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"THE STAR"
(2017) (voices of Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key) (PG)


At-A-Glace Content Summary

Alcohol/Drugs None
Blood/Gross Stuff Minor
Disrespectful/Bad Attitude Heavy
Frightening/Tense Scenes Moderate
Gun/Weapons Moderate
Imitative Behavior Heavy
Jump Scenes None
Music (Scary/Tense) Heavy
Music (Inappropriate) None
Profanity None
Sex/Nudity None
Smoking None
Tense Family Scenes Moderate
Topics to Talk About Moderate
Violence Moderate


QUICK TAKE:
Animated Dramedy: A small millhouse donkey gets his chance to make a difference as he attempts to keep a pregnant woman out of harm's way as she prepares to deliver the son of God to the world.
PLOT:
Bo (voice of STEVEN YEUN) is a small donkey who wants more out of life than walking in circles all day paired with Old Donkey (voice of KRIS KRISTOFFERSON) grinding grain in ancient Nazareth. He's friends with Dave (voice of KEEGAN-MICHAEL KEY), a pigeon who comes and goes as he pleases, and the two imagine one day joining the Royal Caravan and traveling the world. But an attempt to escape from the human miller fails and Bo finds himself stuck right back where he started.

Unbeknownst to him, his life is going to change in ways he couldn't imagine thanks to God choosing Mary (voice of GINA RODRIGUEZ) and Joseph (voice of ZACHARY LEVI) to bring His son into the world. The talk of a new king doesn't sit well with King Herod (voice of CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER), the ruler of Judea who orders his henchman to find out who this new king is and put an end to him. And with the use of his two menacing dogs, Thaddeus (voice of VING RHAMES) and Rufus (voice of GABRIEL IGLESIAS), the henchman sets out to accomplish this task.

With some help from his mill partner, Bo finally manages to escape and ends up in Mary and Joseph's yard with an injured leg. Despite humans being unable to understand the talking animals, Mary is nice to Bo and helps him, a favor he feels he needs to return when Joseph and a very pregnant Mary set off on foot for Bethlehem to follow a new star that's shining brightly in the sky.

Along the way, he runs into Ruth (voice of AIDY BRYANT), a talkative sheep who decides to help him whether he wants that or not. At the same time, Herod secretly hopes to use the three wise men -- who've arrived via camels Deborah (voice of OPRAH WINFREY), Cyrus (voice of TYLER PERRY) and Felix (voice of TRACY MORGAN) -- to unwittingly lead his henchman to the pregnant woman, all while small mouse Abby (voice of KRISTEN CHENOWETH) tries to get to her to warn her of Herod's plans.

With everyone arriving in Bethlehem -- where manger animals Leah the horse (voice of KELLY CLARKSON), Edith the cow (voice of PATRICIA HEATON) and Zach the goat (voice of ANTHONY ANDERSON) don't realize the momentous arrival headed their way, Bo and his small ragtag group of fellow animals try to protect Mary and her unborn son from Herod's henchman and his two ferocious dogs.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
It's an animated film featuring talking animals, so kids drawn to those sorts of movies will likely want to see this one.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG
For some thematic elements.


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