Minno, Slingshot Productions, Sunrise Animation Studios, and Angel Studios team up to release the episodic series "Young David" beginning November 10.
"Young David" brings to life the growing-up years of one of the greatest kings in history. Though he would go on to become a renowned leader and leave an unparalleled legacy, he had to start somewhere! The series steps into David's early life as a young teenage shepherd — with lyre, slingshot, and sheep for friends. Rooted in Biblical context and populated with many of the actual people, places, and kinds of events David would have experienced, each episode focuses on one defining characteristic of David–the one God called a man after His own heart.
Exciting, engaging, and ready to inspire audiences of all ages around the globe, "Young David" is history-making animation that puts faith at the center of the screen for kids and families. Minno and Slingshot Productions led the development of the series, which will feature two original songs from Grammy-Award-winning Songwriter Jonas Myrin. "Young David" is a prequel to the full-length animated feature film "David," to be released in 2025 by Slingshot Productions in partnership with Angel Studios.
"Kids deserve incredible, best-in-class stories," says Erick Goss, CEO and Co-founder of Minno. "At Minno, we use the power of media to invite kids into God's Story. Young David is a groundbreaking endeavor that blends state-of-the-art animation with timeless tales of faith and virtue cherished by God's people globally. We've taken great care to ensure this series speaks to the heart, offering not just entertainment but also a celebration of shared values and lessons that transcend time. We're excited to partner with Angel Studios and Slingshot Productions to offer a series that can delight families around the world."
Rarely does this level of feature-film animation quality come to Christian kids' content. The creators of Young David believe that God's story deserves excellence, and so do kids and families. Young David delivers on that commitment to excellence, raising a new high bar for Christian content for kids.
Young David brings together a team of top talent that has worked on almost every major animated film of the past decade. World-class creatives with joint expertise from power-house studios such as DreamWorks, Pixar, Sony, Disney, Lucas Films, Sesame Workshop, PBS, Scholastic, Discovery Kids, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Jim Henson, and more make up this talented team from Minno, Slingshot Productions, and Sunrise Animation Studios.
Executive Producer Phil Cunningham, shares: "We believe that Young David will ignite and inspire children to trust and explore, through relationship, the incredible character and heart of God. Animation is a wonderful medium to connect across race, cultural, age and gender barriers and we have produced Young David to the highest quality possible, leaving no stone unturned and working with the world's best artists."
The 5-episode animated series will include:
- November 10 - "Warrior"
- December 8 - "King"
- January 12 - "Shepherd"
- February 9 - "Poet"
- March 8 - "Worshiper"
The series will be complemented by a beautifully illustrated young reader chapter book series with five books that correspond to each episode. The first book, Warrior, will be released in early December. Additional products around the Young David series, including curriculum, are in development.
"The 'Young David' series takes the quality of animated Biblical series to a level audiences haven't seen before. It gives a tiny glimpse into the quality of the upcoming DAVID feature film," said Jeffrey Harmon, CCO of Angel Studios. "We are honored to partner with Minno, a company that shares our mission to amplify light, and co-launch the series on our apps and websites."
The "Young David" series will be available on the Minno Kids streaming service and the Angel Studios streaming platform and app beginning November 10. Early access will be available for Angel Guild Members on the Angel App beginning November 3.