Line #12 WesternAnimation/TheStar


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/0528af5d_d248_4cba_9082_9e7dfb98117b.jpeg]]
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3	A Christmas film produced by Creator/SonyPicturesAnimation in association with Creator/WaldenMedia, The Creator/JimHenson Company, Affirm Films (Creator/{{Sony}}'s religious film unit), and Franklin Entertainment, with animation duties given to {{Creator/Cinesite}}, released by Creator/ColumbiaPictures on November 17, 2017.
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5	The film is a retelling of the Nativity of UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}, as outlined in the New Testament in Literature/TheBible... except told in the perspective of the animals who accompany Mary and Joseph before and during Jesus' birth. The group of animals, led by a Donkey named Bo (Creator/StevenYeun), become unlikely heroes as they embark on a journey to protect Mary and Joseph as they reach to Bethlehem.
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7	Featuring an AllStarCast of sorts, boasting Yeun, Creator/KellyClarkson, Creator/KristinChenoweth, Creator/TylerPerry, Creator/OprahWinfrey, Tracy Morgan, Creator/KrisKristofferson, Creator/KeeganMichaelKey and Creator/ChristopherPlummer among many, many others. It is the first religious-themed animated film to be released to a wide audience since ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt''.
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9	'''Previews:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVgQuZf5o1M Teaser Trailer]], [[https://youtu.be/9NjvYZtwk00 Official Trailer]]
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11	!!''The Star'' contains examples of:
12	* AnachronisticAnimal: Inverted with Rufus, who might resemble a modern Staffordshire Bull Terrier but could possibly be an extinct breed of dog known in the ancient world as an Alaunt.
13	* AnimalTalk: The animals can speak to each other, but not to the humans.
14	* BigBad: King Herod, for obvious reasons. His [[TheDragon Dragon]], the "royal dog walker," acts as the primary threat to the protagonists.
15	* ButtMonkey:
16	** Dave the Dove is the target of most of the jokes and slapstick.
17	** Joseph suffers some of this just about anytime he and Bo share a scene.
18	* CassandraTruth: Deborah the Camel is full of them.
19	* CastingGag:
20	** Creator/GinaRodriguez as Mary. Rodriguez is perhaps most famous for her role as Jane in ''Series/JaneTheVirgin''.
21	* ChekhovsSkill: Ruth teaches Bo how to descend cliffs. This new knowledge comes in handy during the climax.
22	* CleanPrettyChildbirth: While the birth happens off-screen, there's no indication that Jesus came out as anything other than completely clean, and Mary doesn't look the least bit unkempt.
23	* ComicTrio: The camels fit this trope like a glove with Cyrus as TheLeader, Felix as TheFool and Deborah as the OnlySaneWoman.
24	* DeadHatShot: [[spoiler:Once Herod's hunter falls to his death, all that is shown is his helmet bouncing to the side.]]
25	* DenserAndWackier: In comparison with the [[Literature/TheFourGospels source material.]]
26	* DisasterDominoes: Bo causes those twice. He tries to do one thing that goes amazingly wrong and then, by sheer luck, he gets what he wanted (being freed of the millstone first, and later stopping Herod's Hunter for a short while).
27	* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:The royal dog walker who pursues the holy family throughout the movie falls to his death off a cliff.]]
28	* TheDragon: Herod's hunter, who is sent to kill Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.
29	** The miller, who owns Bo and the older donkey is a secondary antagonist for Bo.
30	* FriendOrIdolDecision: Bo wants to leave the mill so he can join royal caravan. When the opportunity for it finally arises, he realizes that his bond with Mary and Joseph is more important than his dream.
31	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Mary, who accepts the help of a jerboa, and shows kindness to Bo by bandaging his leg in a splint.
32	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:The hunter's dogs Rufus and Thaddeus, after Bo saves them from falling to their death with their master (who had let go of them before he fell).]]
33	* HumanLadder: The camels do this a number of times while they're at the palace.
34	* HugeRiderTinyMount: When the camels first encounter the guard dogs, they bark at them to make them pile up on each other. Cyrus hops onto Deborah, and Felix climbs onto the top of the stack. Naturally, Deborah loses her footing and topples over, especially since Cyrus is much bigger than her.
35	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: After Jesus is born, Deborah says that people worldwide will celebrate that moment for thousands of years to come by giving presents and singing carols. Cyrus and Felix laugh at her.
36	* LetsGetDangerous: Bo, preparing to face down a pair of angry dogs determined to get to the holy family.
37	--->'''Bo: "If you want them, you'll have to go through me!"'''
38	* LighterAndSofter: Most of the "adult" scenes from the Bible passages are toned down. The birth uses SceneryCensor and cuts away to the fight between Bo and the "royal dog master." Later, one of the end credit backgrounds shows the family travelling to Egypt. (For the reason, check the Bible passage.)
39	* LightIsNotGood: PlayedForLaughs. The Star of Bethlehem's light [[DeconstructiveParody drove the barn animals insane with insomnia]].
40	* LookADistraction: Bo uses this quite effectively on a vicious dog.
41	* MacGuffinTitle: The Star just lights the way to a certain stable in Bethlehem. Most of the action is done by the donkey Bo.
42	* MotorMouth: Zachariah is constantly talking on the Mary and Joseph wedding. FridgeBrilliance kicks up when you remember what happened to him in The Bible, and you could say that he's catching up on the time when he wasn't capable of talking.
43	* MythologyGag: On Mary and Joseph wedding, Elizabeth comments on her husband Zachariah [[MotorMouth constant talking]], "that she liked him more when he didn't talk" referencing the fact that Zachariah had lost the ability to speak until his wife give birth to their son, John.
44	* NonActionBigBad: Herod leaves all the dirty work to his hunter.
45	* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: Ruth likes to be ''very'' close to her friends, as she is used to do in her herd.
46	* OutGivingBirthBackInTwoMinutes: The birth takes place over a fight scene that last several minutes.
47	* PluckyComicRelief:
48	** Dave the dove provides most of the comedy in the movie.
49	** Felix, due to being youngest of the three camels. He is shown to be rather goofy and loudmouthed, and often gets into arguments with Cyrus.
50	* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Bo the donkey, Dave the dove, Ruth the sheep, Leah the horse, Zach the goat, and Edith the cow. After being deserted by the hunter, Rufus and Thaddeus join the group at Bethlehem.
51	* SavageWolves: Thaddeus is a prime example of this, until the end when he becomes NobleWolf.
52	* SavingChristmas: The premise as described in previews: "On November 17, one donkey, three camels, a dancing bird, and one pygmy gerboa are teaming up to save the first Christmas."
53	* ScoobyStack: The camels are overly fond of this trope.
54	* SilentAntagonist: King Herod's hunter never says a single word throughout the whole film and only grunts.
55	* StarOfBethlehem: The titular star brings all the characters - both human and animal - to Bethlehem.
56	* TheThreeWiseMen: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar are secondary characters in the movie.
57	* TranslationConvention: Around the animals.
58	* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Given that his motivation is ''infanticide'', King Herod is naturally not portrayed as lightly as most of the other characters.

Context WesternAnimation / TheStar