King David animated film raises over $3 million to bring movie to theaters nationwide
The creators of Netflix's series "The Jungle Beat," which ranked among its top 10 movies globally in 2020, are seeking to bring the epic account of King David to the big screen in an animated film that has raised millions of dollars.
"The Jungle Beat" series has been broadcast in over 150 countries, amassing hundreds of millions of viewers. Now, filmmakers Phil and Jackie Cunningham are hoping to recreate that momentum with the biblical account of King David.
"Our vision is an epic movie that is biblically authentic while standing alongside the likes of Moana and Tangled for quality and entertainment value," the creators shared on the film's crowdfunding campaign page.
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The animated film, titled "David," has raised over $3 million out of the Cunningham's $5 million campaign, which ends shortly before Christmas.
"We have already raised and invested over $19 million in research, development, production pipeline tech, visual treatment, three drafts of script development, storyboards and animatic, music and recruiting key leads, and our total production budget target is $54.6 million," the filmmakers, who are farmers from Africa, explained.
According to the film's campaign, "'David' brings together the power and appeal of both animation and biblical storytelling … with powerful biblical authenticity for a broad global audience."
"David’s story is ultimately an incredible journey of faith, and a living, breathing, and world-changing relationship with God," it says.
A snippet of the film on YouTube has already garnered thousands of views. It displays the quality of animation, script and music that audiences can expect from the film.
The Cunninghams said they hope to create "the most-viewed animated film of all time by telling the story of David as you’ve never seen it before."
The duo also hopes to highlight the principles displayed by David, including leadership and faith. Filmmakers promise that Scripture leads the script — even though "there have been opportunities to take this project to major Hollywood studios."
"We have had a strong sense that this is not the route God wants us to take. We feel a strong sense of stewardship to stay at the head of creative and distribution, to be sure that the movie we make is authentic to Scripture, drenched in God’s presence, and brought to the widest possible audience," the campaign description reads.
"David" is based on Acts 13:22. The verse reads, “God said, I have found in David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart."
"Our ultimate passion is to live a story and make a movie that reveals God’s heart to our generation and generations to come," the filmmakers conclude.
Visit the film's crowdfunding site for additional information.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: [email protected] She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
