In the Sony Pictures Animation’s The Star, a very brave donkey named Bo dreams of a life beyond his daily grind at the mill. One day he gets help and finds the courage to break free, to pursue his dreams and finally goes on the adventure of a lifetime!
On his journey, he teams up with Ruth, a lovable sheep who has lost her flock and Dave, a dove with high aspirations. Along with three wise camels and some special stable animals, Bo and his new friends follow the Star and become unlikely heroes in the greatest story of all – The First Christmas.
You can check out my review HERE.
I also had the pleasure to interview the director and some of the cast members which gave me a much better insight on behind the scenes and some choices made along the way, which I’m now sharing with you in the first part, our interview with the movie director, Timothy Reckhart!
Movie Director – Timothy Reckart
When asked about the cast, he shares:
That is a miracle itself! What do you think? After all, they were able to gather a stellar cast, giving the story a fresh, new perspective, in his own words.
On Casting
“Casting is definitely a conversation, I am one voice in the conversation”
“…..And the amazing thing with this movie was that we put together this wish list thinking we’re going to get some NOs from our first choices, we’ll have to go down the list, but amazingly we didn’t get those “NOs”. “
“They were very excited to be part of it, I think, just because they wanted to be part of telling this Christmas story, you know at a time where I think, that this version of the Christmas story tends to get overwhelmed by Santa Claus and presents, during the season. And this seems like a really good opportunity both for me and for the cast to bring it out into the culture in a way that is entertaining and it doesn’t feel Sunday-schoolish.”
I love that they really had the goal to bring Christ and the original story back to Christmas!
On Music
He mentioned that the Christmas Album was an intention from get go. As a wife of a music minister, I spend most of my days listening to Christian music and Christmas Music time is definitely a special time for me, so I love when he shared:
“I wanted to try to find ways where the carols would actually help us tell the story. A good example of what I think it works really well, is when Joseph is processing what Mary just told him and that’s where we decided to place what child is this, cause that seems like the lyrics there helped to communicate what Joseph was going through mentally, so we tried to take that approach to what songs to use when and what the tone would be which is to say that we wanted them to tell the story for us. “
“Another good example that was “children go where I send you” which is a spiritual, that’s the song that we hear when Bo is on doing the chasing, with the Miller is chasing after him. And in that Kelsea Ballerini ’s version has this do do do do do , which I never anticipate that at all.”
On Finding Balance
“Generally, our thought was anything that is in the Bible, let’s try to be faithful – period. Our sandbox was the animal point of view and so that was where we thought we would use most of our creative freedom. And when it came to Mary and Joseph and King Herod and all the stuff you do read about in the Bible we thought ‘Let’s stick to that’.”
I have been listening to the CD in my car since I came back and already know some of the versions created for the movie by heart! Kelsea’s song for example, is one of my favorites. That “do do do” brings happiness into my days!
Interviewing Timothy Reckart gave us a great perspective and better understanding on the choices and foundation of this fresh take on the greatest story of all times!
Check the movie out:
I took my family to watch the movie this past weekend, will you take yours?
Can’t wait to hear what you think, as usual, give us a Trendy Shout.
Photo Credit: Some of the photos used on my post are credit to Sony Pictures Animation
I had no idea Oprah had anything to do with this. Oprah is such a serious lengend.
Yay Oprah is included. I bet this is a good movie. Adding this to my list to must watch.
I love animation and christmas movies so this one is right up my alley. I can’t wait to bring my family to watch this movie. It sounds like a great movie to kick start the holiday.
Oh what a wonderful interview with the director. Now I’m ever more excited to check the movie out.
This movie looks so cute! I definitely want to watch this with my family.
Super cool! I definitely want to take the kids to see this! Packed with a great cast but I mostly love the story.
Oh my dear is awesome, i want to watch this new movie. A perfect family bonding movie.
I really am looking forward to seeing this movie. It sounds adorable. And I love his wife is a music minister.
Sounds like you had a great time! I am heading to see this movie tonight with my family. We are looking forward to it.
Oh my word this movie looks fantastic! It has a great cast and an amazing story idea too!
This looks like a great movie. I am looking forward to seeing it soon.
Looks like such a nice family movie. Have to see when it is playing where I live.
Thanks for sharing as it looks like a fun movie & I now plan to see with my granddaughter when visiting them over the holidays.
Haven’t heard a lot about this movie before this post. I learned a lot more with the inside scoop! What a fun one for the kiddos!
Oh, this looks so good! My daughter will love it… and me too!
can’t wait to see it! love disney movies 🙂
The Star seems to be promising. Some wholesome entertainment in the holidays. Can’t wait to watch.
I love movies like this. I’ll have to get my hands on a copy.
How fun! I definitely want to see this movie now!
We watched Wonder over the weekend and now my son wants to watch this movie when it become available here. I TOLD HIM THAT WOULD BE our next date.
I am truly loving how Oprah and Tyler Perry are featured in this animation. I am also proud that Devon Franklin helped produce this film so this is great!
I love Christmas animation movie , I’ve seen their trailer. We are all excited to see this movie I am sort of religious and so my family. Can’t wait to see it in big screen.
This seems like such a warm and uplifting movie for the holidays. We are not religious so I’m not sure if this movie is right for our family, but it can be great for others.
Sounds like a cute movie. My grandson is three and loves animated movies. I will have to bring my grandson Dallas to it!
What a great interview. I want to see this movie. It looks amazing. I love learning about the behind the scenes things that go into making a movie.
How lovely that they tried to keep to the original Biblical point of view’ and it is great that their choice for casting was set from the get go. The Star looks like a wonderful movie to watch at Christmas.
This movie is definitely on my holiday watchlist. I saw that Oprah and Tyler Perry have starring roles in this animated movie and I know it’s sure to be a Christmas classic!
Looks like an adorable movie perfect for the holiday season! Will look for it for the kids this holiday!
It’s so cool that you get to interview the director of the movie. I’m so jealous right now! Can’t wait to watch this movie.
That sounds like a great movie for the holidays! Interviewing one of the people behind the movie will surely get you more excited to see the movie. 😀
Looks like a super cute movie! I”m sure my kids will be asking to go see it very soon.
The Star is going to be a great movie! Those animals are so adorable, as well!
The movie sounds interesting. Will check it out
I haven’t heard much about this movie until now. The cast looks great!
I agree, I really enjoy the music too! This was a great chat.
I’m looking forward to listening to some of the songs from the movie. It sounds like Timothy had a clear vision for the movie and I’m betting the cast did a really good job.
We really want to see that … it has a great cast! Definitely on our list for a holiday outing.
I myself love to watch animation movies. It must be a great opportunity to interview the director 😊
This looks like such a cute faith-based movie. I would love to watch it with my kids.
I can’t wait to see this movie. It looks like it’s going to be a great one. I’d love to take my girls to see it too.
This sounds like a great movie for Christmas. I really want to see it soon.
We are so excited to go see The Star. It will be a great family movie to see for the holidays.
This movie looks so good. I am definitely taking my children to see it
I absolutely enjoyed the movie and loved that you gave me a sense of what went behind the making of it. What a thrill to interview the director!
This sounds like a great movie for kids. I am going to take my kids to see it!
Wow how neat you got to interview the director and some of the cast members! This movie looks so good!
This is a great movie to take the kids to watch. I love that it incorporated the story of the First Christmas. The cast is fantastic too!
My daughter wants to go see it so I think we are going to go this weekend. Your review makes me want to go even more!
OK I totally hadn’t heard of this movie before coming to this post and now I want to see it! It is interesting to hear how they thought things over.
As soon as I saw the first preview for this movie, I knew it was one I wanted to see. I can’t wait.
This sounds like such a great movie. I think the kids would really enjoy this film. I can’t wait to make a day out of it.
This sounds like it’ll be a fantastic movie. I know my daughter was saying she really wants to see it.
This is definitelysomething I’m taking my kids to see. I think it would be fun for them and I would enjoy the story myself. I cannot wait for it to come out.
Everyone is talking about this movie at the moment, I really want to see it. It is great to read his view on the movie!
My daughter is dying to see this movie! I think we may go this week and check it out! Looks super cute! Thanks for sharing the interview and info!
I want to see this movie. I think santa needs to give the kids tickets.
We are so excited about this movie. It looks like it will be great and after seeing your interview, I’m even more excited.
This looks like such a great movie! I love it for a couple of reasons. A: It’s a new take on the story of Christmas for believers. B: Even if you aren’t a believer, it’s still just a really fun Christmas movie.
I agree! I think that it will be fun for everyone no matter what your beliefs. It looks so fun.
How lucky that they got the cast they wanted! now that I know some of the background on the music I want to see it even more!
This was a great interview. I always learning the thought process behind a film, and Tim seems like he really wanted to get it right.
The STAR would be a good animated movie. I’ll check this out if its showing here.
I totally agree with you! It sounds like it would be such fun to get to go and watch!
We are so excited about this movie! I am thrilled that they have put out a Christian based cartoon on the big screen!
Sounds like such a wonderful movie, definitely putting it on my “must see” list!
What a great movie! My sister and her daughter went to see it yesterday and they both loved it. I’m looking forward to taking the grandkids to see it soon.