The Little Prince doesn’t tackle adapting the classic children’s book head-on. It takes place in present day, introducing an unnamed little girl (Mackenzie Foy) who is being groomed by her mother (Rachel McAdams) for life in the prestigious Werth School. After a disastrous first attempt, they move to a new house and resolve to spend the summer getting ready to try again. This new house happens to be beside the house of the aviator (Jeff Bridges), a seemingly crazy old man with an airplane in his backyard. The little girl and the aviator become unlikely friends, as the little girl finds respite from the routine of her studying in the aviator’s wild tales of a boy that lives on an asteroid somewhere out in space.
The decision to not simply adapt the book is a wise one. Beautiful and graceful as it might be, it is also a very thin volume that doesn’t have nearly enough plot to sustain a feature length film. This movie instead holds on to the themes of the book, and recreates the wonder of the story through a whole new context. It is a little broad at times, and perhaps a little lacking in grace when deliver its messages. But all in all, the film finds really clever ways to bring this story to screen.
One of the most remembered and beloved lines from the book has to do with what is essential. And this film mostly concerns itself with the question of what it is essential. The opening sequences of the film depict a world that has been reduced to everything essential: a world of adults zipping around in identical cars, going to home to the same gray boxes. The little girl in the film looks like a kid at the beginning of the picture, but she is already well on her way to becoming another functional cog in this larger societal machine. She is on her way to becoming essential.
Though a bit lacking in lyricism, this is a pretty good way to bring the book’s themes to the fore. The film still gets to many of the scenes from the book, but it grounds them in a smaller, personal story that does feel altogether relevant. And when the film starts to go beyond the book, it actually becomes inspired. In imagining a life beyond the ending the book, the film starts to draw from different inspirations, and develops a true voice of its own. It hits its themes a little hard, but that’s forgivable in the end. The film provides enough beauty along the way that it doesn’t really matter.
This is a very beautiful film. The CG animation is crisp and benefits from a very strong design sense. And the scenes taken from the book are visually breathtaking. These scenes have paper and paint coming to life, capturing a sense of whimsy that is really important to the story. Voice acting is well done all throughout. Mackenzie Foy delivers a solid lead performance. Jeff Bridges is perfect as the not-quite-all-there aviator. Paul Rudd, James Franco, Ricky Gervais, Bud Cort and Albert Brooks are all pretty memorable in their performances as characters of the book. It’s great stuff all around.
The Little Prince is a little heavy handed, and the gap between the second the third acts is maybe a little too long. But it is quite lovely all the same. The film is clearly the product of a great love and understanding for the source material, and a real yearning to do justice to it. Whether it is in the beautifully conceived stop motion scenes that cover the book, or the cleverly put together CG sequences that go beyond it, the film always keeps The Little Prince in its heart. It is looking for what is essential, whether it be visible or not.
My Rating:
