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.
