Projects
The first project showcased the envisioned film quality and animation capabilities, and a demo clip was created as a proof of concept. The demo is not part of the movie or the Young David series and is a completed project. It was completed in 2017 and can be viewed here: https://youtu.be/8NUsnQ1EcOo.
Two projects are running simultaneously and complement each other. The first is Young DAVID, which consists of five short episodes released from November 2023 to March 2024. The second project is a major feature film that will be released theatrically worldwide in 2025.
Young DAVID Series
The release of the Young DAVID series will precede the release of the DAVID feature film. Young DAVID is a 5-episode series exploring David’s youth shortly before Samuel anoints him as the next King of Israel. Each episode is approximately 5 minutes long.
The LINK is a showcase of all the Young David series that have been developed.
The initial five Young DAVID episodes are titled Warrior, King, Shepherd, Poet, and Worshiper, each exploring a facet of David’s character as revealed in the biblical text. Between November 2023 and March 2024, Young DAVID will be available to screen through Minno Kids and Angel Studios. It is a key strategic release strategy to build awareness and market the DAVID feature movie. The production of the Young DAVID series is complete.
For more information, please visit www.youngdavid.com
DAVID Feature Film
Inspiration
David is one of the most inspiring characters in human history. Warrior, Poet, Shepherd, Worshiper, and King – David’s life is one of incredible color and energy. It’s the ultimate underdog story.
It’s about much more than a shepherd boy who took on a giant. This story can inspire a generation to live more courageously and love more generously.
Not only is David’s life one of the most compelling stories of human history, but it also points to God in a way that challenges the image many have of an austere, unapproachable, and distant deity.
Synopsis
David is the youngest of eight sons and right at the bottom of his family’s pecking order when he discovers a destiny far greater than he had ever dreamed. From caring for his father’s sheep in remote fields, he suddenly finds himself in the King’s palace on a collision course with two hostile armies, a giant enemy warrior, and his own King, Saul. One of history’s most loved and best-known stories is coming to the big screen as a major animated feature film to ignite a new courageous generation of giant slayers.
Why Animation?
We want DAVID’s message to reach every culture and every generation and to be watched and re-watched for decades to come. Animation has a unique power to communicate across age, cultural, and language barriers like no other medium and is possibly the most evergreen and best-performing of all film genres.
Project Status
The DAVID Movie is in production and is due for a 2025 worldwide cinematic release.
Our World-Class, Worldwide Production Team
DAVID has attracted talented and experienced artists, animators, filmmakers, and music professionals worldwide. Our crew of over 170 people across 17 countries includes senior contributors to some of the last two decades’ most successful and iconic movies, including Finding Nemo, Moana, Tangled, Big Hero 6, and Soul. Our music team includes multiple Grammy winners. The music of DAVID is incredibly exciting, with several potentially timeless hits on the soundtrack.
Below are just a few of the many talented people working on DAVID.
Nathan Stanton
Head of Story
Throughout his 20-year career at Pixar, Nathan was involved in many of the most loved animated movies in recent history, including Nemo, Monsters Inc., Incredibles 2, Brave, A Bug’s Life, and Luca.
Borja Montoro
Character Design
Known for his character design work in Moana and Zootopia and many more, Borja is a 25-year veteran of the animation industry. He spent seven years with Walt Disney Studios, working on projects like Hercules, Tarzan, and The Emperor’s New Groove. Montoro has also worked on SPA Studios, Sony Pictures, DreamWorks, and Paramount Productions.
Steve Pegram
Producer
Steve is a BAFTA-winning producer whose extensive resume includes titles like The Road to El Dorado, Angry Birds, Flushed Away, and Arthur Christmas.
David Walvoord
Director of Photography
David is heading up our cinematography, and his incredible experience across some of the biggest movies in history is a massive asset to the DAVID team. He is best known for his work on Star Trek: Insurrection, How to Train Your Dragon, Fight Club, and Kung Fu Panda.
Jason Halbert
Executive Director – Music
Jason is a Grammy-winning songwriter, music producer, and director who has worked with some of the biggest names in Christian and secular music. His career began as a 19-year-old when he played keyboards for DC Talk. He went on to found Sonic Flood, toured with the Jonas Brothers, and has been Kelly Clarkson’s producer for the past decade and, produced the Kelly Clarkson Show.
Jonas Myrin
Song Writer
Jonas has written music for artists including Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, The Pussycat Dolls, and Idina Menzel. He was awarded the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Song for 10,000 Reasons, written with Matt Redman.
Phil Cunningham
Executive Producer, Director, and Writer
Phil’s passion for storytelling was ignited and fueled as a young boy growing up in the wild frontier of Zimbabwe, where day-to-day life was often interspersed with larger-than-life characters and fantastic stories. Phil is a serial entrepreneur, a visionary, a storyteller, and, most of all, a man of Faith. The story of David has been the driving passion behind Phil’s journey into film because of the incredible glimpses of God’s nature woven into David’s extraordinary story. Over the last two decades, Phil has built Sunrise Animation Studios in Cape Town, South Africa. Phil is also an Executive Manager of Slingshot Productions.
Jacqui Cunningham
Executive Producer
Jacqui Cunningham co-founded Sunrise Animation Studios with her husband Phil, and she has a particular passion for mentoring people and building incredible teams in the filmmaking and story process. She brings a great deal of intuitive wisdom to compliment Phil’s entrepreneurial vision, and they have been an exceptional team in running a business, making movies, and raising their three children.
Brent Dawes
Director and Writer
Brent Dawes is the co-director and writer of DAVID. Before the DAVID movie, Brent spent over two decades as the Creative Lead at Sunrise Animation Studios, where (among many other projects) he created the Jungle Beat series and directed Jungle Beat: The Movie, which Netflix acquired in 2021, where it ranked in the Top 10 movies across all genres for three weeks.
Tim Keller
Producer
Tim Keller is a producer at Sunrise Animation Studios. He has produced five seasons of the award-winning Jungle Beat series, which has been broadcast in over 150 countries. Tim launched the Jungle Beat YouTube channel, which has grown to over 11 million subscribers and 5.5 billion views. Following the success of the Jungle Beat Series, Tim has produced Jungle Beat: The Movie (2021, Netflix Original), Jungle Beat 2 The Past (2024 release), and Young David (2023, Minno/Angel), a series of five short films.
Rita Mbanga
Producer
Rita has over 20 years of experience working in animated and live-action feature films, commercials, short films, and TV series. Rita has been part of the production team on Jungle Beat since the inception of the brand – across all eight seasons and both features and has recently produced the Young David series. Rita was a mentor in the Women in Animation mentorship program and was a member of the Jury at the Annecy Film Festival in 2022 and the El Ojo Cojo Film Festival in 2022 and 2023.
Feature Film Financing
The project requires $60.9 million in funding to pay for the production of the DAVID movie and other running expenses until the movie’s launch when revenue will be generated. We have active a Regulation A+ Crowdfunding that can be accessed at www.thedavidmovie.com