lion of judah movie review

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• DVD & Streaming

The Lion of Judah

• Animation , Comedy , Drama , Kids

Content Caution

In Theaters

• June 3, 2011
• Voices of Ernest Borgnine as Slink; Sandi Patty as Esmay; Georgina Cordova as Judah; Alphonso McAuley as Drake; Omar Benson Miller as Horace; Scott Reeves as Jack; Anupam Kher as Monty; Michael Madsen as Boss; Leon Clingman as Tony; Bruce Marchiano as Jesus; Adrienne Pierce as Helda

Home Release Date

• March 27, 2012
• Deryck Broom

Distributor

• Rocky Mountain Pictures

Movie Review

Plucky little Judah is confused. For some reason, the spotless, white-as-snow lamb believes he’s a lion. He even “roars” to prove his prowess.   His shepherds are not convinced, of course. They don’t even notice. But while they make a pit stop in Bethlehem en route to delivering him to a buyer in Jerusalem, Judah does make quite an impression on Slink, a grandfatherly rat; Esmay, a motherly cow; Drake, a clueless rooster; Monty, a fearful and fainting horse; and Horace, an ill-mannered but well-meaning pig with a snout for trouble. Then, when Drake accidentally lands in Judah’s travel crate and is taken away with him as the shepherds continue their trek, the other animals dutifully scramble to the rescue. While following the men and their precious cargo, they meet Jack, an embittered donkey colt who reluctantly joins them.

Once in the holy city, the barnyard buddies search for their lost friends and, gradually, learn the lamb’s fate: He’s to be sacrificed in order to set people free from their sins. Judah doesn’t know this at first, even though his mother hinted at it when he was taken away from her, telling him that his purpose was the most noble of all. When it does dawn on him that dying’s involved in fulfilling that noble purpose, the terrified lamb struggles to escape as fast as his new friends hurry to rescue him.

Simultaneously, Jesus is enduring his period of Passion. And the animals’ story is mingled with Christ’s at key moments.

Positive Elements

The barnyard beasts display great courage while searching for Drake and Judah. They’re scared, of course, especially the horse. But they step up when it counts. “He’s one of us and we stick together, right?” says Slink. They also comfort one another when situations look grim and morale is low. Though their initial meeting is tense, Horace and Jack eventually forge a friendship. Slink encourages others to look beyond a friend’s frustrating external qualities and into the animal’s kind and loyal heart.

Jack’s bitterness toward those who have treated him cruelly is all consuming, and he feels that the ropes his owners use for control also enslave his heart. When he encounters the love of Christ, however, he’s set free from his misery and his hope is renewed. Judah, too, fully realizes the power and magnitude of Christ’s love, and encourages others to recognize it.

Spiritual Elements

Large and lofty spiritual themes span much of the movie, though awkwardly so at times. One tangled subplot revolves around Boss, the leader of a group of ravens in Jerusalem. Before Christ’s crucifixion, the bird, deemed unclean by Jewish law, has a vision paralleling Peter’s in Acts 10. In the passage, sheets containing unclean animals appear to the apostle, who is commanded to kill and eat animals that had previously been forbidden. It seems that by involving Boss and his flock with this grace-inspired revelation, the filmmakers are trying to explain that Jesus offers redemption and makes all things new. But there’s also a few things here that might get misunderstood by (young) moviegoers. Especially when Boss, who is presented as a stereotyped mafia don, bluntly tells another raven that their purification makes them “fit to eat.”

We learn, meanwhile, that most of the animals have a history with Christ: Their stable is where Mary gave birth, and they recognize that the baby they once saw is now the man they see today. (Never mind the fact that the beasts would have to be preternaturally old in order for this to occur.) As their stories unfold and intertwine with Christ’s, Jack is shown to be the donkey the Lord rides on Palm Sunday, and Drake is the rooster that crows after Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus. When Christ turns over the moneychanger’s tables in the temple, he “inadvertently” frees the animals. And we see them witnessing both His crucifixion and resurrection.

An old hen explains what a sacrifice is, saying that the wages of sin is death, but that God allows an animal to take the place of man to pay for his sin. And herein we encounter a possibly hinky juxtaposition of stock, animated silliness and biblical sobriety. What does it look like for us to identify with a main character in a movie who is a thinking, talking, spiritually minded animal—destined to become a sacrifice under the Old Testament’s Mosaic law? Should it concern us at all to watch Judah, anthropomorphized as he is, do everything in his power to squirm his way out of having his blood shed for the sake of others’ sins? Why wouldn’t he, after all? And why, too, we’re forced to wonder, would God want such a creature to be slaughtered in the first place? In this odd scenario, Judah is either a martyr or a traitor, depending on his course. He’s certainly never just the animal substitute God ordained.

Temple birds are excited to be chosen for sacrifice, and they call Judah blessed because he is spotless (“What a privilege, indeed, to be sacrificed to the Lord”). But Judah will have none of that.

Now, you can also argue that by portraying Judah’s reluctance you’re depicting his struggle with the horror of sin and its consequences. Were he stoic, that might not come to light. And we do very clearly see that Christ becomes the supreme sacrificial Lamb, removing the need for Judah to be killed. That’s a powerful concept no matter how it’s introduced. So walking through Judah’s trials and tribulations becomes more of an exercise in observing the built-in disparities between slapstick storytelling and the sacred text given to us in Scripture than a judgment on what we actually observe onscreen. This is a case in which one family may feel the movie is sometimes mocking while another thinks of it as merely making the Gospel more accessible to tikes and tots reared on Cartoon Network. At its best, the movie pushes families toward exploring the spiritual issues it embraces by talking them over afterwards.

While Jesus’ name isn’t used here, emphatic throughout the script are statements such as “Behold the Lamb of God.” More loosely used is the exclamation, “Lord have mercy!” Song lyrics mention Christ and salvation. Heaven is alluded to. And the final sequence shows the Savior triumphantly rising from the grave to finish His redemptive work.

Sexual Content

Violent content.

Soldiers are seen nailing Christ to the cross. (The blows fall behind a boulder.) He is later shown hanging on that cross (from a distance). Jesus’ struggle to carry the heavy beams is shown, and we see a soldier’s whip begin to strike Him. Men push Jesus, who has been shackled after his arrest. Interlaced are images of a Jewish priest sharpening a large knife in preparation to sacrifice Judah, who is bound and terrified on an altar. The man lifts the blade over his head and is stopped just short of thrusting it into the little lamb. He’s interrupted by an earthquake, which damages buildings, including the temple.

In more slapstick fashion, Slink is hit by a horseshoe and various other objects that are thrown at him. The rat also falls from a window, cracking his head against a barrel on the way down. Rambunctious Judah head-butts a man’s shins while trying to escape. Monty mistakenly kicks Slink, and a bird falls headfirst into a shovel that propels him across a room. Boss abuses his underlings, hitting them himself and also bashing them into various hard objects. The ravens torment Slink, flying with him and dropping him onto a cobblestone street. Horace and Jack bicker and push each other.

Judah is shown being captured (kidnapped?) multiple times. He’s tossed into crates (prison cells?) and is seen to both languish there and frantically try to escape.

Crude or Profane Language

A bird says “sacrebleu,” a French profanity. While baffled, Slink utters an incomplete “What the …?” Name-calling includes “weird,” “crazy,” “nuts” and “stupid.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other negative elements.

Horace passes gas in Monty’s face when the horse faints. (Smelling salts, he figures, are harder to come by.) The pig also lets out a banger of a burp while singing, laughingly calling it a “remix.” The animals observing Christ’s birth are shown looking mildly disgusted and perplexed. The crows habitually steal bed sheets after Boss has his vision.

As immersed in animation as so many of us have become, some moviegoers will quickly conclude that The Lion of Judah is unsophisticated in its execution, a bit sedentary in its pacing and occasionally clumsy in its storytelling. But it’s still a well-intentioned film striving to share the grand themes of spiritual redemption and hope through Jesus.

What, then, to do with cute, cuddly—talking—animals whose destiny is to be slaughtered and sacrificed? When a horrified Judah struggles to escape the altar, his humanizing characteristics demand that parents talk some kids out of thinking that God might be especially brutal for requiring him to suffer so. And because it’s repeatedly stated that only Jesus can set the animals free, it’s conceivable that some small children might mistakenly believe Christ came to save both people and animals.

Enough elements of this Barnyard -meets-Sunday school flannelgraph parable do come together to illustrate the value of friendship, selflessness and courage in the face of crisis, not to mention Christ’s redeeming power, love and sacrifice. (Because as these stable mates look for the lamb—and discover the true Lamb—they learn that Jesus is the only King who can save.) But in a Disneyfied culture that all but equates animal and human rights, The Lion of Judah opens a few spiritual doors that parents are going to want to walk through with their kids.

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The Lion of Judah

Although well intentioned, "Lion" is a rare thing, a Holocaust movie for people unschooled in the Holocaust.

By John Anderson

John Anderson

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“The Lion of Judah” is 81-year-old Leo Zisman, who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau (despite a self-described habit of talking back to Nazis), and who leads a journey back to the camps that serves as the centerpiece of Matt Mindell’s microbudget film. Although well intentioned, “Lion” is a rare thing, a Holocaust movie for people unschooled in the Holocaust: Likeliest auds will be turned off by the inarticulate participants on Zisman’s Polish field trip, even though his fulminations about the Third Reich make it seem like the Holocaust happened yesterday.

Rich in archival photos and grisly footage, the docu features young Americans who approach the subject, and talk about it, as if it hadn’t already been addressed by the greatest minds of the past 70 years. The upshot is a feeling of embarrassment for an educational system that so poorly teaches 20th-century history and a society that allows for the kind of self-absorption exhibited by Zisman’s fellow passengers. Ultimately, this is perhaps useful, since “never forget” only applies if you know something in the first place, and in that regard “The Lion of Judah” serves as a cautionary tale.

Documentary

• Production: A JEC presentation. Produced by Matt Mindell, Joe Kavitski. Directed, written by Matt Mindell.
• Crew: Camera (color/B&W), Joe Kavitski, Ben Donnellon; editor, Kavitski. Reviewed on DVD, Aug. 4, New York, 2012. Running time: 60 MIN.
• With: With: Leo Zisman, Eric Gorenstein, Adrianna Celis, Matt Mindell, Agnes Furtak, Lawrence Hajioff.

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The Lion of Judah

Eli Babich (Self) Agnes Furtak (Self) Joe Kavitski (Self) Adrienne Celis Tomasz Kosoriek Matt Mindell (Matt)

Matt Mindell

The Lion of Judah tells the story of Holocaust survivor Leo Zisman, who leads a group of young adults on a journey back to Poland and through humanity's darkest period.

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Lion of judah: film review.

81 year-old Auschwitz survivor Leo Zisman leads young Jews through all the places he almost died.

By THR Staff

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With its bold name and pulpy, barbed-wire-tangled poster art, Matt Mindell ‘s Lion of Judah presents itself as the portrait of “a brave soul” whose “in-your-face” tale will shed new light on the experience of Jews during WWII.

In fact, the doc is little more than the home movie of a tour through Holocaust sites, albeit one whose guide — 81 year-old Auschwitz survivor Leo Zisman — exhibited jaw-dropping defiance during his boyhood imprisonment there. There might be a movie in Zisman’s story, but this film scrambles his personal recollections up with half-hearted reporting work and others’ commonplace expressions of horror, winding up with something of interest only to those for whom “never forget” demands embracing every Holocaust memoir produced in the last 60-plus years.

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Having penned one autobiography, Zisman is spending his retirement giving lectures and tours about his survival. We watch as he leads a group of 35 young Jews through what remains of the Warsaw Ghetto, Poland’s Majdanek concentration camp, Auschwitz, and other sites of atrocity. This format allows Zisman to recount some anecdotes (too few are included here), but also inspires Mindell to splice in follow-up interviews with three of the tour’s participants and his own cameraman (the only non-Jew on the trip). While all four were clearly moved by standing on the ground where so many were killed, the experience hasn’t granted any of them an insight we don’t already share. Mindell’s cursory man-on-street shots of young Poles, seemingly meant to suggest that Europe doesn’t dwell sufficiently on its history and that a second Holocaust is therefore not unthinkable, is really just more diversion from the film’s ostensible subject.

Production Company: JEC

Director-Screenwriter: Matt Mindell

Producers: Matt Mindell, Joe Kavitski

Directors of photography: Joe Kavitski, Ben Donnellon

Music: Matt Turk

Editor: Joe Kavitski

No rating, 59 minutes

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The lion of judah.

• Parents say (5)
• Kids say (6)

Based on 5 parent reviews

Overt mysticism

Report this review, good easter week movie.

This title has:

Good for older kids,not for your youngest tots.

A good film that parents can safely take their children to.

Lion of Judah

Reviewed by: David Criswell, Ph.D. CONTRIBUTOR

Who was “Judah” in the Bible? Judah / Tribe of Judah / Kingdom of Judah

names of God

crucifixion

How did Jesus die? Answer

redemption by our Redeemer

resurrection of the dead

resurrection of Christ

Is Jesus Christ a man, or is he God? Answer

TRINITY—How can one God be three persons? Answer

cities: Jerusalem and Bethlehem

Temple / Herod’s Temple

What is the Gospel? Answer

Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer

“The lamb that saved the world!”

“L Lion of Judah” is an animated Christian film literally years in the making. Its release had constantly been pushed back as the makers tried to polish the animation. The story is about farm animals in Israel at the time of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection . Here the “Lion of Judah” is actually a literal lamb who is sent off to Jerusalem to be sacrificed on Passover . His friends, including a pig , set out to Jerusalem to rescue him and encounter Jesus Christ on the day of his trial and execution.

The film is obviously filled with analogies, imagery, and humor. Biblically, the film teaches about Jesus” substitutionary sacrifice, and there is a subtheme about Jesus making the unclean clean (the pig and other unclean animals feature prominently in the film). It features the voices of Ernest Borgnine and Michael Madsen and solid Christian music. The animation itself is lackluster. It is not by any means bad, but they obviously lacked the money to polish the animation in the same way that Disney and Dreamworks do, but, given its low budget origin, it is easily forgotten and only seldom a distraction to the film. The directors intentionally avoided too many views of human faces, which is good directing style, but also was (I suspect) done to avoid the issues with unpolished animation. The music is one of its strengths. Although personal taste will vary depending on the particular song, the background music works effectively and enhances the film’s appearance.

Finally, the script, itself, is a solid attempt, with an original concept and imagery, but nevertheless flawed. There are many moments where you feel you may be watching a Saturday morning cartoon, but there are other moments when the script shines, and the originality of the film’s concept stands out. A little more polish on the script might have made the film a classic.

From a Biblical point of view, some people have already criticized the film, but some of these criticisms are unfair. For example, one critic noted that Jews don’t have pigs and that every school child should know this. However, when you watch the film, it is apparent that the author is trying to make a point about the unclean (there is even a quotation from Peter’s dream — Acts 10:10-15 ) being made clean through Christ . This, of course, is not necessarily speaking about unclean animals per se, but our sins . So, also, the sacrificial lamb calls himself a lion on several occasions, because he dreams he is a lion. Jesus , the real Lion of Judah, came in 33 A.D. As a sacrificial Lamb. The Biblical analogy is obvious, and the lamb of the film learns that Jesus took his place in order that the sins of man might be forgiven .

One could easily pick on some minor errors and omissions. When Jesus dies , the only ones at the foot of the cross are the animals. Where are Joseph and Mary and the soldiers! The truth is, the budget limited the animation, and the human characters are almost always off screen somewhere, but this does become a distraction in scenes like this, where it is so obvious. Another error is when Passover is described early in the film, there is actually not a single reference to the Passover in Egypt ! Passover is simply described as a time when people come to confess their sins and be forgiven . Some Jews may cringe at the omission. Nevertheless, these are relatively minor flaws in the overall scheme of the film.

In the final analysis, “Lion of Judah” is a film which cries out to be a classic Easter film, but it is held back by its low budget origins and lack of polish in scripting and animation. I am reminded of the Disney film THE SMALL ONE, about the donkey Mary rode to Bethlehem . That film is a true classic. LION OF JUDAH possesses the potential to be even better than that, but for inconsistencies, unpolished script, and some scenes which just feel awkward (the absence of humans at the cross or tomb in particular). These flaws aside, I highly recommend the film as a children’s film. It is better than many of the Veggie Tales, but cannot live up to the old classic Disney standards. It is definitely worth a look, however, and may even become a part of your collection.

Violence: Mild / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: None

official site: LionOfJudahTheMovie.com

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.

Movie Review: “The Lion of Judah”

A faith-based cartoon aimed at the very youngest Sunday School students, “The Lion of Judah” is the story of Easter as witnessed by farm animals. The most startling thing about it is that having an animated cow, horse, donkey, chicken, rat and lamb witness the crucifixion doesn’t diminish it as a symbol.

But the script is drab and nearly humorless. It’s as if the writers of this never saw a secular cartoon about life in the barnyard and couldn’t find anything funny to do with a cowardly horse, an irked human-hating donkey and a lamb who calls himself “The Lion of Judah.” The 2D and 3D animation by Character Matters Animation Studio tends toward the crude and unpolished — in the chunky/clunky style of direct to video fare. What, the VeggieTales folks weren’t available for a consultation?

The lamb arrives at a rural farm packed in a crate. He’s full of big talk, which causes Slink the rat (Borgnine), an addled rooster (Alphonso McAuley) , Esmay the cow (Christian singer Sandi Patty), Horace the pig (Omar Benson Miller) and Monty the horse (Anupam Kher) to fret for ten minutes of the movie about what is “the freaky thing inside the box.”

No sooner have they met Judah than a human has snatched him and sent him off to Jerusalem for Passover. He is to be a sacrificial lamb where the faithful will offer his life and blood as atonement for their sins. When the rooster accidentally stows away with Judah, the other critters suck up the courage to go after them. Along the way, they meet Jack, the embittered donkey. And they hear of this new “King” among the humans, a king born in their stable years before. This king is the only guy who can set the lamb free, they believe.

“One look into his eyes and he’ll melt your heart.”

But first, they’ve got to befriend the ravens. Boss (Madsen) has the best lines — “LOOKit me when I’m talkin’ to youse.” He runs the streets and leads the theological debate with the doves over which bird is “God’s chosen” — the one sent out of the Ark to look for land, or the one who brought back an olive branch. Funny.

Where “The Lion of Judah” falls short is in the dialogue (banal), the jokes (weak) and the sight gags, which, like everything else animated here, leave a lot to be desired.

The meek may inherit the Earth, but they won’t do well at the multiplex if they can’t do better than this.

MPAA Rating: PG for some mild thematic elements.

Cast:Ernest Borgnine (Slink), Georgina Cordova (Judah), Jack (Scott Eastwood), Michael Madsen (Boss), Sandi Patty (Esmay).

Credits: Directed by Deryck Broom and Roger Hawkins, written by Brent Dawes, produced by Phil Cunningham, Jacqui Cunningham, Sunu Gonera. An AMG Films release. Running time: 1:27

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The Lion of Judah

Dove Review

Animated Family Films presents this wonderful adventure of animal friends that go to Jerusalem to save the little lamb name Judah, who thinks he is a lion. As these animals make the journey and begin the search, you will laugh at the situations they find themselves in. But as they realize that there is only one person that can help them save Judah, there is nothing that prepares them for what they discover in their search for the the King.

This DVD features the Easter story though the eyes of the animals that were there at the stable in the beginning. It is a cute comical animated film that the entire family will enjoy for years to come. We award the Dove “Family-Approved” Seal to ‘The Lion of Judah”.

Dove Rating Details

Animated vision of Jesus being whipped and hanging on cross.

Man without shirt.

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THE LION OF JUDAH

"animated bible allegory".

What You Need To Know:

(CCC, BBB, V) Very strong Christian, biblical worldview telling the story of the life of Jesus from the viewpoint of the stable animals who witnessed his birth, crucifixion and resurrection; no foul language; action violence and some pratfalls in comic violence such as cow bites pig’s tail by mistake; no sex; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking; and, nothing else objectionable.

More Detail:

The good news is that THE LION OF JUDAH has some very good animation and is very helpful in letting children understand the reason for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The bad news is that the script is poor, frenetic and ill conceived.

The movie starts with a rough-hewn hand hammering a nail that makes everybody thinks it’s going to be the crucifixion of Jesus. Instead, it is a box being shut up with a little lamb inside, who’s being taken to Jerusalem for the Temple sacrifices. As the cart passes through Bethlehem, the wooden box with the lamb falls off and into a barn where several animals live who witnessed the birth of Jesus. They find out the lamb inside the box considers himself the Lion of Judah. He was told by his mother that he was going to set the world free. He thinks this means he was going to be physically liberating people and doesn’t understand he is the spotless temple sacrifice.

When the people come back to find the lamb, the stable animals organize behind a talking rat to rescue the self-described lion of Judah. Along the way, they meet a donkey escaping from bondage in Jerusalem. They team up to rescue the lamb.

Slowly but surely, they reveal in their inquiries and humorous attempts to save the lamb the story of Jesus. Eventually, they are gathered together at the crucifixion of Jesus and the lamb is trapped in the temple, being prepared for sacrifice. How will he escape? How will they save him? Who is Jesus? And, who is the real Lion of Judah?

There’s a lot of top talent involved in this production, but anytime filmmakers create a movie allegory for children, they need to remember the dramatic as well as the theological elements. That said, the movie goes in too many directions trying to cover all the theological bases, and sometimes becomes quite confusing with references to events such as Peter’s vision of the unclean and clean animals being lowered down into a sheet. The filmmakers had a purpose for all this, but they forgot to find a thru-line for the story.

That said, there are some little children who may enjoy this movie, and, with their parents’ help, they may understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ even better.

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Lion of Judah (2011): an Excellent Film to Watch with the Family on Easter

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Table of Contents

In readiness for Easter, I wanted to share a few of my favorite Easter films worth watching these next few weeks including  Lion of Judah .

Find LION OF JUDAH on Amazon Video.

Lion of Judah is a 3D Computer Animated Christian comedy-drama starring Georgina Cordova as the voice of Judah, a young and impressionable lamb, who meets a barn yard of mismatched animals including  Sandi Patty ,  Anupam Kher ,  Michael Madsen ,  and   Ernest Borgnine , who had previously witnessed the humble birth of the Savior in Once Upon A Stable .

On a journey to Jerusalem they meet up with a down on his luck and depressed donkey, Scott Eastwood . And together this mismatched group of animals participate in the Passion Week up through Easter morning.

This is an excellent choice for the children in your family and/or Sunday School. Due to the topic, there are a few scary scenes although nothing is actually shown. This is a movie safe to be shown for all ages.

And yes this is also a great film to watch as adults. My friend A and I watched the film a couple times and both of us experienced GOOSIES thanks to the gorgeous scenes between Jesus ( Bruce Marchiano ) and Scott Eastwood’ s depressed Jack and later with the jubilant Georgina Cordova ‘s Judah. Goosies, I repeat.

The love and compassion we see in the character of Jesus and the hope and transformation we see in the animals is mesmerizing!

Rating : PG for mild thematic elements Director : Deryck Broom & Roger Hawkins Written by : Brent Dawes Running Time : 87 Minutes

Where to Watch  Lion of Judah

Amazon Prime Video Amazon ($9.99) – Combo DVD of  Once Upon A Stable  and Lion of Judah .

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The lion of judah.

2011 Directed by Deryck Broom , Roger Hawkins

The lamb who saved the world!

Upon learning that Judah has been trapped in the clutches of the townspeople and faces the possibility of being the sacrifice at the annual Festival, the stable mates leave their cozy barn and embark on an adventure to find and free their friend.

Georgina Cordova Ernest Borgnine Michael Madsen Scott Eastwood

Directors Directors

Deryck Broom Roger Hawkins

Writer Writer

Brent Dawes

Sunrise Productions Animated Family Films Character Matters

Releases by Date

03 jun 2011, 08 mar 2013, releases by country, netherlands.

• Theatrical 6
• Theatrical PG

87 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by DreamScape40 ★★★

Story was cute. Has a great cast. Animation was ehhhh Great music.

Review by Liam Gerathy ★★★★★ 1

The Lion of Judah more like Awesome movie

Review by Max ½

This quite possibly qualifies for the best worst movie of all time. Sure, The Room is the obvious answer, but does The Room have some of the worst animation ever? A story so tonally inconsistent and inappropriate for its intended audience? A literal Jesus rampage? The worst possible soundtrack cues known to man? Perhaps the only thing worse than The Lion of Judah is the fact that nearly no one has seen it.

The Lion of Judah is one of the most hilarious, unpredictable, absurd, ridiculous, dumb, nonsensical, and downright stupid experiences I've ever had. Nothing in this movie works at all. The dull, basic animation feels about two stages away from being fully-rendered (and this was in 2011). The…

Review by Krad54 ★★★ 4

Pretty charming for the most part. Kids would enjoy it I know the movie was not a hit but go with what you think of it it’s all up to you

"My house will be called a house of prayer!" Jesus H. Christ screamed as he went on a violent rampage in Jerusalem, damaging countless poor merchants' goods and animal cages in the process.

It's disasterpiece O' clock!

As I celebrate my second anniversary of discovering this truly hidden gem, every emotion I experienced the first time I watched The Lion of Judah comes flooding back to me. The opening 15 minutes are cinematic gold in just how much laughter and joy they bring me because of how nonsensical, absurd, and incompetently produced they are on every single level of filmmaking. Everything that takes place on screen in the opening scene just begs to be watched dozens of times just to…

Review by carol__stream

wow this was interesting the barnyard animals kind of just leave the farm and then walk into a town and that town happens to be jerusalem  and jesus is about to be crucified and they all have to watch and there’s songs of course

Review by Creator, Ashley the ★★★★★

I watched this movie while high, best experience ever

Review by PiroRodentis ★½

barnyard but jesus is here- imagine my surprise when the annoying, human faced goat did NOT  get executed and instead jesus died

Review by Nick ½

The Lion of Judah is one of the best bad movies I've ever seen, and its badness is so good, in fact, that I have now seen it a whopping three times, a feat some of my favorite films can't even manage. Although it is obviously a religious movie, its badness does not function on that level -- unlike PureFlix Christian propaganda, this is terrible not because of any sort of ridiculous messaging, but because it is so incompetent and nonsensical in everything it does. There are laughably awkward music cues, a plot that doesn't even begin to make sense, incoherent characterizations, random slo-mo scenes, and nonsensical action. What I'm saying is that this movie is great.

The first ten…

Review by Jamsy ½

WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THAT

Review by Big Tooter01 ★★★★★ 1

Hollies bf stopped replying to her after she sent him mr sushi 🍣

Review by sdiz ★★★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Title: "The Majestic Journey of 'León de Juda': A Cinematic Masterpiece and Unforgettable Experience"

"The film 'León de Juda' stands as a testament to the power of storytelling, captivating audiences with its compelling narrative, breathtaking cinematography, and profound emotional impact. This thesis explores the unique elements that contribute to making 'León de Juda' an unparalleled cinematic experience, transcending the boundaries of traditional filmmaking. From its intricate plot and character development to its visual splendor and emotional resonance, this movie not only entertains but also leaves an indelible mark on the viewer's soul.

Chapter 1: Introduction - Brief overview of 'León de Juda' - Personal connection and the impact it had on the viewer

Chapter 2: Narrative Brilliance - Analysis…

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The Lion of Judah

2011, Kids & family/Holiday, 1h 27m

Where to watch The Lion of Judah

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The lion of judah   photos.

Barnyard animals try to save two of their friends from ending up on a sacrificial altar during Passover in Jerusalem.

Rating: PG (Some Mild Thematic Elements)

Genre: Kids & family, Holiday, Drama, Animation

Original Language: English

Director: Deryck Broom , Roger Hawkins

Producer: Jacqui Cunningham , Phil Cunningham , Sunu Gonera

Writer: Brent Dawes

Runtime: 1h 27m

Production Co: Animated Family Films, Character Matters

Cast & Crew

Deryck Broom

Roger Hawkins

Brent Dawes

Jacqui Cunningham

Phil Cunningham

Sunu Gonera

Johan Sturm

Executive Producer

Original Music

Jeremy Olivier

Critic Reviews for The Lion of Judah

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Lion of Judah Legacy

In this heartwarming and captivating epic, we embark on a transformative journey alongside Marly, an emotionally unavailable disabled veteran. Plagued by the weight of unresolved paternal is... Read all In this heartwarming and captivating epic, we embark on a transformative journey alongside Marly, an emotionally unavailable disabled veteran. Plagued by the weight of unresolved paternal issues, Marly receives a profound revelation from a divine being: his estranged mother is gr... Read all In this heartwarming and captivating epic, we embark on a transformative journey alongside Marly, an emotionally unavailable disabled veteran. Plagued by the weight of unresolved paternal issues, Marly receives a profound revelation from a divine being: his estranged mother is gravely ill in her homeland of Jamaica. Determined to uncover his ancestral roots and confro... Read all

• June Daguiso
• Frank Cisco Anderson
• Doris Cochran
• Luqman Agiya
• 14 wins & 13 nominations

• Shadow Banton
• (as Luqman A. Agiya)

• Cousin Sleepy

• Auntie Janey

• Lady Onyxia …

• Young Marly
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The full name of the lead character's estranged mother is. . . Nefertiti "Mama Titi" Anderson.
• Goofs In the early scene with Trinitee and Auntie Janey in Trinitee's den, the brown weathered ostrich leather military flask that Trinitee drinks from, if you Zoom in, has the initials of the Executive Producer, "FEA", its owner in real life, on it, and not her name. They forgot to flip it around while shooting the scene, LOL! Thanks.

Cheddar , Marly : Everything's better with Cheddar!

• Soundtracks Colonyzer Rock by Chickahominy Vibe

User reviews

• January 1, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• main movie promo website
• Maryland, USA
• MJD Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $50,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 36 minutes
• 1.78 : 1 / (high definition)

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