The Star (2017)

A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the first Christmas.

Director:

Timothy Reckart

Writers:

Carlos Kotkin (screenplay by), Simon Moore (story by)

Stars:

Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key, Aidy Bryant

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Yeun	...	Bo (voice)
Keegan-Michael Key	...	Dave (voice)
Aidy Bryant	...	Ruth (voice)
Gina Rodriguez	...	Mary (voice)
Zachary Levi	...	Joseph (voice)
Christopher Plummer	...	Herod (voice)
Ving Rhames	...	Thaddeus (voice)
Gabriel Iglesias	...	Rufus (voice)
Kelly Clarkson	...	Leah (voice)
Anthony Anderson	...	Zach (voice)
Patricia Heaton	...	Edith (voice)
Kris Kristofferson	...	Old Donkey (voice)
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Abby (voice)
Mariah Carey	...	Rebecca (voice)
Oprah Winfrey	...	Deborah (voice)

Storyline

In Sony Pictures Animation's THE STAR, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of his dreams. On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with lofty aspirations. Along with three wisecracking camels and some eccentric stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become accidental heroes in the greatest story ever told - the first Christmas.

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Plot Keywords:

king | bible story | talking animal | donkey | pregnant | 

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Taglines:

It Takes Many Tails to Tell the Greatest Story Ever

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

Keegan-Michael Key's third consecutive year in a fully animated film by Sony Animation, after Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) in 2015 and The Angry Birds Movie (2016) in 2016.

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Goofs

When Bo and Dave see the Royal Caravan in the distance, it's more than halfway past the center of the setting sun. Next time you see it, it's backed up when Dave is yelling "Royal Caravan!" the caravan has suddenly backed up and the rear of it not even in the setting sun yet. The caravan then progresses across the horizon like normal as Bo and Dave speak, and it almost at the same point the last time it's seen as it was the first time.

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Quotes

Deborah: Where do we find a king in Bethlehem?
Cyrus: Well, if memory serves, a king is set apart from the Philippians with an oriental headdress.
Felix: Audible what?
Deborah: They wear hats!
[Someone wearing a hat walks by]
Felix: [shouts] They're coming for you, your majesty! Run for your life!
[Felix's words come off as camel sounds bellowing out to the man who runs off to uncanny valley as a result]
Felix: Run like the wind!
Deborah: Will you cut that out? We'll never find him tied up here. We have to go out and search.
Felix: That's it! I'm biting through the...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Despite being distributed by Columbia Pictures, the Columbia Pictures logo does not appear until the end credits. The logo itself has the same background as the Affirm Films logo. However, the possible reason the Columbia Pictures and Affirm Films logos were cut was due to Columbia's big schedule. Same said for Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018).

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Connections

Featured in Animation Explosion: The Star (2018)

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Soundtracks

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
Traditional

User Reviews

Grand kids loved it!

I saw a preview of this on utube and immediately made sure my grand babies went to see it. I guess I'll use the same word as previous reviewer who thought it was INDOCTRINATION. Yep, I guess I've wanted my kids/gk to be indoctrinated to Christmas being about Jesus. It's hard "fitting it in" with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Was proud to be there with ALL 5 of them (ages 4-7) Animation was OK, not like Disney of course, but it kept the kids attention. It has some funny parts. It's all from the perspective of the animals, and it takes a while to get to where the star is leading. I hope the kids got it with the typical noise in a movie for children. But either way, I'm glad they can see a movie that tells the story of Jesus at Christmas time. Better than most of what is offered to them on TV and theatre these days!!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lamb

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,812,674, 19 November 2017

Gross USA:

$40,896,334

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$62,856,743

Company Credits

Production Co:

Affirm Films, Sony Pictures Animation, Walden Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (DTS: X) Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1