The Little Prince was
a charmingly sweet animation that combined both CGI and stop-motion technology
to present a story within a story, with the original narrative mirroring that
of the beloved (and well known) fable.
Directed by American Mark Osborne, this film was clearly targeted
towards introducing a new generation to Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s children classic
(although every time I read it, at different ages, I garner something new about
it). It managed to introduce a wholly new narrative to bring the audience into
the world of The Little Prince,
however, non-book readers may initially be confused by how weirdly erratic the
eponymous little prince could be – although Osborne did try to address that
with a bit of meta-confusion.
The Third Act was a highlight. With a marvellous imagining that was a bit
darker than the preceding two acts, although Osborne ultimately still held back
from making it too morose/macabre/dark.
The 3D stop-motion was gorgeous and I could really watch the
whole original Le Petit Prince in
that although that may not appeal to as wide an audience as this current
incarnation. However, the computer animation was fairly normal with nothing too
spectacular or standing out as compared to the Pixar films.
Similarly, the voice work was not outstanding with Jeff
Bridges (as the Aviator), Paul Rudd (as Mr Prince), Marion Cotillard (as The Rose)
and James Franco (as The Fox) being more distinct and imbuing some sense of personality
to their characters.
The Little Prince
will definitely appeal to the older audience who grew up reading this marvellous
novella however it was not strong enough to hold onto their attention fully
until the final act. As for a younger audience, this film should be engaging
enough through its 108 minutes although it still lacked many of the bells and
whistles that most animations have these days with much of its strength lying
on its narrative which does demands more attention from the young.
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