David (2025)
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Religion has been inspiring art for thousands of years. So it only makes sense that animation should follow suit. Faith-based animation has been a thing for many years, from The Prince Of Egypt and The Miracle Maker to this year's Light Of The World and King of Kings. David is just the latest in a long line. Based on the figure from the Old Testament- of "and Goliath" fame, and later King David, it follows him from his youth to adulthood, and is based on the book of Samuel.
David is a young shepherd, who out of the blue is told that he is destined to be the next King of Israel. When the Philistines show up, including the giant Goliath, David volunteers to take him on.
David follows on from the five-part TV series Young David (available streaming on Angel), but you don't need to have seen that to enjoy this- it stands alone. It is written and directed by Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham and is produced by Steve Pegram,Tim Keller and Rita Mbanga. Original music is by Joseph Trapaneze. The film is produced by Angel Studios, Slingshot Productions and 2521 Entertainment with animation production by Sunrise Animation Studios.
The film stars the voices of Brandon Engman, Phil Wickham, Asim Chaudhry, Mick Wingert, Will de Renzy-Martin Katie Bernstein, Ashley Boettcher and Lauren Daigle.
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Faith-based animation may have you fearing the worst. You could be imagining a dry and stuffy affair, and worse than that- preachy. But David is not that movie. It's much more of a conventionally enjoyable film than you might have expected, and is generally a pretty light watch. Yes, it has a religious bent but it doesn't feel like it's really stuffed down your throat at any time. Making a religious film that's also enjoyable as entertainment in its own right is quite a feat. The film should also entertain both younger and older audiences.
The film's animation is impressive, with an enjoyably chunky, almost stop-motion look to it. The character design is strong and distinctive, with hero and villain alike cutting quite the figure.
David is an impressively mounted production that can be described as epic in the truest sense of the word. It has extravagant battle sequences and big musical numbers... and has time for plenty of humorous moments too. It feels like a big film that will benefit from being on the big screen. And it's all the more impressive when you consider that this was likely produced for a fraction of the cost of an average Disney or Pixar film.
The evocation of a sense of time and place is also excellent, with the locations richly drawn and teeming with life.
The pivotal showdown with Goliath comes about 30 minutes in, and is amusingly anticlimactic. The rest of the story is one that might not be quite as well-known, depicting David's path to eventually becoming King. The film runs for a hefty one hour and fifty minutes, but honestly, it moves pretty fast so it feels shorter.
As a musical, the songs are all-important too. Luckily, they're pretty good- poppy, catchy and contemporary, they are not a million miles away from what you'd hear in your average Disney flick. The songs aren't that frequent though- they are deployed relatively judicially. Whether that's a good or bad thing is down to personal preference.
Faith-based films are ultimately preaching to the converted. David is no different here, but as a film made for a very specific audience, it's a very well executed example of what it's trying to do. And the fact that it could also entertain audiences of a different faith, or of no religion at all, is more impressive still. Go in with an open mind, and David might just surprise you.
IN A NUTSHELL:
Angel's second foray into animated features is a big-hearted biblical epic that is sure to be a hit with its target audience.
★★★☆☆
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