bobytom When I saw the trailers and posters of it, I just thought it to be just a typical talking-funny-animal film with shoehorned celebrity voices and lame or derivative humor that we normally expect from non-Disney-or-Pixar animated features. However, after seeing it recently, it was somewhat slightly better than I thought. Not great, but just alright. ----------------First off, the idea is very potential. I mean, we are talking about the old but beloved story about the origins of Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, the way they handled that tales isn't that great, resulting in a rather derivative and predictable underdog plot, where donkey named Bo wants more from his life, but accidentally ends up with Maria and Joseph on a quest to arrive at Bethlehem and help them to give birth to a new king, while at the same time save the couple from a hunter with two evil dogs. But the biggest problem with the film is that it rather wants to be more of a funny-animal cartoon with goofball antics rather than a more serious story about Christ's birth. Maybe the idea of telling the story through the point-of-view of the animals could have worked. I mean, there are many good films with the talking-animal aspect, like 101 dalmatians for example. But the way it did there isn't that strong and they probably aimed it too much for children, resulting in a rather flat and lazy storyline.Granted, it does have a huggable sense of heart when it comes to the couple and I found the ending to be rather sweet and really emotional. I also did like the humor a bit. Some scenes were worth the chuckle, but it does get rather juvenile at times like in the scenes of the cross-eyed goat and the pigeon doing some dumb and out-of-place twerking. Boy, how executive-driven it is, isn't it? I did hear the English version of it, but I only watched it entirely in Finnish dub. I feel it sounds a little better and more enjoyable than the original one, so maybe I did find it to be a bit funnier than I expected. Otherwise, the story is rather flat and sometimes childish. -------------------I personally didn't get annoyed by any of the characters, but there are way too many of them. Bo and Ruth, the dogs and maybe the villain are fine, but maybe not so terribly interesting. Mary and Joseph, on the other hand, are quite lovely and probably the most relatable, since their struggle to have a child of God is somewhat believable enough. The rest is not that important and it's so blatant that many of them are for the sake of name recognition. Dave the pigeon could be enjoyable, but I swear Bo could have figured out the things just by himself. The camels are predictably pointless and even the three farm animals, including the surprisingly talented singing horse, at the end are easily forgettable and useless. Yes, even in both original English and Finnish dub, the actors tried their best and I did enjoy their performances at times, but sadly, it doesn't save the one dimensional and many of the pointless characters in here. ----------But I was pretty surprised how good the film looks. Yes, the budget is rather tiny compared to any mainstream animation and it may not be perfect, but still. Designs are very fine. Animals look very good, but it can get a tad generic. Humans were drawn well too, especially the couple looks really beautiful. I was even more impressed with how the lighting and textures, especially the fur of the animals, look believable and how the artists were able to create a time travel over 2000 years back of how the ancient cities and other places look newer and much lusher than now. On the other hand, the animation and the rendering aren't so strong and smooth and that goat looks honestly kinda ugly and seems to reflect too much on the budget. Even with that, the Canadian animators tried their best with the low amount of money they had. ----------------It could have been something great, but it was obviously targeted at kiddies. Sure, the animation is very nice and it has some great heart, but unfortunately, it ain't Prince of Egypt.

Kirpianuscus It is real special. for the inspired speech about Christian faith in the era of globalisation. for animation itself. for the perspective, not new but in wise manner used, of the Birth of Jesus in the eyes of animals. for songs. and for humor. it represents one of source of hope in the time of political corecteness. because it reminds small, essential values. because it gives a touching - precise message about the fundamental importance of faith. and, sure, for the admirable courage to be a confession because, in the age of relativisation, "The Star" becomes a honest remind of the basic Christian Truth.

rhadianoctober False story about Jesus birthday and definitely not for kids!

Hellmant 'THE STAR': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)A computer-animated Christian family film, about the story of the Nativity of Jesus, told through the eyes of a donkey and other animals. It was directed by Timothy Reckart, and it was written by Carlos Kotkin and Simon Moore (based on an original idea by Tom Sheridan). The film features the voice talents of Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key, Aidy Bryant, Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Tracy Morgan, Tyler Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Christopher Plummer, Ving Rhames, Gabriel Iglesias, Anthony Anderson, Kelly Clarkson, Patricia Heaton, Kristin Chenoweth, Kris Kristofferson, Mariah Carrey and Delilah. It's received mixed to negative reviews from critics, and it's also a modest hit at the Box Office as well. I found it to be a little too kid friendly, in sometimes a pretty silly way, but religious families will probably enjoy it. The story revolves around a donkey, named Bo (Yeun), who's tired of his life of slavery, milling wheat for his owner, and dreams of joining a traveling caravan. His father (Kristofferson) helps him escape, and he ends up at the home of Mary (Rodriguez), and Joseph (Levi), who let him stay at their home, despite him not wanting to stay there. Mary, being pregnant with Jesus, and Joseph, later leave their home for Bethlehem. Bo, and his dove friend Dave (Key), try to escape, but they end up on an adventure, with other animals, to protect Mary and Joseph instead. The birth of Jesus, and the first Christmas, becomes the result of their efforts of course. I saw the film with my parents, who are Catholic, and they both liked it. I can see why other Christians, especially those with kids, would enjoy it too. For me the storytelling, and filmmaking, are a bit too basic and routine though. There's also an excessive amount of silly kids humor in it (but kids should like it at least), and I didn't really care for the animation either. I did like that it's all told from animals' points of view though, and there's even some animal rights/vegan messages in there (that I really appreciated). I think the film accomplishes what it set out to do, and it should please it's target audience at least.