His heroism and humanity inspired diverse artists and creators, including
Michelangelo, Donatello, Caravaggio, Madeleine L’Engle, Joseph Heller, Darius
Mihaud, and Lionel Hampton. He was also Jewish. In fact, he was King of Israel
long before the notion of Palestine existed. Some consider him a national
origin myth, like King Arthur, but the idea of King David dated back to
Biblical times. Yet, according to history/legend, King David wasn’t just
common-born. The young shepherd has become the ultimate symbol for all ultra-longshot
underdog victories. Of course, it required faith, as is fittingly emphasized in
Phil Cunningham & Brent Dawes’ animated feature David, released by
Angel Studios, which opens Friday in theaters.
As the
young shepherd protects his flock from a lion, David’s story almost ends before
it begins. Yet, his faith preserves him. That is quite “providential,” because
when David returns home, he finds the Prophet Samuel waiting to anoint him the successor
to King Saul. Rather ominously, Saul is not inclined to willingly relinquish power—quite
the contrary. Consequently, David’s parents fear the worst when Saul’s soldiers
escort David to the palace.
However,
David’s presence was “requested” to sing and play lyre as one of the terrified
musicians summoned to calm the King’s tempestuous spirit. Once again, the
underdog prevails, endearing himself somewhat to the King and forming a close
bond with the presumed royal heir, Jonathan. Young David’s resulting proximity
to power allows him to volunteer to face the giant Goliath. While others fear
the colossal Philistine, David has faith that the Almighty will protect his
chosen people (and if not, death will probably be preferable to life as slaves
to the imperialistic Philistines).
Hopefully,
even Ivy League heathens know how that battle ended. However, there is still
the awkward business of Samuel’s prophecy. The Philistines won’t give up their
dreams of conquest either. Plus, the Amalekites always lurk in the shadows.
This is
a banner year for Biblical animation, because the previously released The King of Kings (also from Angel Studios) and Book of Joshua: The Walls of Jericho were both quite good. The 3D-CGI character design for David sometimes
looks a little clunky but the backgrounds and architectural renderings often capture
an appropriate sense of grandeur. This will very much resemble the Holy Land of
many viewers’ imaginations.
Cunningham
and Dawes nicely express young David’s youthful exuberance without overwhelming
the film with silly slapstick. They also maintain a brisk pace covering the David’s
childhood up through the encounter at Ein Gedi quite thoroughly, but use
considerable license to abbreviate subsequent events. Still, this animated David
is much more theologically sound than the ill-fated Richard Gere movie.
It was
produced by entirely different creative team, but this film could be considered
a sequel to The Prince of Egypt. In that film, the Red Sea was parted.
This time around, the Jordan River receives similar divine intervention. As the
Israelites follow Moses to the Promised Land, they constantly offer peace to
the Amorites, who prefer to wage war instead. Yet, the Israelites are much harder
to kill than their enemies expect in Tony Goss’s animated Biblical epic, Book
of Joshua: Walls of Jericho, which releases tomorrow on VOD.
Considerable
time has passed since the Red Sea, but the Israelites still feed on the manna
from Heaven. They must soon face “King” Sihon, but they are well-prepared for his
forces, despite their dramatically smaller numbers. Obviously, Moses has access
to the ultimate intelligence source. Plus, Rahab has her own insights on the cruel
king Sihon.
Forced
to watch Sihon torturing the Israelite emissaries, Rahab tried to intercede on
their behalf and carried the survivor back to the Israeli encampment.
Ironically, the faith they displayed under extreme duress inspires Rahab to open
her heart to the Israelites’ God. Consequently, she will be there to help when
Moses and Joshua, his designated successor, approach the hostile walled city of
Jericho, where she lives.
Frankly,
there are more ancient battle scenes in Goss’s Book of Joshua than Braveheart
and Gladiator combined. King Sihon, King Og, and the King of Jericho
all look at the Israelites and see a band of weak former Egyptian slaves. How
little they know—and how little things change.
Admittedly,
the character animation is only a few steps above 1970s Saturday morning
cartoons. However, the background art team also create some impressively
cinematic Jericho visuals. Yet, the film’s greatest strengths come from the way
Doss and screenwriter-producer Amir Kovacs establish the personas of Rahab and
her family. In fact, they build a great deal of suspense regarding their safety
in the wicked city of Jericho.
