Jesus Christ Animated Movie Based on Dickens Story

South Korean animation house Mofac Animation is working on a new feature inspired by both Charles Dickens and the life of Jesus Christ.

Director Seong-ho “Jay” Jang’s faith-based feature The King of Kings is currently in the final stages of production and seeking distribution and is inspired by a posthumously published Dickens story. The film’s team has quietly been recording dialogue with what they say is a a high-profile voice cast that it plans to reveal at a later date.

The King of Kings follows Charles Dickens and youngest son Walter as they bond over the famed author’s short story “The Life of Our Lord,” which was a holiday tradition in the Dickens household, though it was never published until 1934, decades after the author’s death. Through animation, the pair and their cat Willa become immersed in the story of Jesus, involving notable friends and foes.

Jang, who has worked on projects including Starz’s Spartacus series and the 2015 Clive Owen action title Last Nights, directs The King of Kings from a script he co-wrote with Rob Edwards (The Princess and the Frog). Anfernee Kim produces the movie that also features the work of cinematographer Woo-Hyung Kim, composer Tae-seong Kim and voice and casting director Jamie Thomason. Thomason and Andrew Mann serve as executive producers.

“For the past 2000-plus years, the story of Jesus has been told and re-told in countless ways across virtually every country on the planet,” Jang said in a statement. “This is a deeply personal story to all of us on the production crew, and we know it resonates with so many around the world. The added joy of this little-known iteration is that you see the story unfold not only from Charles Dickens’ unique literary perspective, but through his son Walter’s eyes — which ultimately provides young viewers with even greater access and understanding of who Jesus was and all that he represents.”

Added producer Anfernee Kim, “Obviously, this is a universally appealing story to a wide audience, and we look forward to partnering with the appropriate entity for maximum distribution.”