The Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast

Jesse: Hi, Odyssey fans. I'm Jesse.

Bob: And I'm Bob. Welcome to the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast.

Jesse: Today on the podcast, we're hearing from Debbie Smith and Megan Rollins. Debbie oversees marketing for Odyssey, and Megan is the project manager.

Bob: We've heard from both on the podcast before, but we don't hear their names as often as some others.

Jesse: That's because Debbie and Megan usually don't have a microphone in front of them. But their work is critical to the program. We'll talk to them about their day-to-day roles and what they're doing with the animated film.

Bob: Speaking of the film, here's the latest news. For the first time, we can reveal the official title of the upcoming movie. Are you ready, Jess?

Jesse: Oh, yeah.

Bob: The film will be called *Adventures in Odyssey: The Movie*.

Jesse: I love it. And it makes sense since that's what everyone was calling it anyway. I mean, we were. But what happened to *Journey into the Impossible*?

Bob: Well, that's the tagline of the film. *Adventures in Odyssey: The Movie* is coming to theaters in 2027. Listeners have been asking for updates, and we're grateful for their patience. There will be plenty of podcasts coming with more about the movie, including today's.

Jesse: And that's not the only big news to share today. If you attend the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., anytime from June 25th through July 10th, make sure to stop by the Faith and Family Pavilion. There, you'll find at least two special things connected to Odyssey.

Bob: What's the first one?

Jesse: Me, Bob. I'll be there from July 6th through July 10th.

Bob: Well, that is special. What's the second thing?

Jesse: We can't say yet. Let's just say it's a surprise you won't want to miss.

Bob: Fair enough. Now let's turn to Megan and Debbie about what else is going on with the animated film.

Jesse: Let's.

Bob: Debbie, Megan, glad to have you in the studio with us.

Debbie Smith: Hi, Bob.

Megan Rollins: Thanks for having us.

Bob: Let's start with you, Debbie. In marketing, sometimes we talk about an elevator pitch. First, what is an elevator pitch, and then give us the elevator pitch that you would have for the Odyssey movie.

Debbie Smith: Absolutely. An elevator pitch is really designed to get you to think with clarity and to speak with clarity about something important to you. Imagine that you are walking into an elevator. You have about 30 seconds, sometimes a minute or two, and that's it. Your elevator ride is over.

If by chance the person or persons that you really want to talk to about something important are on the elevator with you, that's about how much time you really have to grab their attention. As you develop this compelling brief, it's good to practice it so that it is brief and clear and getting across all your points. That way, when you have that opportunity, you can hopefully spark someone's interest, get them to want to talk about it more, so you can follow up with a longer conversation much like when the doors of an elevator open, you've arrived at your destination and you walk out to where you're going.

Bob: At Focus, we only have three floors. So it's got to be a really quick pitch.

Jesse: It's got to be really good. Although they're very slow.

Bob: We do have slow elevators.

Debbie Smith: And then if they're waiting with you at the elevator door, you could have like five minutes sometimes.

Jesse: So what is the elevator pitch for the Odyssey movie?

Debbie Smith: *Journey into the Impossible* is an animated prequel to the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It's the origin story of the Whitakers' move to Odyssey after their son Jerry's death in Vietnam in the early '70s. Once in town, the family is thrust into an adventure to find a journal holding secrets to technology that could be used for great good or terrible evil.

Jesse: I'm there. Right. Good teaser there too. I have to find out. You mentioned in there it's a prequel, it's when they first move to Odyssey, it's set in history a little bit back there. So who's the primary audience? Obviously, diehard Odyssey fans want to know what's that origin story of the Whitakers coming to Odyssey. But newcomers, will it relate to them as well?

Debbie Smith: It will absolutely relate to newcomers. It's such a great story. Adventures in Odyssey is all about the wonderful, fulfilling, fun storytelling, and this film will not disappoint. If you're brand new to Odyssey and you don't know anything about it, you're going to have a great time and you can step right in and enjoy it. It's really a family film for everyone to go and enjoy together and have a great time.

If you like adventure, if you like mystery, this is the film for you. The other audience that we're really hoping will engage with us is those who maybe grew up on Odyssey and they haven't listened for a while. They haven't read our books. They just haven't engaged with us in a while. It's a great fun way to reconnect.

Jesse: It sounds like Odyssey fans can invite their friends who don't know anything about it and they'll still have a great time at the theater.

Debbie Smith: They will indeed, and we really hope that our fans will walk with us throughout this whole journey and partner with us and bring their friends. If you can, go and see the film at the theater, maybe more than once.

Bob: Megan, you're the project manager for the animated film.

Megan Rollins: I am.

Bob: What does that job entail?

Megan Rollins: My role with the animated film is very similar to what I do with audio drama. It's air traffic control. There are lots of moving pieces, lots of details that are going into this. The exciting part is this is new, and so we're all learning a lot of different things. My primary role is to sit in the conversations, sit in the meetings, and think detail-oriented. Do we have a contract for that? Have we received the invoice? Do we need to schedule something? It's very tactical.

Bob: Keep an eye on calendars and deadlines and those kinds of things. Because sometimes creative people need somebody like you to rein them in and actually keep them on schedule.

Megan Rollins: Absolutely.

Jesse: And there are so many details. I have to ask, what's been the most complex moving puzzle piece of this thing that you've had to manage so far?

Megan Rollins: Honestly, the biggest thing has been the communication thread, just making sure that everybody who needs to be in the loop or in the line is what I try to think of. In the line means I need to go from point A to point B. So, Jesse, if you are a decision-maker, you and I are in the line. But if Debbie needs to be aware of what you and I are deciding, she's in the loop. Making sure that the right people have the right information so that each tentacle of this project can keep moving forward successfully.

Bob: For either of you, how is marketing or managing a feature film different from marketing or managing an audio drama?

Megan Rollins: Animation or the animated film has the same components. Scripts still have to be written, studios still have to be booked, actors still have to be booked, invoices have to be paid. Everything that our audio drama does is still happening from the task component.

With audio drama, our team does everything internally. Our team is the one that's producing the sound effects, and they're working with our composers, so it's all in-house. Whereas with animation, all of those components are happening outside of these walls. Like Debbie said, we are working with some incredibly talented partners, but for me, I can't just pop down to their cube and ask them a question about what's going on. They're either in Nashville, or they're in Los Angeles, or I have to get them on the phone. That's the biggest difference. The tasks are the same; it's just the people are outside of these walls that are doing them.

Jesse: Debbie, you mentioned storytelling being the heart of Adventures in Odyssey, whether it's the audio drama. What have been the guiding principles for protecting the heart of Odyssey while doing something fresh and new? Again, this is really a new thing, the animated movie, a full-length feature film. It's amazing.

Debbie Smith: It really does start and end with storytelling. In this particular instance, Dave Arnold, who's been the long-time executive producer of the audio drama series, is the screenwriter. He knows and understands the characters better than we do, and he knows the story arcs of where they've been and where they're being led to. It's just been a great way to see all of that come together and the excitement of that really does start and end with really great storytelling.

Bob: Part of the fun of seeing a story for the first time is surprise. Moviegoers often complain that trailers, teasers, and previews give too much away. How do you balance promoting the film without spoiling the story?

Debbie Smith: You have to find the elements that you know and identify early on that we're not going to reveal. That's going to reveal too much about the story. We've had those meetings, and we have a pretty clear understanding of what those are. I can't talk about them now because it would reveal the story, the surprise.

But there's so much excitement in the film, and I think the trailers really do a great way of encapsulating that and giving you a visibility. They're usually very fast-paced, so you get that fun and you get that element. I remember the first time that I saw anything to do with the film because I had purposefully stepped away. I didn't want to see a lot of it. I wanted to be surprised. I had chills, I was emotional, and I was just so excited when I saw it and saw the quality and how fun this is going to be for us, especially as Odyssey fans, when we really get to sit in that theater, get my popcorn, and watch the whole film.

Jesse: A project this big is bound to come with pressure and tension. I know I have the pressure at the magazine, and now we're doing something new and huge.

Bob: And very expensive.

Jesse: How do you personally deal with the stress and personal strain?

Megan Rollins: For me, it's just being honest about it because we are all learning something new with this. I'll actually tell a story on Debbie. We were in a meeting, and I was completely overwhelmed with the topic that we were working through and the project that we were dealing with. It was one of those moments where I just had to honestly tell the group that I was in, "Guys, I'm completely out of my league with this project."

Debbie did the best thing for me. She looked me in the eye and she said, "Megan, we are all learning. This is all new for all of us. Just because you have been put in charge of this piece does not mean you are doing it alone." For me, it's just being honest when I'm feeling overwhelmed or not knowing what's going on. The teams that we're working with, not only internally but our external partners, have been so incredibly gracious and patient with us to where I can raise my hand and be like, "I'm going to ask a stupid question, but what is this that we just talked about?" They have all been so incredibly gracious to take the time to explain it. My biggest thing is just being honest when I'm feeling overwhelmed and confused.

Debbie Smith: I will add to that. I think that we all feel very called to be here at the ministry, and we all feel very called and blessed that our calling is Adventures in Odyssey. We've had the opportunity to work together for a number of years. I've worked closely with Megan on a variety of things, so we knew each other. She mentioned Bree; I've worked with Bree on countless projects here at the ministry, even those that don't involve Adventures in Odyssey. We've been able to build that trust and that close bond.

It starts right at the top with our VP, Jennifer Arthur. She gives us permission to be honest, as Megan has described. We really have to lean into that. Other techniques that one can use when under stress that I do all the time, if things are just really building up for me, I like to go for a walk. We have a fantastic, beautiful campus here, and when I go outside for a walk, which you can do almost year-round because the weather here is great, there's a lot of our Focus on the Family staff outside walking too. I use that time to really surrender that problem to the Lord, to pray, to just let it flow through me and say, "Lord, I can't do this; You can," and really to step into that. It's a great way of surrendering, prayer, and just giving myself that freedom. It's so gorgeous outside most of the time just to take that clean air breath is fantastic.

Bob: A deep breath is always helpful. Speaking of stress and strain, we have an interesting, totally random question from a fan named Evie. It's today's TRQ. Evie wants to know if either of you has ever jumped out of an airplane, which could either relieve stress or cause stress, depending on your perspective. Who wants to go first?

Megan Rollins: I will because I have.

Bob: All right. Cool.

Megan Rollins: I went skydiving for my 30th birthday, and it was amazing. I would absolutely do it again. Just the rush, the adrenaline, and the freefall were incredible.

Jesse: Stressful or not stressful?

Megan Rollins: I wouldn't call it stressful. I was definitely exhilarated and excited for it. And I had a professional strapped to my back, so I was like, "Listen, I'm just going to enjoy the ride."

Jesse: Tandem is good. How about you, Debbie?

Debbie Smith: Evie, I wish I had, but I have not jumped out of a plane. My biggest adrenaline-pumping activity is rollercoasters.

Bob: And watching the UCLA Bruins.

Debbie Smith: Well, that could be a heart attack, but yes, absolutely.

Bob: All right, Evie, thank you for your question.

Jesse: For listeners who might have a project of their own to manage, maybe it's a book report or a term paper, what advice would you give them when they're handling something that seems a little overwhelming sometimes?

Megan Rollins: This might sound silly, but the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Take that large project and break it down into smaller pieces. If you're working on a term paper, maybe work on the intro and the conclusion of your paper and get your ideas down, or just start writing down your ideas. Don't try to make it sound perfect right off the bat. Taking those big projects piece by piece and crossing those pieces off when you get them done gives that sense of accomplishment, achievement, and motivation for moving forward.

Jesse: I have to ask this question because I do this. Do you ever complete something that's not on your calendar and then you write it on the calendar and then draw a line through it?

Megan Rollins: Sure do.

Debbie Smith: Yes, I do.

Jesse: All right, I'm not the only one. What's been the most satisfying moment so far in this project? Something where you thought, "Okay, this is coming together."

Debbie Smith: I think for me that was when the project was greenlighted by our senior leadership. That was really just super exciting, and from that moment on, as we've talked about a little bit, so many doors have opened. So many partnerships have developed, people that come alongside of us that want to help and are willing to help. We just see God's hand in it, pushing us through, guiding us along, and lifting us up when we fall.

We had been talking about doing this film for a number of years internally, quite a while. Looking back now, I can see that the things that we thought were starts and turned into stops were God's blessing. Now the timing is right, and so we're just really leaning into that.

Megan Rollins: For me, it was reading one of the first drafts of the script. I got to a particular scene—I'm not going to tell you which one—but I got to a particular scene and emotion just came up. I think I got a little teary-eyed while I was sitting there and I could not wait to run over to Dave Arnold and be like, "Dave, I can't wait to see this come to life." It's been some of those emotional moments of loving these characters for so long. I grew up on Odyssey and now I’m working with Odyssey. Knowing and loving these characters and now getting to see them in a different way brought up the emotion for me, and I really loved it.

Jesse: I love that. Let's fast-forward a year from now. The movie's come out. How will we view success from a ministry perspective? Is it people re-engaging with Odyssey? Is it people re-engaging with their faith? Is it people just having a great time at a movie theater as a family and inviting their friends? What's success for us?

Debbie Smith: Success will really be all of our Adventures in Odyssey fans coming alongside of us throughout this journey, enjoying the film, leaning into it, having a great time, and having an opportunity to invite their friends, maybe their non-Christian friends. First and foremost, 100% our goal and our vision is to introduce millions of people to the Gospel message, and we think that this is just a great piece to do that.

Doing so through storytelling and through entertainment. Those of us that have been involved with Odyssey for a while, we know the incredible impact that Adventures in Odyssey has in the lives of people of all ages. I think for me one of the biggest surprises was the impact that Odyssey has on our older adults who may be living alone, and they find that Odyssey is their family. I was at an event one time and I had a woman, probably in her 50s, come up and she said, "Can I give you a hug?" I said, "Well, sure." Then she went on to tell me how much Odyssey had really helped her through difficult times, that she lived alone and the impact that it had had. Those are the things that we know God does through this storytelling, and we feel that when we really open up the doors to the theaters and bring people in, the impact will be exponentially more than we could even imagine. We do want our fans partnering with us all along the way. That will really to me be success because it's not about new, it's not about the old; we want everyone coming together at this time.

Jesse: I love that. How about for you, Megan?

Megan Rollins: I completely agree with everything that Debbie just said. But I think Dave said it best when he said, "Lord, make Your name great through this." Ticket sales will be great. Those are the tangible things that sure, you can count the number of tickets, and you can count the number of people that were in the theater, and you can count the number of club members that join and things like that. But what you can't count are the stories like Debbie talked about and the hugs that you get. Again, Dave said it best when he said, "Lord, make Your name great."

Jesse: That's so good. Thanks to each of you for joining us here in the studio to talk about the animated movie coming up. I know I'm super excited to see it and to invite friends and maybe have a watch party.

Megan Rollins: A watch party. Absolutely.

Jesse: Can you rent out a theater? Is this something you could do?

Debbie Smith: I believe that you can.

Megan Rollins: Yes, I think you can.

Jesse: Well, that'll be awesome. Again, thanks so much for being on the podcast with us.

Megan Rollins: Thanks for having us.

Bob: There are so many people involved in the creating of this Odyssey movie.

Jesse: We've only scratched the surface. We'll hear from plenty more on future podcasts. We have something else to look forward to in the meantime. There's a special birthday coming up.

Bob: Yeah, and we're going to need a lot of candles.

Jesse: The colors for the cake will probably be white, blue, and red.

Bob: We're going to need a lot of vanilla buttercream because everyone's invited. Of course, we're talking about the United States of America. Our 250th birthday is just a few weeks away on July 4th, 2026.

Jesse: To celebrate, we've got a two-part original episode coming up in the club. Who are we going to meet in this adventure, Chris?

Chris: Now in the Adventures in Odyssey Club, Wyatt and Sophie take an Imagination Station adventure to meet some American patriots.

Sophie: That's Ben Franklin, Wyatt! That's Ben Franklin!

Wyatt: I know!

Chris: But they find there's more to their heroes' stories than they remember from their history class.

Sophie: Why were they fighting?

Guest (Male): Mr. Franklin, would you like to tell her?

Ben Franklin: They were fighting over the letters I sent down.

Guest (Male): Because of those letters, there are riots across half of Massachusetts.

Chris: Little-known American history is revealed now in the Adventures in Odyssey Club.

Bob: Part one releases on Thursday, July 2nd, and part two follows a week later on July 9th.

Jesse: I'll be listening. That's all for this edition of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast, a presentation of Focus on the Family.

Bob: Visit adventuresinodyssey.com to join the club today, or check out odysseystudioinsiders.com for more about the movie.

Jesse: If you want to talk to someone in person, you can always call 1-800-A-FAMILY.

Bob: I'm Bob.

Jesse: And I'm Jesse, reminding you that with God in your life, every day is an adventure.