Horrible, Horrible, Horrible. An abysmal corruption of a wonderful book. Don't bother with this piece of junk. I have two children and have seen my share of stinkers, but this one might take the cake! The story differs from the book and the writers have added additional characters (not necessarily bad, but in this case they are). The most egregious change, however, is the wholesale rewrite of the main characters' personalities. For those who are familiar with the story, the birds have been re-written to be antagonistic rather than accommodating to Stellaluna. Stellaluna is a cast as an unwanted outsider. The firm mother bird from the story, is now a overly sweet, loving character. The animation is comparable to Saturday morning cartoons circa 1990. I'd rather watch static than this rotten film...better yet, read the book!
8 Reviews
Cute & Sweet
zsofikam20 September 2015
I own both the book and the audio-book and was once at Blockbuster with my parents when I found a copy of a Stellaluna movie. I was, of course, intrigued. I rented the movie and found myself hooked. Sure, it's not identical to the book but the book is about 30 pages long and needed to be extended for movie format. There are three new characters: Askari, a Tarzan-esque spider, and Horatio and Kazuku, two fashion-conscious birds. But none of these characters play a huge role and the focus is mostly on Stellaluna and her bird family: mother and siblings Pip, Flitter, and Flap. Flitter has the yellow chest, Pip has the blue chest, and Flap has the purple chest. The animation is spectacular, making one want to reach out and pet Stellaluna and the birds. But the best thing about the film has got to be the music. One song "Best In You" is nice but not especially memorable. The other song "Upside Down" is simply adorable and the background music during the intro and credits is just beautiful. All in all, may be disappointing for die-hard fans of the book (although I loved both) but a must for anyone who's ever felt different.
A shallow, lame film with unlikable characters. Read the original book instead.
j-jessie-weaver25 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I first came across this movie on Netflix and decided to watch it. Having listened to the book when I was a child, I thought this film would be a treat. Unfortunately, that was not what I got with this adaptation of Jannell Cannon's "Stellaluna." Most of the characters are either entirely annoying or completely unlikable. Pip, Flitter and Flap are very cruel to poor Stellaluna and even have the gall to mock her at some points.
Stellaluna was one of the few characters, including her biological mother, that I actually sympathized with. The rest of them are intolerable; Especially that stupid, egotistical jumping spider, Askari...
The only two positive things I can say about this movie is that the animation and the song Stellaluna sings are beautiful. The animation itself brings the characters to life and it looks fantastic.
However, I doubt the animation and that one, decent song saves this movie from being a piece of garbage.
If you want to show your kids "Stellaluna," read them the original book. This film will be a waste of time for them and it should never have been made.
No wonder this adaptation got panned.
Stellaluna was one of the few characters, including her biological mother, that I actually sympathized with. The rest of them are intolerable; Especially that stupid, egotistical jumping spider, Askari...
The only two positive things I can say about this movie is that the animation and the song Stellaluna sings are beautiful. The animation itself brings the characters to life and it looks fantastic.
However, I doubt the animation and that one, decent song saves this movie from being a piece of garbage.
If you want to show your kids "Stellaluna," read them the original book. This film will be a waste of time for them and it should never have been made.
No wonder this adaptation got panned.
I did it! I found my alternative to Disney's Bambi!
nmvp-4439129 June 2020
Don't get angry at me. But I kind of like Stellaluna. While most of you chose Disney, I chose Warner Bros. and MGM. I found a Stellaluna cassette tape at my local library. It was something I wasn't expecting to find. I rented it, and fell madly in love with it. After all, it's a cartoon, and Chiara Zanni and Beast Wars Scott McNeil are in this. If you think this is something, I think you should read the book.
Don't bother
RazorRaven26 May 2015
Even speaking as someone who does not remember the book that well, this movie was not an enjoyable experience.
There is very little focus on the lovable Stellaluna adapting to life as a bird, and more focus on her antagonistic adopted siblings. Flap in particular is especially unlikable, while Pip is at least tolerable. Three completely unnecessary characters were added as well: Askari the spider is difficult to like thanks to his inflated sense of self, and a voice that reminds me of Snips from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", but not in a good way. Horatio and Kazuku, a pair of fashion obsessed birds don't take up as much screen time as Askari, but were equally pointless.
The only really good things I can say about this were Stellaluna herself, plus her song "My Whole World's Turned Upside Down." which can be found on Youtube.
Stick with the book.
There is very little focus on the lovable Stellaluna adapting to life as a bird, and more focus on her antagonistic adopted siblings. Flap in particular is especially unlikable, while Pip is at least tolerable. Three completely unnecessary characters were added as well: Askari the spider is difficult to like thanks to his inflated sense of self, and a voice that reminds me of Snips from "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic", but not in a good way. Horatio and Kazuku, a pair of fashion obsessed birds don't take up as much screen time as Askari, but were equally pointless.
The only really good things I can say about this were Stellaluna herself, plus her song "My Whole World's Turned Upside Down." which can be found on Youtube.
Stick with the book.
Being Honest.
tmxndwbw28 January 2024
I've had my share of watching movies over and over, and then forgetting about them. But this one. It takes the cake! I've watched this movie and read the book countless times as a kid, and now that I've reread and watched it, it's still a heartwarming masterpiece. But I just don't get how people find this horrible? Obviously, the movie isn't going to be perfectly accurate to the book. But at least it has some of the details included? Besides, some of the few songs in here are quite catchy, at least to me. But at the end, it's everyone's opinion, so I won't judge. Attack me all you want, I don't care.
Beautiful batty-full piece
ThunderKing612 April 2020
Sweet Story With Good Memories Attached To It
ClareLaBelleRose9 February 2023
I grew up with this movie on VHS, so I admittedly may be biased with the amount of good memories I have attached to it. However, I really do still enjoy this movie and the message that it brings about accepting your differences, as well as the struggles of being in an adoptive family. I remember relating as a French girl in an all American school, seeing myself in Stellaluna and her struggles to fit into a new context that she's unfamiliar to. I believe many other children would relate to this struggle, being a common one that is surprisingly rarely addressed in modern children's media.
With cute and nicely drawn traditional animation, catchy and fun songs, and nice voice acting, Stellaluna is a movie I definitely recommend, nostalgic or not.
With cute and nicely drawn traditional animation, catchy and fun songs, and nice voice acting, Stellaluna is a movie I definitely recommend, nostalgic or not.
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