David

I love everything about Angel Studios and David is no exception!

What I liked: The music was amazing! It was uplifting, inspiring, and checked all the boxes of a perfect accompaniment to a faith filled movie. My husband immediately found the soundtrack after the movie.

The animation was beautiful. I think it perfectly captured what I envision ancient Israel to look like. The facial expressions, depth of feeling in the eyes, and everything about the characters were animated very well.

What I loved: Capturing the story of David's ascent to becoming king of Israel is not an easy feat when it needs to be made for the whole family. At no point did I feel like I was sitting through a kid's movie and my children didn't feel like this movie was way over their heads. The writers brought out the gravity of the situation (Saul's descent into madness and his subsequent cruelty) without making it too severe for children to watch. Meanwhile, they showed the sincerity and depth of David's faith even under persecution without watering it down or making it unrelatable to adults. All four of us were in tears at the end and I even felt moved to tears afterwards.

I cannot say enough about David. It made me so proud to support a company like Angel Studios and it refreshed me to know that there is wholesome, faith filled entertainment left.

I took my family including grandchildren. Everyone from the adults to the children loved it. It brought the biblical story of David, his faith in God. In these times of conflicts between people and nations you can see how God. This movie delivered a message without the need for vulgarity or things inappropriate for all ages.

I was hoping I would love the movie and I was so relieved that it lived up to expectations.

It walked a fine line by staying true to the Biblical account, but also remaining family-friendly and not too scary for little kids (I had a 6, 13, 15, and 17 year-old with me and they all loved it).

I appreciated the pacing and how they didn't draw out or agonize over just David and Goliath, but kept right on moving with other aspects of David's life. They covered a lot of ground and gave some nice small story arcs to smaller characters that fit in nicely overall. Jonathan's ending was beautiful and devastating (it reminded me of Finnick in the Hunger Games). I was choked up. Ditto for the ending. Such a beautiful message about fully yielding to God that was done very well.

It almost started to feel a little long in the last third, and just when I was starting to check the time, it picked up and had a fantastic climax, denouement, and ending.

Highly recommend.

If you are an academic (like I am) who likes diving into biblical history, this movie might seem a bit rushed for you. However, as a kids' movie, this seems great! I love the songs (I had them on a YouTube playlist even before seeing the movie), and the story illustrates some of the major points of David's life without making it too scary or adult themed. I took my parents and adult brother to see this, and to my surprise, neither of my parents fell asleep (which they often do when we see movies in the theatre). They were interested the whole time! My brother liked the movie as well and believes this will be like the new generation's Prince of Egypt (I agree).

Phil Wickham did a great job as David, especially considering that he does not have a lot of experience acting in movies. And I was so surprised that there were two different people voicing young and adult David! The casting director did a fantastic job matching Phil Wickham and Brandon Engman. There were even inflections in their voices that matched. I am a big fan of Phil Wickham, but I have to say Brandon Engman's voice amazed me. It is not often that I hear a voice that makes me stop to want to listen, even when there is no accompaniment; he has a wonderful gift for music and voiceover. Both of these individuals do. I hope I get to hear more from them in future Angel Studios productions.

LIKES: The Voice Acting The Design Is Cute Powerful Messages Funny At Times Family Friendly The Music DISLIKES: The Animation/Design Could Use Some Work A Bit More Action Could Help Some More Time With Characters A Bit Preachy At Times Some Jokes Are Bland/Too Much The Ending Feels A Tad Rushed

Summary: Angel Studios has passion in their projects, and they have done their best to indoctrinate the Holy Spirit into their work as they bring David's tale to life. A cute design that feels much like an animated Bible that kids read to get exposure, David has fluid animation and a cartoonish shimmer that is very colorful and inviting for eager young eyes, with all the cute ways they emote the citizens. Such designs accomplish the goal of making this film funny; cute little quips and one-liners are mixed with slapstick that had the little ones laughing in my showing. But it's not all fun and games either, for David's tale is plagued with challenges, obstacles, and hindrances that are ready to test our audience's compassion as they follow our protagonist's journey. And those powerful messages are delivered with a finesse that feels powerful, radiating with the power of the scriptures' prevalence. These moments resonated deeply with me, and are one of the strongest aspects of this film in my opinion. Yet, even in these darker moments, Angel Studios has continued to keep the film family-friendly, and outside of loud noises, most people should be okay with watching this story with little fear or screaming. This is especially true with the music, which is perhaps my favorite part of this movie. Like a good Disney movie, David's songs, for the most part, all have a purpose. Their strong lyrics, powerful instruments, and a harmony like no other manage to feel like a prominent hymn, but with a lot more prowess and movie magic that is a particular weakness of mine. Sure, I would have liked a few fewer "church-sounding" songs, but the messages, timing, and prowess are excellent flavors that I felt did the movie justice for driving the messages home. As for the voice acting, I must nod that most accomplish their goals, with David's voice work my particular favorite, with how balanced it was, but still somehow not too suave or perfect. Sure, there are better performances, but I think they accomplished the part well, especially with those more serious and emotional moments.

Yet, Angel Studios is still more limited than the animation giants, and their budgets still struggle to fully unleash the tale's potential. For one thing, the animation is family-friendly, but a few more design changes and animation can do wonders for what is becoming a very cheeky-looking design choice that I think has a lot more potential. The characterizations are a little shallower than I anticipated, and I wish they had added just a bit more to their budget to help give it a bit more pop. The action also needs some more details as well, the safety of the Angel animation making all these epic fights rather plain, boring, and often a one-sided affair that I know is more about the message, but could have mirrored the live-action David a bit more to add some more thrills. Those minor elements aside, the movie is really a snapshot of this amazing man's life, and it really feels like it. David is an abbreviated tale, with Angel Studios now planning to do a Young David spinoff series to fill the gaps. While I appreciate the time management, for the film, such actions feel very brisk, and it makes the movie less splendid than I had hoped it would be. The film is also very preachy at times, to the point that some less enthusiastic members may roll their eyes and miss the message. I understand the source material, but the production quality emphasizes that preachiness, which at times gets a little cheesy. This also applied to some of the jokes for me; the slapstick humor was fun for a time before the running gag became old for most members outside of the young ones. And the ending culminated in something that feels rushed, which wasn't the worst at all, but just feels sort of a footnote rather than anything else. Maybe it's a cliffhanger for an impending sequel, but without the emotional finish, David's last shot may be spiritual, but not quite the movie finish.

The VERDICT: David is a movie with a clear audience in mind. What works is that we finally get some diversity in the market, finally breaking away from the same story Hollywood has capitalized on for the last year. Excellent sound design is the key premise of this movie, bringing powerful moments to life, especially the musical numbers that drive the lessons home with their design. A lighthearted film with good morals, but still holding those Biblical moments that leave you awestruck, Angel Studios has told the tale in a family-friendly manner that will be very appealing to church groups, families, and those looking for a little light in these dark times. Yet, the film still needs balance issues, alongside a budget to help further things along so that the animation, pacing, and sequences fully convey the story contained in the Holy Book. Those who want to get some time with the story should see this movie in the theater, but for those who don't like religious movies, skip out on this one, given the limited presentation style of this film.

My scores are: Adventure/Animation/Drama/Family/Musical: 8.0 Movie Overall: 7.0.