NEW YORK (OSV News) — Over the course of several years in the 1840s, Charles Dickens, already renowned for his novels, penned a different kind of text. Entitled “The Life of Our Lord,” his version of the Gospel story was intended for a small and exclusive audience: the nine of his 10 children who survived infancy.
Dickens made a family tradition of reading his work to his kids every Christmas. But he opposed its ever being shared with a wider public. Thus it was not until 1934, shortly after the last of his immediate progeny died, that his more remote descendants made the decision to publish it.
With the Easter season upon us, Dickens’ biography comes to the big screen as “The King of Kings” (Angel Studios). In keeping with its august source material, the film is an excellent animated introduction to its sacred subject matter for youngsters.
Finding that his rambunctious but goodhearted young son Walter (voice of Roman Griffin Davis) is obsessed with King Arthur and his knights of the roundtable, the great author (voice of Kenneth Branagh) at the behest of his wife, Catherine (voice of Uma Thurman), resolves to tell the lad the tale of a very different sovereign.
As Dickens gives a lively recounting of the Nativity, miracles, ministry, Passion and Resurrection of Jesus (voice of Oscar Isaac), Walter and his beloved pet cat, Willa, become eyewitnesses of the various events. So, too, do viewers.
A top-flight cast — Pierce Brosnan voices Pontius Pilate, Ben Kingsley Caiaphas — and some impressive visuals bolster director and co-writer Seong-Ho Jang’s winning adaptation. The script, on which Jang collaborated with Rob Edwards, also efficiently places the life of Jesus within the context of the whole history of salvation, reaching back to the Garden of Eden.
This ultimately enables Walter, as well as the movie’s youthful intended audience, to understand the need for — and meaning of — Jesus’ sacrificial death. Like King Herod’s (voice of Mark Hamill) slaughter of the innocents and the tale of the woman taken in adultery, the Crucifixion is dealt with in an age-appropriate way. Still, such material may not be suitable for tots.
For all others, including parents, “The King of Kings” will prove a welcome treat.
The OSV News classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
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