What a surprise as I watched this hidden gem.  The last 20 years as movies got more and more frightful... I began looking at the family sections in movie rentals (where the "loser" movies were as they are often more innocent).  I found there films that I could watch and enjoy and my spirit was not offended and sometimes even fed.  Voyage of the Unicorn for instance with Beau Bridges was one such gem.  But this one here was a real surprise!  It turns out to not only be a worthy parable of a child's journey to their "Heavenly Father", but was taken from a book by Astrid Lindgren... and I just loved her Bullerbyn series which I'd been watching and reading for years.  The Library used to be a good source for such movies, but when VHS went out, so did they.  

SO.

This little boy has been living as an orphan with some relatives that don't love him.  He has to painfully watch his friend enjoy his loving supportive relationship with his father.  When he can't take it anymore, he leaves and a mysterious angelic shop owner, Mrs Lundin, (a Mother Mary symbol for sure.. ) gives him an apple and a letter to mail, which turns out to be supernatural.  The apple is the sign that he is the true son of a king (which I could see as a fruit of the Tree of Life ;) and the letter is written by Mrs. Lundin to the King of the Land of Faraway informing that his son has been found.  She sends him basically, also true of our Divine Mother.  And you get the sense she has been keeping an eye on him for a while and has known him but she stayed hidden as Mother Mary does too.

Then, ok this part is a little weird, the apple falls and rubs into a little bottle that exhales the spirit of a kind of genie guy.  I don't completely see the symbolism there and I am not certain whether Astrid Lindgren was intentionally doing even the parallels that I saw, it seems rather inspired to me, but anyway... the big genie head has the boy grab onto his huge white beard and off they go to the Kingdom of Faraway where his Father is King of all the land.  

As soon as he sees him even from a far distance, he knows exactly who it is!  He knows and recognizes his true father.  Even though Mio does not remember him and has lived on the earth for ten years or so with a completely different atmosphere and imposed identity.  And the first thing as they are embracing joyfully, the King repeats his name consolably over and over,, "Mio, my Mio".  The Father is at last consoled.  His son whom He's been waiting for for so long is finally home.  His only son.  As Father's heart is precisely for us!.  And Mio is ecstatic and fulfilled to know his real name, his real essence and be home with his father and begin to enjoy his inheritance in the wonderful Kingdom and land of Faraway.  His Father lavishes gifts on him and he makes friends instantly.

But, there is a sadness in the Kings heart.  And Mio soon learns why from the majic well and the local children and his Father's own words.  There is an evil knight near the kingdom who steals children.  And when back at his castle, if they do not work for him, he turns them into slave ravens that are bound to fly around his dark castle.  

It is not said why the King can not overthrow him, but it is prophesied that the King's son would come "accompanied with a single friend"  and overthrow this dark Lord Kato.  And everyone knew this prophecy and everyone had been waiting for it.

The Father is deeply sorrowful that Mio must face Kato, but He knows he must do it.  Now here I think rather God the Father tells us exactly how to avoid satan and evil, but I rather applied it to how we must directly confront evil when it stares us in the face and overcome it through our authority in God the Father, as Jesus did in the temptations in the desert and He gave us the means to as well.  I realize that this is not Father's plan "A".  Eve should have simply obeyed.  The Tree of Life and the Era of Peace are means of avoidance of evil rather than confrontation.  It is said in the Poem that Mary never looked at evil, she prayed and looked at God.  But many of us are weaker than that.  So, the need to reject.  I have learned that avoidance only works if we haven't accepted anything erroneous or worse to begin with, then we have to reject it necessarily and repentance and confession are a means to this as well.

Along the way they are given gifts to aid their quest.  And Mio is tested a few times as well.

The panpipe.  This could easily apply to the Rhythm and Harmony of God's will and the divine roll music plays both in Heaven and on Earth.  The powers of music are beyond our comprehension.  God the Father told Barbara Centilli for instance, that when we sing we pray twice.

It will reunite Mio and his friend and "realign" them back on the path of their quest. And the bread which most certainly represents the Holy Eucharist, which Mio and Jum-Jum will share with a starving man they meet along the way.

One of my favorite parallels with the Father Kingdom and this story is when Mio and his friend are running from Kato's men and find an opening in the trunk of a tree and they go inside it and it completely hides them.  An awesome image of the Tree of Life!  I would have a picture but my pc screen capture doesn't do video. and movie player  

A weaver woman weaves Mio a cloak with invisible properties, which will help him to remain hidden during a critical period prior to his confrontation with Kato.  Also Mary's cloak hides us to be unseen by evil at critical times.

The rest of the movie you can find at the wikipedia page online, but eventually Mio must confront Kato.  There is an illusion to the heart of Kato being transformed at the end... but since I paralleled him as a demon figure, they don't ever repent, but rather we could perhaps see the "heart" slain as a symbol of the defeat of evil and the transformation of all darkness into renewal and rebirth.  Which ultimately is about to happen, and soon!