David

Story

Young David (voiced by Brandon Engman) is a kindly shepherd boy and also a faithful believer in God. When he is anointed to be the next king of Israel by the prophet Samuel (voiced by Brian Stivale), his life is turned upside down.

As the Philistine army threatens the nation and their champion Goliath (voiced by Kamran Nikhad) rises, David confronts the giant and defeats him, earning the trust of King Saul (voiced by Adam Michael Gold) and the love of the nation. But as David gets older (voiced by Phil Wickham), King Saul becomes more paranoid, believing that David is out to steal his throne.

David flees. He must battle with himself and discover what the right path is, learning to trust in not only his faith but the people around him.

Themes

Biblical stories; death; war; conflict; violence

Violence

David has some violence. For example:

Off screen, a character yells at others amid crashing and clattering sounds. It sounds like instruments are being thrown in anger.
King Saul yells at David to get out, throwing a candlestick in his direction.
Goliath throws a spear that narrowly misses several characters, before embedding in a wall.
David throws a rock at Goliath, hitting him in the head and killing him. Red petals float through the air to simulate blood, but no real blood is shown.
Hopeful music swells as the Israeli army overwhelms the enemy Philistine forces.
King Saul screams at the prophet Samuel before tripping over and tearing a chunk of cloth from Samuel’s cloak.
King Saul verbally threatens David before throwing a spear at him. David falls from a balcony and becomes injured.
A statue falls and nearly crushes David.
King Saul shoves his adult son in anger.
An elderly priest is threatened with a knife; later on it’s suggested that he might have been killed.
David watches his friend being overrun by Philistines in battle. It looks like the friend is killed.
David is punched hard in the face and injured.
David is struck on the back of the head and nearly knocked unconscious before being tied to a tree. A nearby character sharpens a knife, threatening to kill him.
Several characters, including women and children, are hit and knocked down by large men.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in David.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

David shows some use of substances. For example, soldiers toast each other with alcohol in celebration.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in David.

Product placement

David is a faith-based movie, and it features religious iconography important to both Christianity and Judaism.

Coarse language

David has some mild coarse language, including ‘heck’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

David is a beautifully animated adaptation of a well-known Bible story. It is slow-paced at times, but it does have some charming musical numbers and hopeful core messages.

David is best suited to families with older children. Because of its violence, scary scenes and themes, David isn’t suitable for children under 7 years. We also recommend parental guidance for children aged under 12 years.

The main messages from David are to have courage in the face of challenges and have faith in people around you.

Values in David that you could reinforce with your children include bravery, courage, kindness, love, family bonds and faith.

David could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like the following:

The movie has heavy themes of war. You could talk about the real-life implications of war.
David defeats Goliath. In the movie it’s presented as an act of violence, but it can be interpreted as overcoming a challenge.
The movie is based on Samuel 1 and 2 from the Bible. You could talk about the movie’s adaptation of these Biblical verses.