Animated Easter Film ‘The King of Kings’ Makes Jesus Boring (Especially To Boys)
(REVIEW) We are full into Jesus movie season now, where we are getting not one, not two, but three Jesus movies. This lineup includes “The Last Supper,” the latest season of the smash hit “The Chosen” and Angel Studios’ animated take “The King of Kings.”
The release of “The King of Kings” at the same time as “The Chosen” is particularly entertaining, largely due to the behind-the-scenes drama of it all. Angel Studios originally had “The Chosen” before Dallas Jenkins’ team parted ways with them alleging a breach of contract. So Angel Studios releasing their own Jesus movie at the same time as “The Chosen” has shades of the Barbenheimer drama, when Warner Bros. released “Barbie” the same day as Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” after he took that movie to Universal Studios and away from Warner Bros.
Easter is the perfect time for a Jesus movie to be released, so this may also be a mere coincidence. However, it’s hard to imagine they would have released it as counter-programming to “The Chosen” if they still had it. Unfortunately, regardless of the intent, it's difficult to see how “The King of Kings” could compete with “The Chosen” on any level.
“The King of Kings” follows the legendary author Charles Dickens (voiced by Kenneth Branagh) as he tells his son, Walter (Roman Davis), a story about the life of Jesus to show that Christ is the true “king of kings.” The film boasts an all-star voice cast, including Oscar Isaac as Jesus, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Pierce Brosnan as Pontius Pilate, Forest Whitaker as Peter and Ben Kingsley as Caiaphas.
The film draws its premise from Charles Dickens’ short retelling of Jesus’ life, “The Life of Our Lord,” which he would read to his children every year (the manuscript is shown in the movie). To put it mildly, the film is not at all faithful to Dickens’ book or theology. While the movie emphasizes Jesus as the “king of kings” and His sacrifice for our sins, Dickens’ book focuses on Jesus teaching us to be good and that God forgives. Dickens even downplays Jesus' divinity, suggesting instead that the angels proclaimed Jesus would be “so good that God will love him as His own son.”
While Dickens’ original work was mostly concerned with teaching his children to be good, the film focuses on encouraging kids to look up to Jesus rather than fictional heroes like King Arthur (or, in today's context, someone like Batman). Unfortunately, the storytelling is far too dull to have the intended impact.
“The King of Kings” takes a rushed run through Jesus’ life, not spending much time developing any of the scenes, characters or themes it touches on. Dickens’ storytelling device is a crutch that transitions from one scene to the next without any real effort to make those transitions meaningful. Rather than creating intimacy with Jesus through the eyes of Dickens and his son, the framing ends up distancing us from the events, as Dickens and Walter are always in the way.
There’s a kind of soothing boredom that settles in throughout the film. Everything about it is mild. The jokes are gentle. The characters’ anger is restrained. The sadness is subdued. The animation is beautiful, but unremarkable. The voice actors deliver their lines without much intensity. Because the emotional highs and lows are nonexistent, the experience is more like watching a screensaver — putting you in a relaxed state that makes it difficult to care about what's happening on-screen.
One might argue that everything is toned down to be gentle because the movie is intended for children. Yet, I can’t think of any classic or recent kids’ movies that follow this approach, whether it’s “The Lion King” or “Inside Out 2.” These films lean into both sadness and joy, or, in the case of “Minions,” just embrace over-the-top silliness. Kids enjoy big emotions. But with “The King of Kings,” everything is mild, inoffensive and forgettable.
I suspect that Christian films for kids are made this way because, unlike Hollywood animations which are created for kids (and sometimes their parents), Christian kids’ films are made specifically for parents — particularly mothers. It's well-known that women over 35 are the primary audience for both Christian films and Hallmark movies, which also prioritize mild, inoffensive emotions. What these viewers want from the content they consume is comfort, not deep emotional engagement. They prefer a world that feels like a warm blanket.
But that’s not what young kids want, especially not young boys — the target audience of this film. Young boys crave stories about good versus evil, where they can be the hero who defeats the bad guys. They want all the intense feelings that come with that: The danger of villains, the sense of power that comes with being strong, and the honor of using that strength to conquer evil and protect the weak.
Unfortunately, “The King of Kings” doesn’t do any of that. Jesus’ power over evil is rarely the focus — and when it is, it's told rather than shown. We see Jesus being loving and gentle, reprimanding others for not being loving and gentle, much like a boy's mother might. But when Jesus faces villains, he's mostly portrayed as a helpless baby who must escape, or as someone quietly submitting to death. All the while, we get a very bored-sounding “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” impression. This might appeal to Christian mothers of boys, but it misleads them about how to make their children love Jesus, ultimately hindering their efforts (for more, read my review of “The Forge”).
When I was a kid, I loved superheroes (and still do). Whenever adults at my church heard this, they’d immediately say, “You know who the greatest superhero is? Jesus.” This would always make me internally roll my eyes. Watching this movie felt like going through that exact same exchange over and over again for the duration of the film.
Now, I understand the point the film is trying to make: Jesus was powerful, yet He used His power to serve others, not dominate them. But this idea is merely told, not shown. It's possible to convey this complex idea to children, as seen in “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Aslan is portrayed as powerful, so much so that the White Witch is clearly terrified of him. When Aslan submits to death to protect Edmund, we feel the love there. And, of course, Aslan kills the White Witch at the end (while still allowing room for human heroes to defeat evil, too).
“The King of Kings” earns points for its creative premise and its attempt to break into children's animation. However, it needed to spend much more time crafting a movie that kids would enjoy, rather than just appeasing their parents.
“The King of Kings” opens in theaters everywhere on April 11.
Joseph Holmes is an award-nominated filmmaker and culture critic living in New York. He is co-host of the podcast “The Overthinkers” and its companion website theoverthinkersjournal.world, where he discusses art, culture and faith with his fellow overthinkers. His other work and contact info can be found at josephholmesstudios.com.