Not content to spoil everyone's fun with crackers that may or may not be jebus the Vatican have been going mental over the golden compass and putting pressure on the production people to prevent a the second book being made into a film.
The His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass/Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) does have some quite pointed things to say on overly dogmatic organised religion but I think it is mis-characterisation to say it is overtly anti religious. Most of the people who criticise it quite clearly have never read it or have stopped at the first book.
The first film seemed to me a bit like a watered down version of the book. It's often equated with harry potter though I think that does it disservice it is a far more rich, subtle, and indeed subversive work than JK Rowlings stuff.
That these religious nutters with silly hats get to suppress it is a sorry state of afairs.
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I think you've hit the nail on the head there, it really isn't anti-God but anti dogma and the Catholic church is all about the rules and the guilt etc...
I watched the film on the flight back, not ideal but for me it failed to capture to essence of the book and became a mere "romp". Quite watchable but shallow.
I think you should be able to make an anti-religeon film. You're not attacking a single person's faith but a series of dogma that they choose to follow. A person of true faith shouldn't really care what others say (taking my lead from long, late night conversations with devout Christians). Having a church act as a censor is one step too far. Everyone is allowed to have their point of view and express it how they please. Catholics aren't forced to watch the film, the best they can do is simply protest by not seeing it.
It seems the self-proclaimed greatest democracy is having trouble being just that.