The Star featuring the voices of Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key, and Aidy Bryant; rated PG
–Review by Ashley Davis
Keeping with Len’s animal theme for this month, I watched The Star on Netflix. The Star follows Jesus’ birth story from the perspective of animals—Bo, a brave donkey; Dave, a spunky dove; Ruth, a lost sheep; and several other eccentric characters.
Voice casting was on point with the main trio of characters, as well as Gina Rodriguez as Mary (genius casting if you’ve seen Jane the Virgin), Oprah as Deborah the camel, and Christopher Plummer as Herod. You will also recognize voices of Tyler Perry, Tracy Morgan, Gabriel Iglesias, Kris Kristofferson, and many others.
The plot line is familiar of course, but the characters are what makes this movie unique and thoroughly enjoyable. Each character brings a unique flavor to the movie and highlights a facet of God’s grace, humor, and creativity. I also appreciated how the filmmakers seemed to put effort into each “minor” character, perhaps showing that in God’s Story no one is insignificant.
Some reviews have complained about historical inaccuracies and the slapstick and somewhat odd humor, but if you like movies about misfits (and clearly I do) it might be right up your alley.
My son is 6 years old and he was delighted at every turn of the movie. I laughed and cried. I have a feeling watching The Star will be a Christmas tradition.