“The King of Kings” adapts the writing of Charles Dickens to a contemporary, A-list screenplay in what the producers tout as “the first major animated faith film since ‘The Prince of Egypt.’” The film follows the young gifted storyteller, Dickens, as he engages the vivid imagination of his youngest son, Walter, Charles and their cat … The post All-Star Cast Brings ‘King of Kings’ to Life appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
“The King of Kings” adapts the writing of Charles Dickens to a contemporary, A-list screenplay in what the producers tout as “the first major animated faith film since ‘The Prince of Egypt.’”
The film follows the young gifted storyteller, Dickens, as he engages the vivid imagination of his youngest son, Walter, Charles and their cat Willa embark on an adventure through the biography of Jesus Christ.
Loosely based on Dickens’ short story “The Life of Our Lord,” the film features the voice acting of Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Pierce Brosnan as Pontius Pilates, Ben Kingsley as Priest Caiaphas, Forest Whitaker as Peter, and stars Oscar Isaac in voicing Jesus Christ.
One scene early in the movie portrays Walter telling his dad that he only wants to listen to a whiz-bang regal story. It harkens to “The Princess Bride” grandfather scenes yet is also completely new in animation.
Dickens wrote the “The Life of Our Lord” circa 1846 in private to read to his family as an annual Christmas tradition. The public remained unaware of the story until it was published over half a century after Dickens’ lifetime in 1934.
The movie honors the story by exhibiting the visual quality possible in today’s animated filmmaking. The characters demonstrate remarkably expressive movement, emotions, textures and posture.
“The King of Kings” is the directing debut of the seasoned storyboard artist and visual effects animator Seong-ho Jang. (“Joint Security Area,” “Spartacus,” “Journey to the West,” “Last Knights”).
Jang, who is also the co-producer and co-writer, is well-known in South Korea and the animation community for his career of setting benchmarks and realizing new possibilities in animated media quality.
Rob Edwards (“Wreck-It Ralph:) is the veteran co-writer of “The King of Kings.” He has contributed to screenplays including “Treasure Planet,” which earned an Oscar nomination, and “The Princess and the Frog,” which was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
Edwards also consulted on Disney’s “Tangled” and “Frozen,” and has been a writer for episodes of “Full House,” “In Living Color” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
Co-producer of “The King of Kings” with Jang is Woo Hyung Kim (The Little Drummer Girl), a BAFTA award winner and nominee for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Canne Film Festival.
Notably, in the country of origin of both co-producers Jang and Kim, South Korea, Christian faith grew rapidly starting in the 1970’s and Christians now make up 31 percent of the population, the largest portion of any East Asian nation. South Korea sent more missionaries to the world than any country except the United States, which is larger in size by a factor of five or more.
Church participation in South Korea soared until the late 00’s, when it is reported that young people started expressing disgruntlement with church corruption scandals and Seoul megachurch superficiality.
Like the Christian church’s decline in the United States that called for prayer and soul searching, and has stabilized and shown signs of new growth, the Christian population of South Korea is recognizing that the faith thrives on the simple and relevant message of sharing the Gospel itself and engaging with its message for your life.
Could it be that Jang, Kim and Edwards have hungered to apply their abilities to tell the story that moves their spirits? Secular work in their past include Jang’s “The Demons Strike Back” and Kim’s work at Disney. They both worked on the award winning “The Taste of Money.” “The King of Kings” as a creative passion indicates a breakout of the producers, artists and writers’ love and faith in Jesus.
“The King of Kings’” music, both for the worlds of Charles Dickens and Jesus Christ, is composed by celebrated musical director, Tae Seong Kim. Meanwhile, the acclaimed voice acting performers coming together for the movie is largely attributable to the casting work of Jamie Thomason, one of the most successful casting directors working in animation today.
“The King of Kings” teaser introduces Angel Studios’ unique giveaway tied to the film. Winners will take their families on a trip from Dickens’ London to the Holy Land. You can enter by pre-ordering movie tickets online.
It’s energizing to know that Dickens was more than the creator of Tiny Tim and the author of “A Christmas Carol;” hundreds of thousands of people to this day attend local yearly Dickens Faires, and there is even a controversy about the way the writer may have changed the celebration of Christmas with his pen.
That Dickens was devoutly inspired by the life of our Lord and applied his great talents to tell of Him will now be known in a most impressive and celebratory way.
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