Star Swap: The Story Of A Prince And A Popstar

Star Swap: A Story Of A Prince And A Popstar is a 2015 animated urban musical fantasy comedy film directed by NewFinders Literature Films. It is their 16th animated film in their franchise. It is based off of the Prince And The Pauper originally written by Mark Twain. This film is regarded in the film series as one of the least favoured movies of them as the movie received very mixed and negative reviews. While the movie was praised for it's music, voice acting, script and improved CGI, it was heavily criticised for it's huge difference from the other films in the series (Which included it's contemporary setting), lack of targeting an older demographic outside of young children, it's story and characters.

SYNOPSIS
This movie takes place in 2 different settings with two different teenage boys dealing with many pressures, anxieties and flaws in their world. These two settings are separated by a secret portal that helps keep the lands apart. One world is the Kingdom of Carneille. The kingdom is ruled by the Carnelian family. However, the eldest son Prince Casper is facing immense frustration from all of the rules and responsibilities given to him from his advisor that he must follow and desires to leave the kingdom and start a life of adventure and discovery. Meanwhile in New York City, a teenage popstar named Marley (Stage Name: Miles), is faced with the constant anxieties of not being able to make his own decisions and find his own way around his career due to his demanding and greedy pair of managers and desires to use his creativity to the test without being overworked. One day, Casper finds the portal that leads to the other side when trying to run off to explore. Soon he meets up with Marley, and the two sharing their problems instantly become friends and vow to help each other get through their problems and find a new life to start by switching places. But with Marley and Casper's biggest celebrations coming up, will they be able to keep up the charade?

CAST AND CHARACTERS
Prince Casper Carnelian (Voiced By: Samuel Vincent): The eldest prince of the royal Carnelian family of Carneille. Casper is constantly faced with frustration and pressure from the many strict rules and responsibilities of the kingdom Carneille. Casper is a very adventurous, rebellious, feisty and optimistic character who just wants to let loose and search for more in his life. He always wants to go out of the palace walls and go on a big quest, despite orders not to and doesn't care about the rules. He is also shown to take things on head first without thinking, as he is the one who came up with the idea to swap places. He is also shown to be very short-tempered. He would take over Marley/Miles duty of being a popstar after trading places.

Marley "Miles" Skylers (Voiced By: John Hasler): A famous popstar from New York City. While "Miles" Is his most known name, it is still his stage name and still would rather be called Marley. Miles is constantly faced with the anxieties and stresses of having his career overworked and controlled by his demanding and greedy pair of managers. As a result, he is not able to express how he feels or what he wants. Marley is more reserved compared to Casper and while enjoys the spotlight, is quite an introvert and quite timid, but he's still very kind-hearted, compassionate and wants to help as many of his fans as he can. He is also quite a creative person and when given the opportunity to express himself, he has enormous originality. Though due to his controlled career, he isn't a fan of breaking rules and breaking free in a rebellion, he is also quite clumsy outside of his dancing. He would take over Casper's duty of being a prince after trading places.

Advisor Amberin (Voiced By: Jim Howick): The royal advisor for the Carnelian family and Casper's mentor. Amberin has always and will always continue to be the most loyal servant to the kingdom, knowing all the routes of royalty from the etiquette, to the rules to the responsibilities. Amberin is by no means a cruel advisor and only is doing what's required for the royal family and genuinely cares for the wellbeing of Casper. However, he is shown to be very strict and overbearing towards Casper, to the point where he drives himself and Casper crazy. He is also overprotective and anxiety-driven and doesn't want Casper to pull any dangerous stunts. He can also get easily frustrated.

Donovan And Diana Score (Voiced By: Will Arnett/Singing Voice: David Holt (Donovan) - Amy Sedaris (Diana): The twin sibling managers of High Score Studios, Marley and the antagonists. While they seem like charismatic and carefree professionals, in reality they are nothing but greedy, selfish and demanding, who only use Marley's fame and popularity as a means to earn lots of money. They are described as very overbearing and controlling people who never allow Marley to express himself, as they feel they should run the show always, given it's one of their best solutions to becoming as wealthy as him. They would do anything for that sort of thing, even if it means placing a lot of anxiety and even hurting the people they are supposed to be managing.

Princess Violet Geranium (Voiced By: Shannon Chan-Kent): The princess of the neighbouring Lavender Kingdom, Prince Casper's supposed future bride and soon to be in a relationship with Marley. Violet was originally designated to be a future bride for Casper once he and her turn 18, a royal tradition that is supposed to unite the kingdoms for same ruling over same land. However, neither her or Casper have feelings for each other and are just friends, with Violet desiring to choose her own path in life. Violet is a music lover and is an especially good drummer, wanting to break out of her shell and show more of her talents outside of beauty and grace. She's also very intelligent, independent and resourceful, always having a plan to find her ways around trouble.

Josie, Issac and Scott (Voiced By: Maryke Hendrikse (Josie) - Mike Nawrocki (Issac) - Drew Nelson (Scott): Marley's backup band. Josie, Issac and Scott are the musicians who perform instrumentals for Marley, both in recording studios and in concert. They too suffer the same anxieties and demands from Donovan and Diana. Josie is the more energetic and tough one who plays the guitar, Issac is the cheerful and air-headed one who plays the keyboard and Scott is the cool and laidback one who plays the bass.

SOUNDTRACK
The main score was composed by James Dooley, who is well known for his compositions in multiple children's animated movies. These include The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, Madagascar and 2 Barbie movies (The Pink Shoes and The Pearl Princess). Most of the songs were written by actress and singer Charlotte Spencer, who had previous work in the music industry. The songs were composed by Gabriel Mann, who had also worked on the Barbie movies. The guest composer for this movie would be Debby Ryan, who composed one song for the movie. Most of the songs would have a limited release on ITunes in the Christmas season of 2015, but were taken off the store after 2016. The soundtrack would eventually be fully archived and posted to listen to for free online. The only song that remained on the platform was the end credits song that Debby Ryan also additionally composed "You Will Be There" with main vocals by Rasmus Hardiker and backing vocals by Debby Ryan.

DVD FEATURES

 * Full 75 Minute Movie
 * Behind The Scenes
 * Blooper Reel
 * Sing Along Soundtrack
 * Ultimate Popstar Guide 101 DVD feature!
 * Bonus Trailer and Sneak Peek Clip for Little Sarah: A True Princess!