Producers: Steve Pegram, Tim Keller and Rita Mbanga   Directors: Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham   Screenplay: Brent Dawes   Cast: Phil Wickham, Brandon Engman, Adam Michael Gold, Brian Stivale, Asim Chaudhry, Mark Jacobson, Kamran Nikhad, Hector, Miri Mesika, Jonathan Shaboo, Sloan Muldown, Ashley Boettcher, Mick Wingert, Will de Renzy-Martin, Mark Whitten, Aaron Tavaler and Shahar Tavoch    Distributor: Angel

Grade: C

From its Disneyesque beginning, with young David (voiced by Brandon Engman) overseeing a herd of cute-as-a-button sheep he defends against a lion, to an uplifting “Spartacus”-inspired finale, this faith-based animated musical, adapted very loosely from 1 and 2 Samuel (especially 1 Samuel 16-31), goes overboard in trying to make the Biblical story of David and Saul exciting and fun for youngsters. 

In the process, unhappily, it resorts to Hollywood cliché after Hollywood cliché.  By the close it’s become in many respects indistinguishable from non-faith-based animated adventure flicks aimed at kids.  Yet its heavy dose of religiosity will probably turn off families who aren’t among its pew-filling target audience.

David is introduced as a shepherd boy (Engman) serenading his flock with hymns of praise to God.  (This is, remember, a musical, though except for a bit of Jewish inflection in the melodies the songs are pretty standard contemporary pop fare.  Jonas Myrin is credited on some of them, while Joseph Trapanese composed the score.)   

After his encounter with that lion David and his charges surge back into Bethlehem, scattering the townspeople with their rambunctiousness, only to find his family being visited by the prophet Samuel (Brian Stivale), who’s come to anoint one of the sons of Jesse (Hector) and Nitzevet (Miri Mesika) as king to supplant Saul (Adam Michael Gold) over Prince Jonathan (Mark Jacobson).  Though he’s the youngest of Jesse’s sons, it is David whom Samuel identifies as God’s chosen, irking older brother Eliab (Jonathan Shaboo), and the boy reluctantly agrees to be anointed.

As soon as that ceremony’s over, David is summoned roughly to Saul’s court—not for treason, as one might expect, but because the king is depressed about losing God’s favor and is summoning all the realm’s musicians to cheer him up.  David does, and when the Philistines’ sneering King Achish (Asim Chaudhry) invades to cement his oppression of the Israelites, it’s the boy who agrees to stand up against the enemy’s gigantic champion Goliath (Kamran Nikhad) and brings him down with his handy slingshot.

All this happens within the first fifty minutes or so, leaving the rest of the movie to deal with David’s friendship with Jonathan; further triumphs by the Israelites against their foes; David’s estrangement from Saul because of the king’s jealousy over the boy’s popularity and Samuel’s condemnations; David’s exile (Phil Wickham has by this time taken over the part of David) and pursuit by the king and his soldiers; the famous cave episode in which David spares Saul’s life; a further Philistine invasion in which Saul and Jonathan are killed; David’s capture and near execution by the Amelekites led by the evil Vaizatha (Will de Renzy-Martin), from which he is saved only by Eliab’s last-minute intervention; and the young man’s installation as king.

Those familiar with Scripture will note that though there are elements of his scenario that align reasonably well with the text, others do not.  And the script unabashedly adds elements designed to make the plot more kid-friendly: in addition to those sheep, there’s a cute little mouse that tickles David when he collapses in a faint while trudging alone through the desert, as well as a crotchety fellow (Mick Wingert) who steals his sandals.  David’s family is portrayed in colorful Disney style, with Jesse irascible, Nitzevet reliably supportive, a cheerfully precocious little sister (first Sloan Muldown, then Ashley Boettcher), and brothers right out of the stereotype playbook—one fat and always hungry (Aaron Tavaler), another goofy and lazy (Shahar Tavoch).  And the final jeopardy sequence, in which David is strung up for execution before Eliab suddenly arrives with a rejuvenated Israelite army after the Israelite hostages all join in, “Spartacus” style, in David’s hymn, is hardly true to the Bible.  And the entire subplot about Eliab struggling against his loyalty to Saul before throwing in his lot with his brother is frankly hackneyed.

But the point isn’t accuracy, any more than it was in the live-action Hollywood Biblical epics of yore.  Rather it’s to create an embellished story fit for youngsters and their families that teaches viewers what becomes the film’s essential message—always trust in God, even when you find yourself in desperate situations, as David frequently does (the question “Why, God?” is often on his lips, as well as those of other characters, but still he refuses to despair).  In the process it necessarily tones down the violence of the battles—even Goliath’s fall is touched with humor—though not so much that very young kids might not flinch at some of the darker moments.  And one wonders what politically sensitive parents will make of a line like “It is clear that our king has lost his mind”—which could be taken to have contemporary resonance.

In visual terms “David” is just okay: the computer animation from South Africa’s Sunrise Studios isn’t all that attractive, the character design prosaic though the backgrounds are evocative.  Overall, however, Lynton Levengood’s production design is good, and Dave Walvoord’s cinematography more than adequate. Tom Scott’s editing is decent, even if some transitions are clumsy, the abrupt fade-to-black moments nearly bringing things to a halt.   And the vocal acting, while acceptable, is hardly outstanding.

Angel is obviously hoping that “David” will repeat the success that its previous animated release “The King of Kings,” based on Dickens and featuring a starry vocal cast, had last Easter.  The studio may be right—it does, after all, have a highly developed church-based program of ticket sales.  But with its generalized boys’ adventure plotting and merely serviceable production quality, “David” seems more suited to Sunday school classes than theatres. 

And one can be fairly certain no sequel to it will be forthcoming.  David’s actual kingship, after all, was a checkered one, and one doubts that the tale of him and Bathsheba can be satisfactorily remolded for juvenile consumption.