of it representing the light of a firefly), though it's symbolic and often tied to the Bible verse about placing one's light on a lampstand rather than hiding it under a bushel.
Also notable is that no animals are mentioned in the Biblical stories of Jesus' birth. St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) is credited with introducing the idea of including animals in nativity stories and settings. St. Francis has since become the patron saint of the animal kingdom.
Is salvation available to animals as it is to humans? In 2009, the book "Will I See My Dog in Heaven?" by Friar Jack Wintz was published, presenting arguments based on the Bible and the known works of Francis of Assisi in favor of salvation for animals. When I posted a review, it attracted a vehement rebuttal from a guy who was certain that the afterlife was strictly the purview of mankind and that when animals die, that's it. He dismissed out of hand anything not from the Bible, and was dead certain that his interpretation of any relevant Bible passages was the only correct interpretation and was not really open to the possibility that there may be other valid interpretations (believe it or not, this person was a furry). A quick google search reveals plenty of others arguing against animals having any kind of spiritual existence beyond their earthly life, though as the aforementioned book indicates there are also those who are strongly in favor of it. Don't kid yourself for one minute that there's anything close to a consensus across various Christian faiths on this point.