Saturday, August 6, 2016

The Little Prince Netflix Movie Review

The Little Prince (2015)
Watch The Little Prince on Netflix

Written by: Irena Brignull, Bob Persichetti (screenplay), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (novel)

Directed by: Mark Osborne
Starring:   Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Paul Giamatti
Rated: PG

The prince and his rose in The Little Prince
The Little Prince - An absolutely stunning movie.
Plot:
In this Netflix distributed movie, an overworked little girl befriends an eccentric neighbor who recounts the story about a "little prince."

Verdict:
I was skeptical about the book adaptation, but this movie does an amazing job of expanding on the story of the little prince. It's emotional, touching, and it couldn't have been done better. The animation is exquisite, especially when depicting the original story. The book bemoans adult's lack of creativity, and the framing story reinforces that point. When the book's story ends, and the movie's story begins is where this really takes off.
Watch it.

Review:
This started with an overbearing parent pushing her child to get into a prestigious academy. The mother moves just to enroll her daughter in the school. An eccentric neighbor with a creative imagination threatens to derail the mother's academic plan for her daughter, and this study plan is outlined down to the minute.
Parents often push their kids too far, robbing them of their childhood. The eccentric neighbor has a better imagination than the little girl. He introduces her  to his story of the little prince. He also gives her a stuffed fox, as depicted in the story. This fox takes on a life of his own and becomes a great supporting character.

The story that frames the book looks more traditional with 3d computer animation like Pixar, but when depicting the actual story of the little prince the animation is stunning, achieved through stop motion.
How can you do justice to the book? This shows you exactly how, and proves it can be done by delivering a parallel plot. The plight of the little prince is framed by the little girl and her neighbor.
It's a beautiful story that captures the book, though it doesn't include every little detail, which didn't bother me. It then builds upon that story making it even more touching and emotional. It's simply an amazing movie, and the music complements and heightens every scene. Where the adventure of the book ends, this movie creates a new adventure. While it rewrites the somber ending of the book to a degree, it has its own somber ending.
Where many movies flub the ending, especially when you're adding to a classic, this movie masterfully crafts an ending that only heightens the book.

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