No other subject has been the focus of more films than the life of Jesus – and as the author of the book “Jesus Christ Movie Star,” I can attest that the subject has been covered since the late 19th century in nearly every imaginable manner within the range of sacred and profane.
To my happy surprise, there is an inventive new way of retelling this story. The new feature “The King of Kings” provides a computer animated version that is inspired by “The Life of Our Lord,” an unpublished manuscript by Charles Dickens that he wrote specifically for his young children. The resulting film is a clever and sincere work that is ideal for family viewing over the upcoming Easter holiday.
The film opens in Victorian London with Dickens giving a staged reading of “A Christmas Carol” that gets disrupted by his rambunctious young son Walter and the child’s partner-in-crime cat Willa. Walter fancies himself as King Arthur, complete with a miniature wooden Excalibur, but Dickens offers to tell him the story of an even greater king who lived 2,000 years earlier.
“The King of Kings” shifts back and forth from the Dickens home to the Judean story, and sometimes the celebrated author, his son and the cat become in-person spectators to Jesus’ ministry. The production by South Korea’s Mofac Animation is often inventive and artistic, especially in scenes depicting the Feeding of the Multitudes and Jesus walking on water.
The film is rated PG and some of the more violent aspects of the story, such as the Massacre of the Innocents and the suicide of Judas, are not depicted. The scourging of Jesus is not shown on screen – Jesus is obscured by the pillar where he is chained during the soldiers’ abuse. Of course, the Crucifixion is depicted, but certainly not with the Mel Gibson-level of gore.
The film has a rather distinguished cast of voice performers who bring their characters to vibrant life: Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Forest Whitaker as Peter, Ben Kingsley as High Priest Caiaphas, and Pierce Brosnan as Pontius Pilate. Oscar Isaac is the voice of Jesus, and he might be the weak link in the film – he often sounds a little too insouciant and informal for such an important role.
Still, “The King of Kings” is wonderful film the deserves to be seen and appreciated. I hope that by early next year the Academy voters will overcome their prejudice against Christian-themed films and give this deserving production an Oscar nomination as Best Animated Feature Film.