The Star of Christmas


The Star of Christmas is a 2002 American computer-animated film and is the eighteenth episode of the VeggieTales animated series and the second holiday special in that series. It was released on October 29, 2002 and re-released on September 5, 2006 in Holiday Double Feature with its earlier episode The Toy that Saved Christmas. Like the other holiday episodes, it has no usual ”A Lesson in...” subtitle and the countertops. A message, however, is that you can't teach people to love through pomp and flash, but rather that love must come from the inside; Jesus was sent on Christmas to help enable such a change, and He is the true "Star of Christmas".
The story of The Star of Christmas centers on two would-be operatic composers who are based on W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. VeggieTales has spoofed Gilbert and Sullivan's work in Lyle the Kindly Viking and in Sumo of the Opera. In this episode however they spoof the people, Gilbert and Sullivan, themselves.
The film was nominated for an Annie Award in 2002 in the category of Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Home Video Production, but lost to .

Synopsis

The episode is set in London in 1882. It begins with Cavis Appythart and Millward Phelps—jingle writers who decide to make their big break into musical theatre. While Millward is content to see their work featured on billboards and in newspapers, Cavis believes they can make a difference in crime-ridden London by staging a grand musical that will move the citizens to greater expressions of love. Their opportunity arises when Millward's Uncle Nezzer grants them the use of his theater on Christmas Eve. They plan the huge production of a new musical called "The Princess and the Plumber". Unfortunately, the script is not yet complete, and the premiere is only three days away.
Seymour Schwenk, their friend and an inventor, shows up in an experimental rocket car and delivers a box of light bulbs to them. Cavis maintains that if their production is glitzy and bright then it will be a bigger hit and reach more people. He plans to integrate the lights directly into the scenery itself.
However, they still have much work to do. They need to convince the city's premiere talent, Constance Effie Pickering, to star in the lead role, and they need to get a commitment from Prince Calvin Fredrick to attend the premier. While Cavis and his assistant Bob Winston work on Pickering and the Prince, Millward struggles to complete the script. Everything comes together, and Cavis starts feeling confident that their production will be a huge success. The Prince tells Pickering that her pipes are corroded they water can't drain and her toilet exploded, she's flushing in vain.
After noticing a flyer for a Christmas pageant planned to debut on the same night at a local church, Cavis goes to investigate. He observes Edmund Gilbert preparing a low-budget children's play, and concludes that it poses no threat to their grand production. However, the pageant intends to feature an object called the "Star of Christmas". Wondering aloud about this as he leaves the church, Cavis is overheard by Arthur McHollingshead. Arthur, a historian, reveals that the Star of Christmas is an ancient relic that has not been seen by the public in 79 years. He rushes off with great excitement to report the news, which promptly makes the front page headline the following morning.
Faced with the prospect of losing their audience to the pageant, Cavis vows to make their own production greater and flashier. But they cannot compete with the Star of Christmas, and in desperation Cavis and Millward go to the church to steal the Star. They are caught, however, and narrowly escape from the aged "Moyer the Destroyer" who was left to guard the relic. With the Star and the flashy lights, Cavis is certain that "The Princess and the Plumber" is now a guaranteed success. But during dress rehearsal, the excessive amount of lights ignite the curtains. In minutes the theater goes up in flames and with it the Star of Christmas. As they stand and rue this terrible turn of events, an officer named Dwiglight Howarde arrives with Moyer LaGumtree, and Cavis and Millward are arrested.
In the jail, they meet a prisoner, Charles Pincher, who laughs at their efforts to spread love by means of an elaborate stage production. He claims that real love does not expect fame or wealth in return, that real love makes sacrifices to help others without expectation of personal gain. That kind of love, he says, is extremely rare.
Edmond and his father, Jesse, arrive at the jail to release Cavis and Millward. They have chosen not to press charges for the theft of the Star. Cavis is moved, and he expresses his desire to attend the pageant. But the pageant starts in ten minutes and there is not enough time to get there. Just then Seymour shows up in the rocket car. He entrusts Millward to drive the vehicle and try to get them all to the church on time. It is a harrowing ride fraught with collisions and near-misses, but they do arrive just as the pageant is about to start.
The pageant goes on with the Prince and Miss Pickering in attendance. Cavis finally learns that Christmas is not about glitz and grand productions; he understands that it is about Jesus. After the play, Moyer shows up and says that the real Star of Christmas is actually safe, and that they had taken the Turtle of Damascus, which most people consider a hoax. The episode ends with Cavis and Millward taking cookies and a gift to Charles Pincher in his jail cell.

Production

The studio was on a tight schedule in early Christmas 2001 to get the film done. Then, the air condition was left on, and a heat wave never hit Big Idea. Most people slept in their offices trying to get The Star of Christmas finished. Towards the end/before it wrapped, Mike Nawrocki was said he would be on his Sunday drive around the time of New Year's Eve. They were at a cafe, the same cafe they used for the premiere of "Larryboy and the Rumor Weed". There was Lisa Vischer singing "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" during the "Star of Christmas" premier.

Cast of Characters

Due to the format of the show, this episode does not contain the usual "What We Have Learned" or "VeggieTales Theme". It does contain five original compositions and one Christmas traditional: