Lilly's Light: The Movie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Lilly's Light: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 27, 2021

Sherry Hursey may not be a name that evokes instant recognition, but the affable actress has a slew of credits to her name, including long runs on such shows as Days of Our Lives, Major Dad and Home Improvement. I frankly didn't recognize her name, and since the cover of this release doesn't overly tout her presence, I wasn't even sure who might be the lead actress in Lilly's Light: The Movie, other than the fact that closing credits repeatedly offered the name of Sherry Hursey, which of course set my typically suspicious reviewer's sensibility into overdrive, correctly assuming that Hursey herself was the star. Lilly's Light: The Movie is evidently a passion project of a kind for Hursey, and it follows in the wake of another Lilly's Light effort that bears a 2010 production date, though I'm frankly not sure if this is perhaps that earlier effort, despite a 2021 copyright on the disc, released now as a tribute to co-star Fred Willard.

This has the feel of a television pilot for the sort of cheery, optimistic fare that is often broadcast on Public Broadcasting stations nationwide, and in fact I could easily see this outing, if it ever were developed into a series, playing rather comfortably alongside any number of other PBS series designed expressly for children. Hursey plays Lilly, a kind of magical foster mother for a gaggle of kids, and one who emphasizes sweetness and light and the unexpected opportunities life can bring. There's nothing earth shattering here, and the lack of a fulsome budget probably shows most markedly in some greenscreen and less than effective CGI effects, but there's a nobleness of intent and some surprisingly strong music production that this effort offers.

Lilly's Light: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Lilly's Light: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of FilmRise with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. There's not much technical data on this shoot available online, at least that I could find, but this is obviously digitally captured, and it has a sleek if kind of shallow appearance. While the palette is generally very nicely suffused, the bulk of the special effects work, including CGI and other green screen activity, can look soft and rather ill defined quite a bit of the time. Some elements, like either real or computer animated animals, can offer actually rather nice fine detail levels on things like fur and/or feathers.

Lilly's Light: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Lilly's Light: The Movie features a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track that easily supports the film's kind of sweetly whimsical sound design. The song score is at least attractive, and at times actually relatively captivating, and the actual music production is rather good, at least considering what a smaller budgeted effort this seems to have been. The closing credits offer a cameo appearance, both vocally and with what looks like a Zoom like conference recording session, by Kenny Loggins performing "Heartlight". Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Lilly's Light: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (HD; 38:40) has some fun candid footage and interviews.


• Q & A With the Cast (HD; 32:52) is a Zoom like affair moderated by Sherry Hursey, who promises a surprise if you stay tuned, which, considering the marquee value of a certain person contributing to the soundtrack, may not be that much of a surprise when it happens.


• Photo Gallery (HD; 1:59)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:24)


• Digital Activity Book offers files accessible via your computer drive.

Lilly's Light: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Lilly's Light: The Movie is heartwarming if undemanding fare that should be enjoyed by younger kids in particular. This may in fact have been something of a vanity project for Hursey, but at least she had the good sense to get some notable people involved, including Fred Willard and Kenny Loggins. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplementary package enjoyable for those who are considering a purchase.