BY: Ethan Inman
With the enduring success and popularity of “The Prince of Egypt” (1998) and the current appetite for film and television based on Bible stories it’s surprising that the first biblical animated film is only hitting theaters 27 years later.
“The King of Kings” (2025) was a perfect storm of timing for Angel Studios, releasing only one weekend prior to Easter Sunday and amidst a lot of industry hype for biblical television epics “The Chosen” and “House of David”.
The film is fantastic for a young audience, boasting a talented, engaging voice cast and animation that far exceeds its $14 million budget. It also fills a massive box office void of by being serviceable animated biblical film that is good enough to warrant a theatrical audience.
But the film, likely due to budget constraints, never quite reaches the depth or consistent production quality of modern biblical television.
“The King of Kings” is a frame story centered around Charles Dickens (Kenneth Branagh)’s retelling of the life of Jesus to his son Walter (Roman Griffin Davis). As Dickens tells the story, he and Walter are immersed in the ancient world of Jesus (Oscar Isaac), reliving some of his most famous Biblical moments such as when he instructs Peter (Forest Whitaker) to walk on water or when he defends an adulteress (Vanessa Marshall) from being stoned.
The way that the film presents the frame story is one of its most compelling elements. Mixed within Willa the Cat (Dee Bradley Baker)’s incessant meowing is a tangentially profound exploration of the immersion people can experience from being told a story. Charles and Walter never physically leave Charles’s study, but they feel as though they are with Jesus because of the “magic” of Charles’s storytelling, a concept they vaguely allude to throughout the film.
Stories are meant to be experienced and not just studied, and it was intriguing to see that theme, which had nothing to do with the biblical narrative, be explored.
The film also contains some standout vocal performances. Ben Kingsley is particularly delightful as High Priest Caiaphus, and Branagh serves as a strong lead for a children’s film.
At times, “The King of Kings” is also almost a biblical epic. The environment and sound design combine for a few beats to give the audience that same, immersive feeling that Walter is experiencing.
But the epic moments are unfortunately also accompanied by clunky, low budget moments. Each character’s voice lines never quite match up with the way their mouth is animated. Willa the Cat is not charming or funny, just annoying, which makes the casting and wasted talent of “Star Wars” legend Bradley Baker even more unfortunate.
In addition, the plot plays more like a fun, kid-friendly repackaging of the life of Christ, which has been done before countless times. The only unique aspect is the involvement of Dickens and, while the immersive storytelling themes are compelling, its not always the best sign when the most innovative theme the movie tackles has nothing to do with the story it covers, which just so happens to be one of the most thematically rich of all time.
Overall, the film is a serviceably good time, especially given the budget. Its success is encouraging, because it is a proof of concept that Biblical animated films can perform well at the box office.
Given the artistic and economic success of “The Prince of Egypt” and the appetite for Biblical content in the modern age, “The King of Kings” is hopefully the start of a renaissance of animated Bible stories. The medium would benefit from the reference material greatly.
But hopefully a little more money and care is put into animation and storytelling innovation next time as well.
RATING: ✩✩✩
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