You might think a 3000-year-old shepherd boy wouldn’t have much to say about life in 2025. I mean, he didn’t have TikTok algorithms judging him or cyber criminals targeting him. And yet somehow David, son of Jesse, the teenage harp player who attended to sheep and went on to fight a giant and become king, still manages to be inspirational and relevant today, just as he was all those years ago.
Brent Dawes, the writer/director behind David, answered the big question before it was asked: Why bring David back now in 2025?
“When a story lasts for 3000 years, it’s got something to it that touches the heart of humanity,” he answers with a grin. He believes the world feels a David-shaped gap in leadership. And not the crown-wearing, spotlight-glowing type. David didn’t audition to be the king on a reality TV show. He didn’t rehearse royal poses in the mirror and rake up Instagram followers. And he wasn’t chasing power or influence on X. He was busy saving sheep from lions… while nobody was looking. “David just had a heart after God and was for the people,” Dawes explains.
But it’s more than just a clever slogan you’d slap on a fridge magnet. It’s the message of the new animated film by Sunrise Animation Studios. “To me, the main theme is it’s faith over fear. If you live your life with fear, you’re not going to get very far. But if you take a step of faith… don’t be afraid. If you’re something, go for it and trust.”
Of course David doesn’t start out that way. He wasn’t always slaying giants. That would be convenient and way less relatable. He starts by proving he’ll fight bears and lions for one sheep. No one’s cheering. No one’s sending him likes on Facebook. But he does it anyway because each sheep matters. “He risked his life for them,” the filmmaker said. “And so because he was able to do that then he was able to translate that into when it really counted.”
David does well to focus on the sheep in the young boy’s life. You can tell them apart. They’re not just cute little clone puffballs. “They had names, they had personalities, and he cared for each and every one of them,” Dawes reveals. And it’s in the moments when he interacts with them that you start to get why he becomes the kind of king willing to step between real people and real danger. He was a hero long before he lifted the sling and faced a giant.
Yes, we all know the story. Or at least part of it. But this isn’t your grandmother’s chalk-figure Bible class art (remember Zet?). Sunrise Animation Studios spent years sculpting the world, giving it weight and texture. “We wanted it to feel real, believable, timeless, classic, epic,” Dawes explained. The DP shot every moment like a live-action film. Landscapes stretch, dust rises, and sunlight lands where it should. And nowhere is that more evident than in the scene where David takes on his main enemy, Goliath.
The giant has an extra finger and toe on each limb. Biblical detail most filmmakers tap-dance around, but not this team. “I believe it says in the Bible that he had six fingers and six toes,” Dawes confirms. They made him pale too. “We treated him like a Ferrari. He’s kept in the shade as a prize. He’s only brought… not even the sun has touched his skin.”
Of course, watching him fall is one of the film’s biggest highlights.
But this David isn’t some perfect dude floating on holy sparkles and singing on rainbows. He’s a poet who writes about how he believes God truly sees him. He’s a worshipper when Saul throws spears at him. He’s a shepherd who loves his sheep like they’re his best friends, even when everyone else dismisses them as dumb animals. But most of all, he’s just a boy growing into a man – maybe a little uncertain about his place in the world at times.
What’s even more remarkable is how the film points to his great-great-great-great-great-grandson. There are moments that nod toward future history. When David rides back victorious, and the crowd lays palm leaves, you clock it instantly. “It was very much a nod to when Jesus came to Jerusalem,” Dawes points out. Later, David is lifted up, hands positioned with enough familiarity to make Christian viewers gulp. Those moments hit the hardest.
But even if you take away all that attention to detail, the story remains impactful. Kids today face giants too. Bullies. Self-doubt. Pressure they never asked for. Even adults do. David reminds us that courage doesn’t show up after fear leaves. Courage happens when you see the giant and you go anyway. A boy who protects sheep without applause later protects a nation.
Maybe the world still needs David because the world still needs shepherds who remember they’re sheep first.
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