King of Kings, an animated film meant for children, was officially released on April 11th by Angel Studios.
Like all animated movies such as Moana and Frozen, children naturally gravitate toward this type of content, and parents often find these types of movies enjoyable as well for movie night.
However, with all movies, or any content for that matter, it is important to evaluate whether or not the entertainment is sending the correct message– especially to impressionable children.
In the case of King of Kings, it is especially important due to the fact that this movie has an inherently theological bent.
Foundation Worldview, a YouTube channel that has dedicated themselves to unpacking children’s entertainment from a biblical perspective, weighed in on whether or not this movie is suitable for your children to watch.
Their movie review notes some important aspects to keep in mind including the positive elements, theological concerns, and more.
An important fact to keep in mind is that the movie, King of Kings, is not based off of Scripture. Rather, it is based off of a short story written by Charles Dickens called “The Life of Our Lord.”
Essentially, this movie is the Gospel told through the perspective of Charles Dickens.
As it relates to the positive elements that this movie incorporates, many of the narratives that were included were fairly accurate to the Scriptures.
In addition to this, the movie, according to parents, did a wonderful job of engaging children in the biblical story which led to children asking more questions about the Bible and Jesus.
The movie also made it very clear in multiple scenes that Jesus is the Son of God.
While all of these elements are definitely positive, the movie did contain some theological concerns which are worth noting.
The first concern is that while the movie made clear multiple times that Jesus is the Son of God, it never clarified with certainty that Jesus is God, which is a foundational Christian truth and was an essential teaching during Jesus’ earthly ministry as recorded in the Gospels.
A second concern is that while the movie broadcasted numerous miracles that Jesus performed during His ministry (healing of the blind, healing of the lame, feeding of the 5,000, casting out demons, etc.), the movie claimed that these miracles were “to prove the power of faith.”
While it is true that when Jesus performed miracles of healing, He would often say “Your faith has made you well” (Mk. 10:52), the faith that Jesus was referring to was not some general faith in something bigger than oneself.
Rather, the faith that Jesus commends is faith in Himself as the Healer, Savior, and Redeemer. The miracles that Jesus performed were not just because of His compassion and love, but they were ultimately for the purpose of drawing people to believe that He is the Messiah.
In addition to this, the movie significantly underplays the importance and significance of the Resurrection of Jesus– the hallmark of the Christian faith.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19,
“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”
Nevertheless, these negative elements are not absolute dealbreakers when it comes to whether or not you should take your children to see this movie as there is nothing outright heretical or negative in the portrayal of Jesus.
Given this, parents should feel free to take their children to see this but still make sure to clarify these important theological aspects of what faith is, who Jesus is, and why the Resurrection matters.
However, for me personally, I would veer away from taking my children to see this movie and would rather opt to read a Jesus Storybook Bible story.
