{"id":80361,"date":"2026-01-12T12:08:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/?p=80361"},"modified":"2026-01-12T12:08:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:08:13","slug":"one-movie-later-david-faces-off-against-the-animation-industrys-goliath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/12\/one-movie-later-david-faces-off-against-the-animation-industrys-goliath\/","title":{"rendered":"One Movie Later: David Faces off Against the Animation Industry\u2019s Goliath"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One Movie Later: David Faces off Against the Animation Industry\u2019s Goliath<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by James Coulter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disney\u2019s animated output in the 2020s has stumbled, leaving room for other studios to rise as unexpected Davids against the House of Mouse\u2019s Goliath. Films like Across the Spider\u2011Verse, The Wild Robot, and K\u2011Pop Demon Hunters have all taken their swing and won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, another challenger has stepped forward\u2014an indie animated retelling of the Biblical David story, no less!\u2014aiming not only at Disney\u2019s crown but at the towering box\u2011office force of the Avatar franchise itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David didn\u2019t topple Avatar: Fire and Ash, which unsurprisingly surged past the billion\u2011dollar mark, but it did claim over $71 million domestically, becoming Angel Studios\u2019 highest\u2011grossing animated release and briefly reigning as the #1 family film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The question remains: is David truly anointed for box\u2011office royalty, or must its studio gather a few more stones before it can bring down animation\u2019s modern Goliath?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Angel Studios\u2019 previous animated film, King of Kings, my main criticism was its overly barebones approach to the Gospel story: a brisk, beat\u2011by\u2011beat retelling where characters existed only to fulfill their roles, as flat and underdeveloped as cutout figures on a Sunday School felt board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another of the film’s highlights is its soundtrack. David embraces the classic Disney\u2011style animated musical, delivering numbers that come surprisingly close to matching the House of Mouse\u2019s iconic musical catalog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two best songs, undoubtedly, are “Shalom” and \u201cFollow the Light,\u201d the film\u2019s strongest musical set pieces. While none of the songs are “bad,” a few fall short of their potential. \u201cTapestry,\u201d for instance, while good, comes across as a less enthusiastic version of The Prince of Egypt\u2019s “Through Heaven\u2019s Eyes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One Movie Later: David Faces off Against the Animation Industry\u2019s Goliath by James Coulter Disney\u2019s animated output in the 2020s has stumbled, leaving room for other studios to rise as unexpected Davids against the House of Mouse\u2019s Goliath. Films like Across the Spider\u2011Verse, The Wild Robot, and K\u2011Pop Demon Hunters have all taken their swing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":80360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[112,847,850,1721,1327],"class_list":{"0":"post-80361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movie","10":"tag-movie-review","11":"tag-movies","12":"tag-one-movie-later"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winterhavendaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/poster_oml_david-3.jpg?fit=1200%2C1777&ssl=1","aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t