Friends and Heroes

Storykeepers is an animated Christian video series produced by Zondervan from 1995 to 1997 in America and Ireland. It tells the story of a Christian leader and his family's adventures living in Ancient Rome, Italy whose mission is to keep Jesus's stories alive during the 1st century. The series consists of thirteen episodes, and features two full-length movies that are compilations of the last four episodes. The introduction to each episode before the opening credits is as follows: "Rome, 64 AD. The Emperor Nero has unleashed his fury against the Christians. Their crime: Proclaiming a King higher than Caesar. Setting fire to the city, Nero places the blame on the Christians, and launches a new campaign to wipe them out. Families are separated, children left homeless, as thousands are sold into slavery or thrown to the lions. Escaping the panic of the fire, and dodging the advancing soldiers, a group of children find shelter in the gentle care of Ben and Helena; a local baker, and his wife. Here the children discover an amazing secret network of daring men and women, who risk their lives to help one another, and to tell the stories of the great storyteller, the one called Jesus. And so awaiting the day when their parents will return, Anna, Cyrus, Justin, and Marcus, embark on an adventure of a lifetime, together with Ben, Helena, and their friends, in the Christian underground. Their mission: To keep the stories of Jesus alive. This is their story. They are the Storykeepers!"

It is the early years of Christianity, and Emperor Nero is hellbent on destroying the lot of them. Caught up amongst the chaos are the homeless orphans of Rome fleeing from the fires Nero is starting to persecute the Christians. The orphans find their way to Ben and Helena, secret Christian leaders in Rome who are the "Story keepers" of the tales of Jesus. With their help, they flee the burning city and head out to a safe haven for the Christians. Along the way, they meet up with colorful characters of all walks of life while learning about the life of Jesus.