Laura's Star
by Piet De Rycker, Thilo Graf Rothkirch
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Piet De Rycker, Thilo Graf RothkirchBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Portuguese (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 80 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Laura's Star
Movie Review: And the Stars Will Be Your Guide...
Summary: 5 Stars
"Laura's Star" shines with stardust in three key areas:
- Animation --- Very comforting animation style that combines both traditional animation and CGI elements. Soft pastel coloring that fits with the overall fantasy style of the film, but also lends a certain realness where needed. Expressive characters that translate well into many languages.
- Music --- This film includes a charming musical track that includes "The Magic Flute" by Mozart, a pleasing score headed by Hans Zimmer ("Pirates of the Caribbean" - argh!) and catchy pop songs by a group called "Wonderwall." After watching this film, it makes me want to explore more of the works of Zimmer and Wonderwall as well --- a German group.
- Overall Plot and Magic --- The main plot of "Laura's Star" is that a family moves out of the country into a new home in the city. The girl in the family, Laura, is having trouble adjusting to her new neighborhood. There are bullies to deal with and nothing is familiar. She really wants to go back to her old home, but then a little magic comes into her life --- a little star who she helps to heal and whose stardust has magical properties. Now she's off on magical adventures, but faces despair at times as well. Sure, the plot starts off a little slow at first. But I don't really mind that. I don't care either if there's not a huge amount of entertainment value or high drama. This film has a sweet charm and a rather relaxing quality at times, similar to something like "Franklin" or "The Little Bear Movie" and I wouldn't mind seeing a similar movie by the same filmmakers again.
Oh --- and great dub. This film was originally voiced in German, but they've picked a wonderful cast for the English-language release.
This DVD comes with a neat set of special features. You get commentary by the filmmakers about the production of the film, a look at the German voice recording and voice actors, background on the music and a music video of "Touch the Sky" and a look at the animation process. There are also a few reasonably decent games.
Unfortunately, the special features were the one area where I felt a bit more effort could have been put in. You see, this is the U.S. / English language release, but the special features haven't been localized for U.S. audiences. So generally the cast and crew are heard speaking in German. I don't even really mind this. What I do mind is that in those cases where somebody actually was speaking in English, they have *somebody else* speaking over them in German! Couldn't they have removed that?
"Laura's Star" ("Lauras Stern" if you prefer the German title) is a wonderful treat for animation fans and a Chicago Children's Festival award-winner. If you or your kids enjoy quality animation and are looking for something that's maybe a little different, don't pass this up.
Summary of Laura's Star
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