Former Disney Executive Rick Dempsey Is Helping ‘The Chosen’ Reach the World
A former Disney executive is spearheading an ambitious effort to bring The Chosen to a global audience, aiming to translate it into 600 languages and make the Bible-based series accessible to viewers of every culture and background. Rick Dempsey worked for more than three decades at Disney, his last role being senior vice president for creative, in which he led a team that translated movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King into other languages.
Today, he has a similar role for Come and See, a non-profit that partners with The Chosen to take the series to the world. Dempsey is Come and See's vice president of creative and global localization.
"I trained for 35 years to do what I'm doing for The Chosen," Dempsey told Crosswalk Headlines.
When Dempsey joined Disney in 1988, he worked for Roy Disney, the nephew of Walt Disney and the son of Walt's brother. Dempsey was a Christian who believed he could make a meaningful impact by helping to bring family-friendly entertainment to audiences around the world.
By the time the pandemic hit, Dempley sensed God leading him in another direction.
"I just realized it was time to move on. We know Disney's kind of gone in a different direction from where I started back in 1988, and I thought, 'Hey, maybe this is the Lord's prompting.'… I've been a believer my entire career, very involved in the local church, and it [was] really a tremendous opportunity to kind of be salt and light in that business and slow down the decay. [But] I felt that some of my salt was losing that saltiness at Disney, and it was time to move on.
A providential encounter while vacationing in Hawaii changed his career path. There, while sitting on a bench enjoying a cup of shaved ice, Dempsey bumped into a man named Brad Hill. Not long thereafter, Hill connected Dempley with Come and See when he learned of the ministry's need for a leader in the translation market. Soon, Dempsey was hired.
He already was a fan of the series.
"I watched it and just said, 'Hey, this is probably the best Christian production I've ever seen.'… What separates The Chosen is the quality is so phenomenal. The character development is so good, and it drew me in. So I was already familiar with it."
At Disney, Dempsey's most widely translated project was Frozen, with over 50 translations. For The Chosen, the goal is far more ambitious: 600 translations -- a 12-fold increase. While it may sound like a monumental feat, the series has already reached 125 translations, setting a world record in the process.
"If you go to Google and ask, 'What's the most translated show in history?' -- it's going to say The Chosen."
Significantly, though, Dempsey wants to avoid what he calls "Godzilla-style dubbing," where the audio and lip movements are noticeably mismatched, disrupting the viewer's experience. His projects at Disney avoided those errors, too.
"It's all about matching the lips and making it look like it's really coming from that character. It's really important to us, so we're following those same practices with The Chosen."
The voice tones also closely match those of the original characters.
Dempsey's work at Disney is well-known to fans of Frozen, even if they don't know his name. A decade ago, his team helped dub Elsa's voice -- a feat showcased in a YouTube multi-language sequence of Let It Go. It has 95 million views.
"The greatest comment I had in those is, 'I didn't know Idina Menzel could sing in all those languages,'" he said, smiling. "It's not her. It's just a really good casting job."
Photo Credit: ©Come and See
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published January 08, 2025.
