Journey to the Christmas Star

I really, really enjoyed this movie. As another reviewer said, it does not hit you over the head with Christmas themes. There are no flying reindeer or Christmas gifts and there is no Baby Jesus. But it does touch on wonderful Christmas traditions, such as the mistletoe and the lighting of the Christmas tree, as well as giving some insight about what Father Christmas knows and how he knows it. If I had any complaint at all it was that the story moved a little too quickly--it would have been way too easy for me to watch another 20 minutes or so, so that some areas could have been expanded upon. The villains were a bit one-dimensional, but as they were not crucial to the plot, I forgave that. All in all, a very enjoyable movie and one that I would be happy to add to my DVD collection if at all possible.

"Journey to the Christmas Star" is a charming Norwegian family fantasy film that combines magical elements with a classic Christmas tale. The story follows Sonja, a brave young girl on a quest to find the fabled Christmas Star and restore joy to a kingdom trapped in sadness. While the film offers a heartwarming premise and stunning visuals of snowy landscapes, it sometimes falls short in pacing and depth of character development.

The production design and cinematography stand out, creating a magical winter wonderland that is sure to delight younger audiences. However, the plot can feel predictable and overly simplistic, which may leave older viewers wanting more complexity. Performances are solid, though not extraordinary, with a mix of heartfelt moments and light humor.

A magical holiday tale but ultimately fails to capture the wonder and excitement it aims for. Despite its beautiful snowy landscapes and decent production design, the film struggles with a thin, predictable plot and one-dimensional characters.

The pacing is uneven, with slow, drawn-out scenes that fail to build tension or excitement. The dialogue feels stilted, and the performances, while earnest, lack the charisma needed to bring the story to life. Even the film's central quest to find the Christmas Star feels underwhelming, with little emotional payoff or creative twists to keep viewers engaged.

For a fantasy film, the lack of originality is disappointing. It borrows heavily from classic fairy tales without adding anything fresh or memorable to the genre. While young children might enjoy the visuals and the straightforward story, the film offers little for older audiences.

As another reviewer said, (for the American, anyway) this Norwegian movie is more a fairy tale set at Christmas-time than 'a Christmas movie' per se, and that's part of what's so good and refreshing about it for me. A little girl is separated from her family, does not know who she is, but after several years is driven by a feeling that she's not supposed to be where she is now. I think the dubbing was just fine, I don't get distracted by that usually anyway. I'm so glad I found this while searching Netflix, and hope others will watch and enjoy it. It's beautiful visually, and very relaxing... no violence or frightening physical predicaments.

I won't say that this film necessarily deserves the 10 star rating that I gave it. I also don't think it deserves some of the one star ratings it was given because of poor dubbing. On to my actual review: This film is beautiful. The story is great and, ignoring the dubbing, the acting looked like it was fantastic. I would definitely like to see this with a better dub job or at least have the ability to watch it in Norwegian with subtitles. I watched this with my 4 year old daughter and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

The version I saw was dubbed, badly. When it's a foreign made movie I want the original language with subtitles, otherwise I'm not interested.