Produced in Cape Town, the joyful animated musical David has just dropped its official trailer, ahead of the film’s wide release in cinemas across South Africa and the US on Friday, 19 December 2025.
When the giant Goliath rises to terrorise a nation, a young shepherd steps forward, armed with only a sling, a few stones, and unshakable faith.
”David is one of the most inspiring characters in human history: a warrior, poet, shepherd and king,” says creator Phil Cunningham, a Zimbabwean who now lives in Cape Town, South Africa. “If you need to find the courage to slay giants in your life, bring your family along to watch David this December.”
“The making of our animated epic is a David vs. Goliath story in itself,” says Brent Dawes (Jungle Beat: The Movie), who directed with Phil.
That story started over 20 years ago when Phil wrote and executive produced the award-winning The Legend of the Sky Kingdom, Africa’s first animated feature film, made entirely from junk. In the two decades since, he’s turned Sunrise Animation Studios into a powerhouse, with nearly seven billion views for its Jungle Beat YouTube channel alone.
Sunrise animated David largely from their studio in Noordhoek, Cape Town, hiring over 400 local and international crew, some in-house and some remote. Legendary Pixar story artist Nathan Stanton (Brave, Finding Dory) was assistant director while the animation director was Dan Barker, a South African now based in the US, with credits on Oscar-winning films like Big Hero 6.
Other South African residents in key roles included executive producer Jacqui Cunningham, producers Tim Keller and Rita Mbanga, co-writer Sam Wilson, and production designer Lynton Levengood.
“In building Sunrise and making this movie, I’ve felt like David facing Goliath so many times,” says Phil. “This is a story that I’ve kept coming back to time and again for inspiration. I wanted to bring its powerful message of faith and courage to a new generation – and animation is the most powerful storytelling medium in the world right now to reach them. I can’t wait for families to enjoy David together on the big screen, and rediscover the joy of cinema and the power of biblical stories.”
The ultimate underdog story, David is being distributed in the US by Angel Studios. Their previous animation, The King of Kings, had the biggest opening weekend in the US of any biblical animation ever, according to Angel, ahead of the Oscar-winning The Prince of Egypt.
Angel has reinvented film funding by removing Hollywood gatekeepers and empowering everyday fans – the Angel Guild – to greenlight the development and distribution of the movies and TV shows they want to see.
The Angel Guild’s scores for David were the highest ever recorded, while its pre-sales set a new record for Angel.
Angel is running a crowdfunded campaign to get one million children to watch David for free. You can join the campaign by sponsoring a ticket for a South African child here.
As Angel Studios’ co-founder and CEO Neal Harmon says, “I’m not sure there’s been a faith-friendly film this beautiful, this high production value ever.”
Book soon via Ster Kinekor or Nu Metro.
