The Star is a 2017 Christian comedy movie that is brought to us by Sony Pictures Animation. I think it was pretty brave of them to take a gamble on such a Christian-centric kind of story, but I think they did a solid job here. I would not say that it is one of their better movies, but it is one that will probably make the rotation every other Christmas in my house.
How to Stream or Download The Star (2017)
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button at the end of this review.
The Movie Review
One of the best things about this movie is the voice cast. I cannot think of another Sony Pictures Animation movie that has such an impressive voice cast. It is one of those movies where you will keep saying “whose voice is that?” as pretty much every character is voiced by a well-known actor.
Steven Yuen (Glen from The Walking Dead) is in the lead as Bo the Donkey. As well as the talented Steven Yuen, we have the likes of Keegan-Michael Key, Oprah Winfrey, Kelly Clarkson, Tyler Perry, Patricia Heaton, Aidy Bryant, Ving Rhames, and a whole bunch more. It seriously is a stacked cast!
With a name like “The Star” and the main character that is a donkey, it is pretty obvious what the plot of this movie is. The story is about the first Christmas, the birth of Jesus, and the events leading up to this. It is the kind of thing that I am sure would make many people roll their eyes, but it is a fun nativity-style story and one that the whole family can get in on.
However, this is not your usual nativity style of story that you have encountered a million times since you were a kid! The twist of The Star is that the story is told from the perspective of the animals that were around at the time. Our main character, Bo is a donkey who wants more from life. He wants to be a part of something big and what is bigger than Jesus being born?
As you have probably guessed by now, Bo comes across some interesting people. Bo meets Mary and Joseph and he sets out on an adventure to them where they are making their way to Bethlehem. The whole gimmick of the movie being told from the animal’s point of view was fun.
As this is a Sony Pictures Animation movie the humor is a bit of a mixed bag. It is quite juvenile, but it is sure to get a chuckle out of you while you are watching it. It verges on being corny, but I am sure that younger kids will be laughing along the whole time with the zany antics.
While the humor is clearly aimed at kids, I think that The Star is still a solid family watch, especially around Christmas time. I do not think my family will watch this every Christmas, but I am sure it will find its way into the rotation every other year or so. As far as a retelling of the Nativity story goes, I think that this is one of the more fun takes on it that is out there, however, it is clearly more aimed at kids rather than kids and their parents.
