The Star (2017)
Film and Plot Synopsis
The Sony Pictures Animation’s film about the birth of Jesus Christ tells the story of a small donkey named Bo who dreams of a bigger life outside his job in a mill. After breaking free from his enslavement, Bo gets his chance to explore the world. Along the way, he befriends a bird named Dave, a goat named Ruth, and a human couple named Joseph and Mary. Mary is pregnant and needs to travel to Bethlehem. However, they are all stalked by a hunter and his dogs who have been tasked with killing the new King before he is born.
‘The Star’ Movie Summary
Mary (Gina Rodriguez), the eventual mother of Jesus Christ, is visited by an Angel (Joel McCrary) in 9 months. B.C. The Angel informs Mary that she will be the mother of the Messiah. A nearby pygmy jerboa named Abby (Kristen Chenoweth) overhears the prophecy and tells the other animals as a star begins to shine in the night sky.
Six months later, a young donkey named Bo (Steven Yeun) tolls away in a barn milling wheat. Bo dreams of joining a traveling royal caravan that moves from small town to small town. Bo’s barn mate and older donkey (Kris Kristofferson) sympathizes for Bo and helps him escape the cruel miller (Phil Morris) who owns them. During the escape, Bo injures his ankle. Bo takes shelter at the house of Mary and her new husband Joseph (Zachary Levi). Mary is a caring person and takes in the injured Bo. She wraps his ankle and gives him a place to stay. Mary also reveals her pregnancy to Joseph, which is a surprise to him since they just got married. Joseph accepts Mary’s situation after he prays to God. Bo spends the next few weeks healing and planning his journey to the royal caravan with his dove friend Dave (Keegan-Michael Key). However, Bo begins to feel guilty about leaving Mary after all her kindness and stays long after his ankle heals.
At the same time, three wise men, Balthazar (Phil Morris), Caspar (Joel Osteen), and Melchoir (Fred Tatasciore), follow the star in the sky in the hopes of finding the Messiah. Riding their three camels. Cyrus (Tyler Perry), Deborah (Oprah Winfrey), and Felix (Tracy Morgan), they arrive at the home of King Herod (Christopher Plummer). The wise men reveal that they are bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the new King. Herod seeks to stop the new King from coming so he allows the wise men to continue their journey but sends his royal hunter (Lex Lang) and his two dogs, Thaddeus (Ving Rhames) and Rufus (Gabriel Iglesias), to follow them. The hunter’s task is to locate and kill the new King.
Meanwhile, Joseph and Mary prepare to leave Nazareth in order to head to Bethlehem per King Herod’s decree. When they depart, they leave Bo behind. A short time later, the hunter and his dogs arrive at Joseph and Mary’s house. Bo and Dave realize that the hunter intends to kill Mary and her child, and they escape in order to warn Mary and Joseph of the danger. Along the way, Bo and Dave meet a friendly sheep named Ruth (Aidy Bryant). Ruth left her flock after she saw the star in the sky. The trio catches up with Joseph and Mary in time to warn them. The animals hide the human couple in a marketplace when the hunter and his dogs arrive. In order to save the couple, Bo must knock over a cart that knocks the hunter into a well, but the cart also causes damage to the market. Joseph has to pay for the damage and becomes angry at Bo, not understanding the danger that he and Mary were in.
Do you like Frankincense? I never know what to get. Caspar (Joel Osteen)
Bo reacts poorly to the berating from Joseph and he decides to leave with Dave to find the royal caravan again. Once they find the caravan, Bo realizes that he liked being with Mary and he tells Dave that he is going back. The two return and make amends with Ruth and Joseph. At that time, Mary admits that she is having difficulty with her destiny as the mother of the Messiah. Joseph consoles his wife just in time for her to go into labor. Joseph and Bo rush Mary into Bethlehem but are dismayed to learn that there is no room at any of the inns. Even worse, Bo’s former owner, the miller, kidnaps Bo. Dave and Ruth go to save their friend, while Joseph desperately looks for a place for Mary to have the baby.
At the same time, the three wise men and their camels arrive in Bethlehem, as well as the hunter and his dogs. The camels, aware of King Herod’s plot to kill the future King, work to free themselves to stop the dogs. Bo ends up in a stable where he meets a horse named Leah (Kelly Clarkson), a cow named Edith (Patricia Heaton), and a crazy goat named Zach (Anthony Anderson). The new trio of animals inform Bo that they have not been able to sleep for nine months due to the light of the bright star. Bo comes to the realization that is where the baby is supposed to be born. He escapes from the stable and finds Joseph and Mary. He brings them back to the stable while Dave runs into the camels and frees them from their bonds. At the same time, Ruth finds her flock, who she gets them to follow her with a little help from an angel who tells them all that the Savior is coming.
Outside the stable, Bo manages to fight off Thaddeus and Rufus, but he is helpless against the hunter. Only the timely arrival of Ruth and her flock, the camels, and Dave saves Bo and Mary. The hunter is knocked over a cliff, but Bo saves the dogs from near death. All the animals, including Abby, return to the stable. Bo even allows Thaddeus and Rufus to see the newborn baby. The three wise men arrive to see the new King and present him with their gifts. Bo realizes for the first time that he was carrying the new King. Deborah predicts that the event will be remembered around the world for years to come. Afterwards, Joseph buys Bo from the miller, and Bo, Dave, and Ruth help Joseph and Mary raise Jesus.
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Sony Pictures Releasing released The Star on November 17, 2017. Timothy Reckart directed the film starring Steven Yeun, Keegan-Michael Key, and Aidy Bryant.