Stream It Or Skip It: ‘David’ on Netflix, a Beautifully Animated Reiteration of the Classic Bible Story

During the 2025 holiday season, David (now on Netflix) got out its sling and rock and KO’d SpongeBob himself. Metaphorically speaking, anyway. The animated musical version of the ubiquitous Bible story, a continuation of the limited TV series Young David, managed to outgross The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants not only during a head-to-head opening weekend, but through its entire run. An $87 million worldwide box office take is nothing to scoff at these days, and that number reflects the growing presence of Angel Studios, the faith-based distributor and production company behind (the somewhat politically charged) 2023 hit Sound of Freedom.

Whether a film like David has crossover appeal is moot, because even if it’s preaching to the choir, it’s still proved to be significantly commercially and creatively successful. DAVID: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? The Gist: We open in an ancient Israeli valley as young David (Brandon Engman) displays two prominent skills: One, he dead-eye pegs a stalking lion with a rock via his signature sling, rescuing his herd of sheep from becoming dinner. And two, in an act of compassion and respect for a fellow living creature, he frees the carnivore after it gets pinned by a rock.

He’s an extraordinary person, this David, and his noble attributes don’t go unnoticed. The uber-bearded prophet Samuel (Brian Stivale) arrives at the home of David’s family to dribble oil on the kid’s head, which is apparently how one proclaimed a future king back in ancient times. “But I’m just a shepherd,” David sort of protests; moments earlier, he had broken out into song about his desire to be free and have adventures, stuff he might need to fit in before he plops his buns on the throne of Israel.

Meanwhile, the current king, Saul (Adam Michael Gold), assembles a ragtag army to defend against the imperialist Philistines, led by King Achish (Asim Chaudhry). Saul is in quite a state, possibly madness, having been given a foot in the ass by God himself, so he summons David to play his lyre – David is very good at lyre-playing, and singing – to soothe his tortured soul. When the Philistines arrive, their million-zillion armored warriors snort derisively at the Israelis’ flimsy scattering of farmers with pitchforks.

But Achish decides to settle this with a one-on-one between his champion Goliath (Kamran Nikhad), a nine-foot giant with six fingers on each hand (and no, that’s not AI-slop animation, it’s deliberate), and the Israelis’ best warrior, whoever that might be. No spoilers for a 2,000-year-old story, but suffice to say, this here version of David and Goliath does not take creative license from the OG telling. And perhaps this is news to the uncapital-p philistines out there, but that isn’t the end of David’s story. Not even close!

Jump ahead some years and David is an adult voiced by contemporary Christian singer Phil Wickham. David joined Saul’s army, befriending the king’s son Jonathan (Mark Jacobson), becoming a skilled fighter and keeping a lid on the he-who-will-be-king thing. His charismatic selflessness makes him popular with many Israelites, but when Saul realizes the kid’s destined to succeed the throne, his rejected-by-the-Big-Guy madness functions like the Grinch’s heart in reverse. As the Philistines loom and the Paganesque Amelekites threaten everyone in the zip code and Saul targets David and his family, everything becomes a major cluster-you-know-what that only a man of great faith and fortitude could overcome.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Angel preceded David with its first animated feature, The King of Kings. Otherwise, Dreamworks’ 1998 hit The Prince of Egypt is a clear reference point. And for more on David, consult your local library – or cheat a bit and watch Amazon Prime’s House of David series.

Performance Worth Watching Hearing: Wickham nicely complements David’s lush boy-band eyebrows with nasally contempo-pop vocal stylings, singing songs penned by Jonas Myrin. Sex And Skin: David is not like Michelangelo’s famous sculpture. So, none. Our Take: David is quite clearly a stone slung at the forehead of big animation studios like Dreamworks, Illumination and Disney – let’s face it, SpongeBob is small potatoes, and way more of a TV guy than a movie guy – in terms of artistry more than market share (if a Minions flick only grossed $87 million, it might trigger the rapture).

Angel, using South African animation studio Sunrise Productions, sunk significant resources into making this familiar Bible story look resplendent, and alongside the usual thematics – selflessness, humility, the power of unquestioning faith, the emphasis on the spiritual over the corporeal – the thoughtful visual presentation is the primary reason to put your eyes on this movie. Although the bugged-out eyes/simple feature character designs are reminiscent of Disney, the landscapes are striking and the details are impressively textured, the latter necessary to drive home the lessons of David’s textile-weaving mother, who reminds him that “every thread has a purpose.” One especially beautiful shot positions David and Saul on opposite sides of a shimmering waterfall, a prime example of composition reflecting theme with an admirably understated sense of profundity. There’s no docking David for its heavy-handed proselytizing – even for a story lifted wholesale from the Good Book, it’s only modestly preachy, with David’s proclamation, “With God on our side even I could fight (Goliath),” being about as plainspoken as the film gets. Musically, the songs are sticky but not particularly memorable; even though they tend to lightly embellish themes instead of introducing new ideas, the songs are strategically positioned so they don’t overwhelm the narrative.

Nothing about the film is particularly groundbreaking, but it’s a high-floor/low-ceiling endeavor that should empower Angel to continue spreading ye olde Word via animation. Our Call: David: The objective will admire it; the converted will love it. STREAM IT. John Serba is a freelance film critic from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Werner Herzog hugged him once.