La stella di Laura

No in-jokes. No adult themes. Not even a guest celebrity voice-over. Just a simple animated tale about a little girl finding a damaged star in the park at night near her new house, and her subsequent adventures as she adopts it and hides it from nosy grown-ups. Later as it loses it's glow she has to make a decision... be selfish and keep her newfound celestial body and watch it slowly die, or release it back into the sky where it belongs so it can shine forth once again. I think you can see where this is going...

Still, there is plenty here to admire, including the attractive synchronicity of traditional and computer animation so that it resembles a Hayao Miyazaki film (but there the resemblance ends) as well as the inherent charm in the central premise, which is expanded on well from a children's short story. If you're wondering why sometimes the words don't match the lips, this is because it was initially a German film with re-recorded dialogue for the English speaking market. This doesn't spoil the enjoyment factor though, and it makes for a fine 80 minute diversion for the kids (and a few patient adults). 6/10