Stars Aplenty

Immersive outdoor experience Astra Lumina set to light up Dallas

Astra Lumina opens at Trinity Forest Adventure Park on October 24.

Photo courtesy of Moment Factory

The stars will come for a visit to Dallas in October when a new outdoor multimedia production named Astra Lumina make its debut at Trinity Forest Adventure Park, located in southeast Dallas at 1800 Dowdy Ferry Rd.

Opening on October 24 and running through at least December 15, Astra Lumina uses projections, lighting, and music to let visitors encounter the illuminating wonder of the stars.

They're calling this immersive experience a "cosmic adventure," "an enchanted night walk amongst the stars" that takes an outdoor journey through the forest, guiding guests on an illuminated nature pathway that's estimated to last around 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how slow you walk.

According to the website, patrons "set off across mysterious grounds to discover a celestial pathway of lustrous light, cosmic visions, and astral song. Immerse yourself in illuminating encounters of lighting, projection and sound, and connect with the stars before they return to the sky above."

If that's not enough, there are photo opportunities, as well as a gift shop and food & beverage options available for purchase.

Created by Moment Factory, Astra Lumina has been on a U.S. tour, already welcoming more than 460,000 guests, with other stops in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“Since 2014, we have created over 20 Lumina Enchanted Night Walks in a variety of outdoor venues," sayes Jonathan St-Onge, Executive Director at Moment Factory Originals, in a statement. “This experience seeks to connect people to each other, to nature, and to the stars, and so we are thrilled to debut at the Trinity Forest Adventure Park, for an exciting change of scenery.”

According to the schedule, the Dallas event will be open Thursdays-Sundays, except for December, when it will be closed on Saturdays. Prices start at $25, but vary by the day, with Fridays and Saturdays featuring the more expensive options.

Tickets, which are now on sale, can be purchased at AstraLumina.com.

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Movie Review

The Magic Faraway Tree is a whimsical family lark that fails to take root

Photo courtesy of Vertical Entertainment

Andrew Garfield, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, Claire Foy, Phoenix Laroche, and Billie Gadson in The Magic Faraway Tree.

With kids and families always on the hunt for entertainment, it’s typically a safe bet for a movie studio to offer up something new, even if it is a film based on an old property. The Magic Faraway Tree, based on a series of books that started in the 1930s, is a very old property, one that its filmmakers have tried to liven up with a few stars, a lot of whimsy, and a boatload of CGI.

The Thompson family, led by stay-at-home dad Tim (Andrew Garfield) and breadwinner mom Polly (Claire Foy), are forced to move to a rundown country home when Polly gets laid off. The kids - Joe (Phoenix Laroche), Fran (Billie Gadson), and Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy) - are used to the perks of city life like wifi and electricity, and each of them rebels in their own way to their new lot in life.

Fran, enticed by a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan), is the first to venture out of the house, making her way to a magic tree that transports her to a world full of strange characters like Moonface (Nonso Anozie), Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning), and more. Her adventures there not only broaden the world she thought she knew, but may be the key to helping her ailing family.

Directed by Ben Gregor and written by Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2, Wonka), the film is a pleasant enough lark, but it fails to fully capture the imagination. The five-member family has a lot going on, from an initially-mute Fran to a domestic situation that raises more questions than it answers. The film tries to incorporate an anti-technology message through Tim’s hatred of a smart refrigerator (voiced by Judi Dench!) and the kids' addictions to devices, but it’s quickly shed in favor of other options.

Once Fran makes it to the Magic Faraway Tree, there’s a nice shift in the storytelling, but it’s unclear what the ultimate goal is. It’s a good idea to have Fran, the youngest of the children, convince her older, more cynical siblings about the virtues of the magic world, but the conflict in the real world doesn’t seem to rise to the level needed for the escape the tree provides.

There also seems to be a missing link in the storytelling for viewers to understand the importance of the fantastical characters. The visuals of seeing Moonface and his crescent moon-shaped hair, a man with a suit full of banging pots, and more are fun for a while, but not enough to carry the whole film. A last-minute revelation feels like it was something that should have been disclosed much earlier to help strengthen the emotions of the story.

A two-time Oscar nominee, Garfield is making his first foray into family movies (if you don’t count playing Spider-Man), and while he does a good job, he doesn’t make the best fit for the semi-goofy role. The same goes for the Emmy-winning Foy, who isn’t given much of anything to do. The movie puts the story on the shoulders of the three child actors, and while each of them acquit themselves well, none of them are so outstanding as to be noteworthy.

With nearly 90-year-old source material, The Magic Faraway Tree needed to be something truly special to stand out in the 21st century movie world. Unfortunately, it features a mostly forgettable story that features some fun visuals, a couple of cute kids, and not much else.

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The Magic Faraway Tree is now playing in theaters.

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