Hitting theaters on Nov. 17, Sony Animation and Affirm Films’ “The Star” is a pure delight — and part of that is the voice talent, including “The Middle” star Patricia Heaton.
As I said in a post yesterday:
I’ve now seen it twice and laughed uproariously — and was touched — both times. It’s got high-quality animation, a witty script with elements of danger (but not too much for little ones), great songs (they had me at Pentatonix), and very human portrayals of Mary and Joseph (voices of Gina Rodriguez and Zachary Levi).
With some artistic license, “The Star” tells the Biblical Nativity story from the point of view of the animals, especially Bo (Steven Yeun), the donkey that winds up carrying Mary to Bethlehem, and his best pal, Dave the dove (Keegan-Michael Key). The animals can talk to each other, but to humans, they just sound like animals.
“The Star” achieves the nearly impossible — it tells a truly Christian story that should appeal to all ages, with heart, joy and real laughs.
Yesterday’s post included an interview with Catholic director Timothy Reckart, done at a press event over the weekend. Here, I talk to Heaton about playing Edith, who’s “exhausted, like me and every other mother that I know.”
And you get to learn her favorite Christmas carols!
And here’s the trailer:
Image: Courtesy Sony Animation/Affirm Films
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