The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
The Star
Animation · Comedy · Adventure · 2017
A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the greatest story ever told: the first Christmas.
Movie details
The Star
“It takes many tails to tell the greatest story ever.”
2017 Animation · Comedy · Adventure 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.3 / 10
10.3K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
46 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
42 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A small but brave donkey and his animal friends become the unsung heroes of the greatest story ever told: the first Christmas.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Star?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Animal Crackers
Comedy · 2018
A family must use a magical box of Animal Crackers to save a rundown circus from being taken over by their evil uncle Horatio P. Huntington.
The Monkey King
Animation · 2023
A stick-wielding monkey teams with a young girl on an epic quest for immortality, battling demons, dragons, gods — and his own ego — along the way.
Wonder Park
Comedy · 2019
A young girl named June with a big imagination makes an incredible discovery -- the amusement park of her dreams has come to life. Filled with the world's wildest rides operated by fun-loving animals, the excitement never ends. But when trouble hits, June and her misfit team of furry friends begin an unforgettable journey to save the park.
Shrek the Halls
Adventure · 2007
The Christmas tree isn't the only thing green in this new holiday classic. Shrek is back and trying to get into the spirit of the season. After promising Fiona and the kids a Christmas they'll remember, he is forced to take a crash course in the holiday. But just when he thinks he has everything for their quiet family Christmas just right, there is a knock at the door.
DuckTales: The Movie - Treasure of the Lost Lamp
Adventure · 1990
With his nephews and niece, everyone's favorite rich uncle, Scrooge McDuck, treks from his mansion home in Duckburg in search of the long-lost loot of the thief Collie Baba. But finding the goods isn't quite what it's "quacked" up to be! Their thrilling adventure leads to comical chaos, magical mayhem, and a lesson about what is far more valuable than money, gold and jewels.
The Magician's Elephant
Animation · 2023
Peter is searching for his long-lost sister when he crosses paths with a fortune teller in the market square. His only question is: is his sister still alive? The answer, that he must find a mysterious elephant and the magician who will conjure it, sets Peter off on a journey to complete three seemingly impossible tasks that will change the face of his town forever.
In Your Dreams
Adventure · 2025
Stevie and her little brother Elliot journey into the wildly absurd landscape of their own dreams to ask the Sandman to grant them the perfect family.
The Willoughbys
Adventure · 2020
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
That Christmas
Animation · 2024
It's an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone's plans — including Santa's.
The Boxtrolls
Animation · 2014
An orphaned boy raised by underground creatures called Boxtrolls comes up from the sewers and out of his box to save his family and the town from the evil exterminator, Archibald Snatcher.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Timothy Reckart
Written by
Tommy Sheridan · Carlos Kotkin · Simon Moore
Steven Yeun
Bo (voice)
Gina Rodriguez
Mary (voice)
Zachary Levi
Joseph (voice)
Keegan-Michael Key
Dave (voice)
Kelly Clarkson
Leah (voice)
Anthony Anderson
Zach (voice)
Kris Kristofferson
Old Donkey (voice)
Court is in session
Put The Star on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.