One Movie Later: David Faces off Against the Animation Industry’s Goliath
by James Coulter
Disney’s animated output in the 2020s has stumbled, leaving room for other studios to rise as unexpected Davids against the House of Mouse’s Goliath. Films like Across the Spider‑Verse, The Wild Robot, and K‑Pop Demon Hunters have all taken their swing and won.
Now, another challenger has stepped forward—an indie animated retelling of the Biblical David story, no less!—aiming not only at Disney’s crown but at the towering box‑office force of the Avatar franchise itself.
David didn’t topple Avatar: Fire and Ash, which unsurprisingly surged past the billion‑dollar mark, but it did claim over $71 million domestically, becoming Angel Studios’ highest‑grossing animated release and briefly reigning as the #1 family film.
The question remains: is David truly anointed for box‑office royalty, or must its studio gather a few more stones before it can bring down animation’s modern Goliath?
David follows the Biblical story of its titular character. The young shepherd, David, is anointed to be the future king of Israel. He proves his worth by fighting and slaying the giant Goliath.
However, he’s soon forced to face another challenge when the current king, Saul, becomes jealous of his exploits. Will David rise above this challenge and prove himself worthy to be Israel’s next great king? (Well, if you’ve ever attended Sunday School, you know the answer!)
Throughout my career as a movie reviewer, I’ve reviewed three Angel Studios films, including this one. The other two movies, Sound of Freedom and King of Kings, I considered okay at best, neither bad nor great.
With Angel Studios’ previous animated film, King of Kings, my main criticism was its overly barebones approach to the Gospel story: a brisk, beat‑by‑beat retelling where characters existed only to fulfill their roles, as flat and underdeveloped as cutout figures on a Sunday School felt board.
Thankfully, David succeeds where King of Kings stumbled. By centering the story on its titular hero, the film charts his hero’sjourney from humble shepherd to future king, tracing his character growth from doubting his divine calling to embracing the destiny his God has set before him.
David was animated by Sunrise Animation Studios, a small studio with only a handful of projects to its name. Nevertheless, it delivers an animated film on par with Pixar without leaning on the familiar, overused “Pixar look.” Instead, its characters and world embrace a distinct, stylized aesthetic that leaves a far more memorable impression.
Another of the film’s highlights is its soundtrack. David embraces the classic Disney‑style animated musical, delivering numbers that come surprisingly close to matching the House of Mouse’s iconic musical catalog.
The two best songs, undoubtedly, are “Shalom” and “Follow the Light,” the film’s strongest musical set pieces. While none of the songs are “bad,” a few fall short of their potential. “Tapestry,” for instance, while good, comes across as a less enthusiastic version of The Prince of Egypt’s “Through Heaven’s Eyes.”
Overall, the only thing preventing David from being called the best animated Bible film ever is that The Prince of Egypt already exists and remains an undisputed animated masterpiece. And while David is far from being called a close second to Prince of Egypt’s first, the film does stand as a shining exemplar of an animated Bible movie done right.
While David is not the best animated Bible movie (Prince of Egypt is), or the best animated film of 2025 (K-Pop Demon Hunters is), or even managed to take down the box office Goliath that was Avatar: Fire and Ash, the film remains standing as a scruffy underdog in an industry dominated by animated giants.
