It's great to have this film come to Blu-ray. A warm-hearted, beautiful story that both children and adults will find meaning in. Even if you aren't familiar with the book, this one will be sure to captivate your imagination, and your emotions.
“From the director of Kung Fu Panda comes this critically acclaimed, re-imagined take on Atoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic story. At its heart is “The Little Girl” (Mackenzie Foy), prepared by her mother (Rachel McAdams) for the very grown-up real-world. After her eccentric, kind-hearted neighbor, “The Aviator” (Jeff Bridges) introduces her to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, she learns of “The Little Prince” (Riley Osborne). And so begins the magical and emotional journey where one learns, amongst other things, it’s the human connections that matter most.”
This imaginative adaptation of the beloved children’s story The Little Prince deals with some very tough themes such as loss, something that might be hard to convey to a child without the right words. This film is able to find those words and perfectly weave them into a beautiful and heartfelt story that is just as entertaining for adults as it is for children.
While this story was one that I never had the pleasure of experiencing as a child, hearing about how it affected everyone in a different way, and the meaning it held with them, usually for a specific person, gave me an appreciation for the story and its message, and made me want to seek out the original story myself. I learned that not only does this story invoke some strong emotions, even as an adult, but also just how brilliant the adaptation into film was, having to create another section of the story that fits in to the book and its theme. This new section blends flawlessly in, as a young girl meets The Aviator, who throws her perfectly balanced and structured world into chaos to remember the joys of being a child, as well as having to deal with loss, mirroring one of the greatest themes of the book.
The message and theme of children’s films are one of the most important aspects that make them successful, and chosen by parents to let their children experience. The Little Prince starts off a bit shaky at first, as we enter a world that is filled with structure. Every detail is planned to the minute, entire futures already set in stone. While it is taken a bit to the extreme, with the main character’s future planned out so precisely, the film does present things in a way that could be construed by children that structure is a bad thing, which it certainly isn’t. As the film progresses though, and the little girl befriends The Aviator and dismisses her structured summer full of studying, we see something that is sparked in her that we hadn’t seen before: wonderment, joy, emotion in general. This is what was missing between the girl and her mother, and it takes the story until the end for the mother to see that. It’s the story of The Little Prince that captivates The Little Girl, seeing the connection The Aviator has to him, and is what drives her to go looking for him in the third act, when The Aviator needs him the most. While trying to understand The Aviator’s loss of The Little Prince from his stories, the girl must come to terms with the possibility of her losing The Aviator. It’s a theme of loss that younger children may not be able to full grasp, but it presents it in such a wonderful way that they are more likely to understand. As an adult, I have no shame in admitting it brought me to tears more than once.
The animation of the film is one of the most unique aspects of the story. The main ‘real world’ story is told through the traditional modern 3D animation, but the story involving the book is told in stop-motion animation with a combination of paper and puppets, which is breathtaking to behold. It’s a great homage to the original art of the book and keeps its spirit alive in that aspect. I’m not sure I’ve seen animation used in a more unique and effective way in a film before, utilizing the best of both styles, it’s very effective in conveying the different parts of the story.
Thanks to the special meaning the story holds for so many, some great names are attached to the film, lending their voices to these characters that bring them to life on screen. Jeff Bridges is great as The Aviator, providing an eccentric, yet nurturing voice to a character that has experienced loss himself and is trying to instill wisdom onto his neighbor and new friend. Rachel McAdams, might have the toughest role, the role of the mother that is stifling her child. As much as she wants her to succeed, she’s blind to the fact she’s not allowing her daughter to live her own life, and that realization is tough to accept. Mackenzie Foy and Riley Osborne are phenomenal child actors, and thanks to some great direction by Mark Osborne, their performances are perfect as The Little Girl and The Little Prince. With a host of other great names attached that do very small voice parts, it’s fun to try and recognize them all throughout the film.
Video
The Little Prince is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 2.35:1. As I mentioned, the two styles of animation are completely different as is the brilliant color displays that each provide. The Blu-ray presentation ensures that the cold, dreary and structure world that the Little Girl and her mother live in is starkly contrasted to the house of The Aviator next door, full of vivid colors. Even the stop motion animation has a unique color balance that takes its cues from the style of the book. The video is clear and detailed, but it’s the rich and vibrant colors that makes this Blu-ray transfer stand out.
Audio
The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD 7.1. This track really does sound incredible, with a perfect balance between the surrounds and center channel, with clear and concise dialogue and all kinds of wild sequences that utilize those surrounds really well. The best part of the track though has to be the score, which adds so much emotion to the story.
Special Features
There aren’t many extras on the disc, but the featurette does cover quite a lot of information and we hear from just about everyone involved in every aspect of production. The set also includes a Digital Copy.
- The Making of The Little Prince
- “TURNAROUND” – Music Video by Camille
The Little Prince is very unique in its style, but most importantly it provides a very powerful emotional message for children. Even if you aren’t familiar with the book, this film is wildly effective at tugging at those heart strings and even for adults, making sure you don’t forget what it was like to be a child.