David (2025) Movie Review – The Best Animated Film Of 2025

Let’s be completely honest, audiences never walk into Bible adaptations blindly. There’s always a bit of apprehension because, while you may want to cheer the productions on, there’s always that tiny voice whispering, “Please, don’t rewrite scripture and fail to capture the character as it’s written.” So when Amazon Prime dropped House of David, reactions ranged from polite nods to raised eyebrows. Then Young David came along on YouTube and the Angel Studios app. Short animated films that focused on his time herding sheep. Kids loved them. And parents (like me) silently cried a little during the inspiring moments. Suddenly everyone realised there might be something special here. Thankfully, Sunrise Animation Studios has now dropped the big one. It’s a full-length feature named David (2025), and it’s easily the best take on the legendary king ever made.

DreamWorks set the bar with The Prince of Egypt back in 1998, convincing the world that musicals and the Old Testament could be cinematic soul food for everyone. We all sang along and watched in awe as Moses took on the Egyptians. Then Hollywood mostly ghosted that genre for nearly two decades. Thankfully, a South African animation studio showed up and said, “We’ve got this.”

Most people think they know David’s story: a shepherd boy rocks up with a sling, a giant goes down, and people chant his name forever. Credits roll. But that’s really the Sunday school speedrun version of the story. David (2025) goes much deeper. He’s not just the “giant-slaying kid” here. He’s a poet. A worshipper. A warrior. A future king. A shepherd – with the sheep poop on his sandals to prove it. The movie leans into the shepherd angle. First, he watches over animals. Then soldiers. Eventually, he realises that God watches over him the same way. It hits very differently when you see it unfold through music and beautiful animated sequences instead of hearing it rushed through in a 15-minute sermon. It sounds deep, but the film sneaks it all in so naturally you might not notice your heart quietly doing backflips.

The animation alone deserves a standing ovation. Environments feel lived in. Dust moves when sandals hit the ground. Dust. Wind. Sun. Rain. Flowers. Architecture. The visuals breathe life into ancient hills and their surprisingly beautiful battlefields. You feel every bit of it. And even the sheep have personalities. Not Disney talking-animal levels. Just… real sheep with faces and personalities you can easily tell apart. Someone in the animation department deserves a medal for “Best Sheep Casting.”

See, in David, characters aren’t flat cardboard cutouts of biblical trivia. Everyone has quirks and purpose. David feels… real… like someone you could actually hang out with. He worries, and he isn’t sure he’s king material when Samuel anoints him. You get that. Then, when everything falls apart later, he talks to God quietly, like someone trying to figure out his place in the world. That hits home. Those moments aren’t pulled word-for-word from scripture, but they feel true to who David was. And that’s exactly what makes this film feel so special. If David was “a man after God’s own heart,” then these filmmakers are after the heart of the guy who’s after the heart… Read it again slowly, and you’ll get what I mean.

Every aspect of the story is meticulously captured. The music and the lyrics, for example, sound straight out of the Psalms (the songs in the Bible which David mostly wrote). Nothing feels out of place. You never find yourself whispering, “That’s totally not in the Bible.” And that’s the real heart behind it all. Kids watching will see who David was. Not just the bravery, faith and humanity, but also his heart for God. He sings, and he struggles. But, ultimately, he believes God can do the impossible.

The timing of this film also feels right. Kids today face giants of their own – whether that’s a bully during lunch break or the pressures of the world around them right now. I’m pretty sure they’ll all be able to relate to how David feels and what he’s going through. And how he eventually overcame. The world could definitely use a leader who remembers he’s a shepherd, but also a sheep first.

Studios like Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks will be paying attention. Even if you take faith out of the picture, this is the caliber they’ve been chasing for years. And a South African studio just handed them a masterclass in storytelling with conviction – without all the added complicated extras we get in kids’ stories today.

Take your family and bring your friends. Pretend you’re going for the kids even if you’re the one most hyped. David (2025) deserves full cinemas, loud applause and a whole flock of spin-offs.

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