This past weekend, my children and I watched THE STAR at home with it now out on DVD and Blu-ray. It is also available in digital format.
THE STAR comes from the studios of Sony Home Entertainment. It features a small injured donkey named Bo who is befriended by Mary. He had been used to turn the flour mill grinder in town with another donkey, but had dreams of joining the royal caravan and did one day escape from his owner to pursue his dreams. Bo is voiced by Steven Yeun,“The Walking Dead”.
Bo had been injured when he escaped. After healing, Bo cut ties with Mary and ran into a sheep named Ruth (voiced by Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”) while traveling with his good friend, Dave (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, Friends From College), a dove. He is also joined by three camels who are voiced by Tracy Morgan (“30 Rock”), Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey. They all travel together to find follow the star and to meet the newborn king.
Rounding out the all-star voice cast including Gina Rodriguez (“Jane The Virgin”) as Mary, Zachary Levi (“Chuck”) as Joseph, Grammy® Award-Winner Kelly Clarkson as Leah the horse, Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”) as Zach the goat, Ving Rhames (Mission Impossible) as Thaddeus the dog, Gabriel Iglesias (Coco, Ferdinand) as Rufus the dog, Patricia Heaton (“The Middle”) as Edith the cow, Emmy® and Tony® Award-Winner Kristin Chenoweth as Abby the mouse, and Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World) as King Herod.
THE STAR is cute and entertaining for the entire family. It features great voice talents and shares the birth of Jesus with a possibly a different perspective on what it might be like from the animals’ point of view.
THE STAR is directed by Academy Award® nominated writer/director Timothy Reckart, screenplay by Carlos Kotkin, and story by Simon Moore and Carlos Kotkin. The film is executive produced by DeVon Franklin, Brian Henson and Lisa Henson, and produced by Jennifer Magee-Cook. The Star is presented by AFFIRM films and Sony Pictures Animation in association with Walden Media, Franklin Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company. The uplifting theme song, “The Star” by Mariah Carey and veteran songwriter Marc Shaiman was also nominated for a 2018 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. “The Star” song is now available on The Star: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which assembles new music from a bevy of powerhouse superstars.
Bonus Materials Include:
- Star-aoke: Sing-Along with Bo & Friends: In this all new song, sing along with your favorite characters including Bo, Dave, Ruth and the unforgettable camels
- “Life Is Good” Dance-Along: Shake your tail feathers and move your hooves in this fun dance along
- Lyric Sing-Along Videos: Enjoy the eclectic and inspiring music of THE STAR with these colorful lyric videos that allow you to sing along with your favorite recording artists
- “The Star” by Mariah Carey
- “Can You See” by Fifth Harmony
- “Children Go Where I Send You” by Kelsea Ballerini
- “We Three Kings” by Kirk Franklin
- “Life Is Good” by A Great Big World
- Sweet and Sparkly Stars: Create star-themed cookies to be enjoyed year round
- Star Mason Jar Votives: Let the light of THE STAR shine with this simple yet stunning craft
- Faith All Year Round with DeVon Franklin: A children’s sermon discussing the themes of the film and how to keep the spirit of this inspiring story alive in us every day
- An All-Star Cast: Meet the stars of the film and explore the exciting voice cast who bring these amazing characters to life
THE STAR has a run time of approximately 86 minutes and is rated PG: for some thematic elements
ABOUT SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.
ABOUT SONY PICTURES ANIMATION
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated and family entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its worldwide comedy hits—the record-breaking monster comedies Hotel Transylvaniaand Hotel Transylvania 2, the hybrid live action/animated blockbusters The Smurfs and The Smurfs 2, and the mouth-watering Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies—with the fully animated reboot Smurfs: The Lost Villageavailable on digital and Blu-ray now; a surprising and comic take at the secret world inside our phones with The Emoji Movie now on Digital HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD; the inspirational The Star currently in theaters. Next will be Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation from director Genndy Tartakovsky in July 2018; and the groundbreaking animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse from the minds of Chris Miller and Phil Lord in December 2018. The studio, in conjunction with Aardman Animations, has produced two critically acclaimed feature films: the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas; and the Academy Award® nominated stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. In 2007, Surf’s Up also received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Feature Film; a sequel entitled Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania is now available on digital and DVD. The division, whose first feature film Open Season led to a very successful movie franchise including the brand new Open Season: Scared Silly now available on digital, DVD and Blu-ray, was founded in 2002. Sony Pictures Animation is a division of the Sony Pictures Motion Pictures Group.
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Disclosure: I received a copy of this title to review. No other compensation was received for this post.
