Nate At The Movies

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

I remember hearing about both The King of Kings and Light of the World around the same time this year, and I initially believed Angel Studios would come out on top. Angel Studios left the door open for Light of the World to take the top spot on my 2025 Animated Jesus Movie List, and boy, did it ever do just that!

Where The King of Kings undermined its audience with incessant interruptions by Walter Dickens and his annoying cat, a heavy-handed and preachy story, and a slew of animation shortcuts, Light of the World chose to play it safe with its narrative and make sure to shine in every other aspect of the film. They stuck to the script(ure) in much the same way that The King of Kings did and focused on Jesus’ kindness and giving over everything else, but it was the film’s surrounding qualities that elevated it past its competition.

The animation must have been pulled right from those illustrated children’s Bibles, equal parts expressive and vibrant (and probably the right decision technically, considering their little $20 million budget). The animators played with color, light, and the 2D style in tons of fun and impactful ways, which I bet was appreciated by the adults, too, not just the kids.

The music wasn’t anything special, but it did complement the majesty and vibrancy of the story pretty well. I loved the voice acting, too—other than Dave Pettitt (who I know from the GuideAlong app we use on our trips to National Parks), who voiced Zebedee, I didn’t know any names in this movie, but they crushed it.

I know I said that the story felt pretty similar in this film, but that may have been a lie, too. I really enjoyed seeing this story from John’s point of view, and I appreciated that this movie remembered that many of the disciples, including John, were boys when they started following Jesus. John’s innocent perspective added a lot to this movie, and his relationship with Jesus was heartwarming. I also felt like Light of the World didn’t patronize their viewers—every moment had gravity and stakes, and while there were plenty of fun moments, the importance of every scene wasn’t forgotten.

Given their small budget and adherence to the most well-known story in history (I think), Light of the World ended up being the best possible product that the circumstances could offer. I was honestly very impressed, and while it has a ways to go before it matches up with The Prince of Egypt, Light of the World will totally be the 2025 Animated Jesus Movie that I show to my kids. Also, cheers for Brown Jesus! Was it that hard?