A longtime Hollywood artist has teamed up with a Catholic YouTube host to create a live-action film on Eucharistic miracles.

Ray Grijalba, host of the YouTube channel The Joy of the Faith, is co-producing the Eucharistic Miracle Movie, along with artist Angelo Libutti, who has worked in the art and animation department of famous films such as The Lion King 3-D, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Spider-Man 2. Libutti is also directing The Incredible Dream, which is in production, as well as the TV series Knights of the Cross.

The two said that Blessed Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died in 2006 and was the first millennial to be beatified, was their inspiration for the movie.

“I think viewers need to know that Blessed Carlo Acutis’ mom is in this film and she’s a big fan of the movie,” Grijalba told CNA in an interview. Grijalba’s YouTube video on Eucharistic miracles gained half a million views.

Libutti told CNA that the goal of the movie is to evangelize those who have been misled about the reality of the Eucharist.

The co-producers are excited about their live-action movie format, because they believe many people – believers and non-believers – will be willing to sit down to enjoy a quality film.

Libutti said that many Eucharistic documentaries have been produced, but he questions whether the format of those documentaries has the ability to grab people’s attention for long periods of time.

“What I’m trying to do is find the synergy between speakers in the movie and the live-action scenes,” Libutti said. “So, when we start to feel the talking is becoming boring, people have had a little bit too much, that’s when we’re going to put in the live-action so it’s going to interact perfectly.”

The film includes Catholic figures such as Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler; Cardinal Francis Arinze, former prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation of Divine Worship; Fr. Donald Calloway, author of the Consecration to St. Joseph; theologian Dr. Scott Hahn; Catholic Answers host Tim Staples; and Lila Rose, president of Live Action. The film also features interviews with a scientists on the miracles.

So far, more than $300,000 has been raised for the film, but the two co-producers are looking to double that number….

The above comes from an Aug. 9 story by the Catholic News Agency in Angelus News.