'David' (2025) Review: A Giant Leap of Faith

After the success of its first Christian animated film, King of Kings, earlier this year, Angel Studios is taking a crack at another animated bible adaptation—this time with the highly anticipated David. 

David tells the biblical story of David (Phil Wickham / Brandon Engman as young David), a shepherd boy who is secretly anointed to be king of Israel by the prophet Samuel (Brian Stivale), despite King Saul (Adam Michael Gold) still sitting on the throne. When David is called up to play his harp for King Saul, he wins over the king and eventually is chosen to fight the Philistine warrior Goliath (Kamran Nikhad). This saves the Israelites from bondage and David remains in Saul's favor, allowing him to grow up in the palace with Saul's son Jonathan (Mark Jacobson).

While it would be easy to simply focus the film on David defeating the Philistine giant Goliath and call it a day (and subsequently setting up a sequel), the filmmakers don't go with the obvious play and instead push the narrative further. The story of David is robust and complex, so in David, we see David grow from a young faith-filled shepherd boy to a young man. David's relationship with King Saul, Jonathan, and the impending threat of the Amalekites elevate the film. That being said, exploring these other avenues drags the runtime nearly to the two-hour mark, making it feel a bit too long and bloated.

Faith-based films, while aspirational and well-intentioned, typically have never been top-tier in quality, as the message is prioritized over entertainment. The notable exception in the animated world is DreamWorks' masterpiece, The Prince of Egypt, and this film will obviously be compared to that. And luckily for David, it lives up. There are quite a few parallels between Moses and David, with one being their pseudo brothers of Ramses and Jonathan, respectively. God, faith, and religion are heavily emphasized and are not watered down.

It can be difficult to portray a character like David, who is the epitome of faith and never waivers in his belief and trust in God. However, instead of being unrelatable, his character is inspiring and continually turning back to God to help him through his trials. This is a family film and the filmmakers do a great job of simplifying the message and balancing the heavier elements of the story. The themes of light vs. darkness are tackled simply; contrasting how David's trust in God brings light, while Saul's focus on the self brings darkness.

The songs, written by Swedish songwriter Jonas Myrin, reiterate these themes even more. "Follow the Light" is a simple, yet repetitive earworm. David is known for his musical skills with the lyre, so it his singing feels natural and appropriate. "Adventure Song", "Shalom", "I Will Not Be Afraid", and "Tapestry" are toe-tapping and catchy. The film is a bonafide musical and the songs elevate the final film.

The animation, done by the South African Sunrise Animation Studios, is top-notch and Hollywood quality. In an age where it seems all animated films look the same, the character designs are distinct, stylized, and interesting. David is striking with his green eyes and curly locks, the prophet Samuel with his bushy beard is rotund, soft, and inviting; and Goliath the Philistine feels otherworldly and larger than life with his pale skin and towering physique.

David was the highest-funded Kickstarter media project in history, raising over $49.7 million. The final product delivered and was worth the wait. It brings together the best of animation, musical and story to tell a satisfying biblical story that the whole family can enjoy.

David releases in theaters on December 19, 2025.

★★★★