South Africa | USA 2025
Opening September 17, 2026

Directed by: Phil Cunningham, Brent Dawes
Writing credits: Brent Dawes, Kyle Portbury, Sam Wilson
Principal actors: Animation: Brandon Engman, Brian Stivale, Shahar Tavoch

It’s the town of Bethlehem almost 3000 years ago and we meet David, a small boy who takes care of his sheep and their lambs. The prophet Samuel names Saul to become the new king of Israel, which is being threatened by Goliath. David has no fear of this huge creature and shoots a stone at him. As a result, it is not surprising that David should be named the next king of Israel. About one hour into the film, we now view an adult David—a king who works according to the Lord God, his master, with whom he constantly communicates, saying “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.” He is supported by a huge army, dressed in protective shielding while constantly fighting with swords.

Here we have an animated film version of the original story, which appeared in the Bible nearly 3000 years ago. My Bible presents David’s story in 1 Samuel 15–31 and 2 Samuel 1–24, as well as in the first chapter of 1 Kings (commonly called The Third Book of the Kings), i.e., in more than thirty-eight pages. We have eleven songs, at least five of them sung by David as he expresses his emotions while playing an interesting instrument, a handheld harp (kinnor). The animation, supported by a team of over 250 contributors, is excellent, not only from an artistic viewpoint following original ideas, but also as a presentation of the story. One could say the story is repetitious reeling between battles and sheep, but such is the Biblical version. Everyone should experience David, as he represents heaven and earth. (Becky T.)