The Little Prince (Mark Osborne, 2016): France

Reviewed by Dakota Miller-Thompson. Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Kicking off this years Santa Barbara International Film Festival was the U.S. Premier of “The Little prince”. Produced and Directed by Mark Osborne, this film is an adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s french novel “Le Petit Prince” (1943). While this classic tale has been translated in over 250 languages it has been breathed new life with this film. Though the story is retold through new eyes, the film still holds onto the classic message of friendship and kindness.

Set in a suburban town a little girl (voiced by Mackenzie Foy), has her whole life planned out. Or rather her mother does (voiced by Rachel McAdams). The film opens up with the little girl auditioning to get into the cleverly named school Worth Academy. Eluding to the thought that this school gives someone “worth”, the little girls mother makes it abundantly clear that she has to get into the school. When the little girls audition goes south however, the mother has to resort to plan B and move into the district in order to have her daughter eligible.

Upon moving to their new home, the little girl has a dangerous encounter with their next door neighbor. The neighbor turns out to be an older gentleman (voiced by Jeff Bridges) who while trying to get the little girls attention sends her a paper airplane made from the first page of the Little Prince novel. After reading just the first page, the little girl soon finds herself immersed in the story. This film is a beautiful ode to a classic story and has proven to appeal to the child in us all. While nostalgia reigns high for those who know the story, those who do not are just like the little girl discovering it for the first time. Bound to leave you with a warm feeling, the Little Prince was a wonderful kick off to this years SBIFF.