Stardust (2007 film) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stardust
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay by	Jane Goldman Matthew Vaughn
Starring	Claire Danes Charlie Cox Sienna Miller Ricky Gervais Jason Flemyng Rupert Everett Peter O'Toole Michelle Pfeiffer Robert De Niro
Music by	Ilan Eshkeri
Cinematography	Ben Davis
Editing by	Jon Harris
Studio	Marv Films Ingenious Film Partners
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	10 August 2007 (2007-08-10) (United States) 19 October 2007 (2007-10-19) (United Kingdom)
Running time	128 minutes
Country	United States United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$70–88.5 million
Money made	$137 million

Stardust is a fun fantasy adventure film from 2007. It was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who also helped write the story with Jane Goldman. The movie is based on a book called Stardust by Neil Gaiman, which came out in 1997.

The film has many famous actors like Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert De Niro. Ian McKellen tells the story as the narrator.

The movie is about a young man named Tristan. He lives in a town called Wall in Great Britain. This town is right next to a magical land called Stormhold. Tristan goes into this magical world to find a fallen star. He wants to give it to the girl he likes, Victoria, so she will marry him.

But the fallen star is actually a woman named Yvaine! Now, Tristan has to get Yvaine back to Wall before Victoria's birthday. Plus, evil witches and the princes of Stormhold are also looking for Yvaine.

Stardust got good reviews and made about $137 million. In 2008, it won an award called the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form. You can watch Stardust on DVD and Blu-ray.

Story of Stardust

The village of Wall in England is next to a stone wall. This wall separates it from the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guard always watches the wall to stop anyone from crossing.

One day, a young man named Dunstan Thorne tricks the guard. He crosses the wall and finds a magical marketplace. There, he meets a princess named Una, who is being held captive. She gives him a special glass snowdrop flower for a kiss. They spend the night together. Nine months later, the Wall Guard brings a baby to Dunstan. He says the baby's name is Tristan.

The King's Challenge

Eighteen years later, the King of Stormhold is dying. He throws a special ruby into the sky. He says that the first of his sons to find this ruby will become the new king. The gem hits a star, and both fall out of the sky into Stormhold. The king's remaining sons, Primus, Septimus, and Tertius, all start looking for the stone.

In Wall, Tristan sees the falling star. He promises to get it for Victoria, a girl he has a crush on. She is a bit mean and only agrees to marry him if he brings her the star.

Tristan learns that his mother is from beyond the wall. She left him a special "Babylon candle." This candle can take you to any place you wish. Tristan lights it and is taken right to the fallen star. To his surprise, the star is a beautiful woman named Yvaine. He chains her up, planning to take her to Victoria.

The Witches' Plan

Meanwhile, three very old witch sisters want to eat the fallen star's heart. They believe this will make them young again and give them back their magic. Their leader, Lamia, eats a small piece of an older star's heart. This makes her strong enough to go find Yvaine. She creates a fake inn as a trap.

Yvaine gets tired, so Tristan chains her to a tree and goes to find food. While he's gone, a unicorn frees her. But the unicorn accidentally leads Yvaine to Lamia's inn. Tristan comes back and finds Yvaine gone. The stars whisper to him that she is in danger. They tell him to get on a passing coach. This coach happens to belong to Prince Primus.

They stop at the inn, just as Lamia is trying to kill Yvaine. Lamia kills Primus. But Tristan and Yvaine use the Babylon candle to escape into the clouds. There, they are caught by pirates in a flying ship.

Captain Shakespeare's Help

The pirate leader, Captain Shakespeare, pretends that Tristan is his nephew and Yvaine is a friend. He gives them new clothes. He teaches Tristan how to fence and Yvaine how to dance.

Septimus, the last surviving prince (Tertius was poisoned earlier), finds out that the fallen star has the ruby. He realizes that eating a star's heart can make him live forever.

After leaving Captain Shakespeare's ship, Tristan and Yvaine realize they love each other. They spend the night together at an inn. In the morning, Tristan leaves Yvaine sleeping. He goes to Wall with a piece of her hair. He plans to tell Victoria he won't marry her because he loves Yvaine. But when the lock of hair turns to stardust, he realizes Yvaine will die if she crosses the wall. He rushes back to save her.

The Final Battle

Yvaine wakes up and thinks Tristan has left her for Victoria. Sad, she starts walking towards the wall, not knowing it will kill her. Una, Tristan's mother, sees Yvaine. She takes control of Ditchwater Sal's wagon to stop her. Lamia kills Sal and captures Una and Yvaine. She takes them to the witches' manor.

Septimus and Tristan both chase Lamia. They agree to work together for now. They break into the castle. Septimus recognizes Una as his long-lost sister. Una tells Tristan that she is his mother.

Septimus and Tristan kill two of the witches. But Lamia uses a voodoo doll to kill Septimus. Lamia is about to finish off Tristan. She pretends to be sad about her sisters and frees Yvaine. But it was a trick! She tries to kill them both. As Tristan and Yvaine hug, their love makes Yvaine shine brightly again. This light kills Lamia.

Tristan gets the ruby from Yvaine. Una explains that because Tristan is her son, he is the last male heir to Stormhold. Tristan becomes king with Yvaine as his queen. Dunstan and Una are reunited. After ruling Stormhold for eighty years, Tristan and Yvaine use a Babylon candle to go into the sky. They live happily ever after as stars.

Main Actors

Michelle Pfeiffer at the Stardust movie premiere in Hollywood

Why Stardust is Popular

On the 10th anniversary of the movie's release, the magazine Vanity Fair talked to Charlie Cox, who played Tristan. He said that fans often recognize him from this movie. Cox isn't sure why the film is so loved, but he thinks director Matthew Vaughn wanted to make a movie that everyone would enjoy. He also said that Jane Goldman did a great job making the story clear and focusing on what was most important.

Vanity Fair noted that Stardust is often shown again on TV. They called it "endlessly likable" because it has a great cast and special effects that still look good. They also said it's the best movie version of Neil Gaiman's books, capturing his mix of dark and whimsical ideas perfectly.

Matthew Vaughn, the director, felt that the movie's advertising was not quite right. He said it was promoted like Lord of the Rings, but it was actually more like The Princess Bride. He also mentioned that even though the movie didn't make a lot of money in cinemas, it became a very popular movie to watch at home on DVD.

Images for kids

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  Claire Danes promoting Stardust

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  Some scenes were filmed in Scotland, near the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye.

See also

In Spanish: Stardust (película) para niños