The King of Kings (Movie Review)
by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
Happy Easter to all of you. What better time to release The King of Kings, the story of Christ, told by Mr. Charles Dickens, no less. He (voiced by Kennet Branagh) tells the story to his son Walter (Roman Griffin Davis), with the help of his wife Catherine (Uma Thurman). Dickens’ vibrant talent for storytelling, combined with his son’s vivid imagination, sends the boy on a journey through the life of the Son of God, where he bonds with his father and learns a lot about faith and how his idol, King Arthur, was based on this story.
This film is loosely based on Dickens’ novel The Life of Our Lord, which he wrote for his children and would not allow to be published during his lifetime. Telling a compelling biblical story for children and effectively conveying the message of faith is no easy task. I don’t know how much of this retelling is taken directly from Dickens’ original novel, but faith is a prominent theme throughout the film.
The movie begins with Charles attempting to tell A Christmas Carol to people in an auditorium, when Walter disrupts this. Then, after returning home, Charles decides to tell his son the story of Jesus. This is the framing device for the entire narrative. It’s at least 10 minutes into the movie before the story of Jesus begins, and the movie frequently cuts back to Charles telling the story. Often, the scenes with Dickens and his son feature slapstick involving the family’s cat, or a juvenile question from Walter about the story. This is an interesting way to keep the children interested and remind the audience that Jesus’ story is being told within another story.
That said, I’m a little in two minds about whether the framing device of Dickens telling the story to his son is a good addition. It does help the film feel less monotonous, which I know from experience can be a problem when retelling Biblical stories for a young audience. When I attended Sunday School as a child, I saw several animated retellings of these narratives, which always bored me. They never felt like they were made for children. I never took any lessons from them, because I was so disinterested. Here, the breaking up of the story with scenes from Dickens’ house is more likely to keep children interested. Unfortunately, this does give the film a somewhat clunky structure, as we switch back and forth between the two narratives frequently. It also makes Dickens’ story seem like it’s supposed to be the movie’s main takeaway. Many won’t be familiar with Dickens’ retelling that he wrote for his children and could be confused about why he is the narrator here. Others will be confused about why there is a narrator at all.
The final act has a smoother feel when Charles and Walter are incorporated into the story with Jesus; however, the childish tone of Walter’s antics still clashes with the more serious Biblical stories. This framing is a decent attempt to keep the children watching. Still, it will likely alienate some people and frustrate others who would prefer the entire movie be about Jesus.
The biggest shortcoming for me is the visuals. The animation style is somewhat bland. It looks like any CGI animated movie from the last 20 years. There was some potential for vibrant views of Israel during ancient times, similar to those in The Prince of Egypt, but instead, there’s a bland color palette and many generic and unexpressive character designs. The design makes them look like plastic action figures, distracting from the more serious moments in the story.
The stories of Jesus’ life and actions are retold relatively faithfully, or at least nothing stands out as a jarring change from any other retelling you might have heard. At the same time, though, they are all told in a way children will understand. Some of them are presented in a very condensed form, so much of their meaning seems lost. There is a clear focus on the miracles Jesus performed, and those who felt threatened by him. For example, the nativity story near the beginning focuses mainly on King Herod (Mark Hamill) in his attempt to track down the baby Jesus and kill him. All the best-known gospels of the Messiah‘s life are here and framed around a child’s thoughts. This helps to give the children in the audience a better idea of what they should take away from these events.
Additionally, there is a stacked cast here, to the extent that I wonder if that’s where most of the budget went, given the cheap look of the animation. Not only does the cast all give stellar performances, it is also lovely that none sound like the actor in the role. Often, voice performances from well-known actors are a little distracting because you can tell it’s a big-name actor. Richard Ayoade in Soul, for example, does a great job, but I can’t hear a character when his character talks in that movie. Here, however, everyone puts on a voice that fits the role, and it helps to immerse you in the story better. A particular standout is Hamill as King Herod; he’s genuinely intimidating.
Overall, The King of Kings does a decent job of playing all the hits in the life of Jesus and getting across his message in a way that children will follow. The emotion of all the key moments translate well, and you feel the proper connection with the characters. The animation is serviceable, albeit nothing anyone will be writing home about, and the cast does a fantastic job. While framing it around Dickens does make sense given the source material, it may confuse some, and the switch between the two narratives is sometimes jarring. The story being told to Charles’ son will help children relate better to the story, but it might also leave them wishing Walter had more screen time. You have to wonder if this story could have worked without the narration.
Rating: High Side of It Was Just Okay
The King of Kings is currently playing in theaters
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