Wondering whether to watch Netflix’s 'The Little Prince' this weekend? Dis oui
The Little Prince has had a long and tiring journey, much like the petit bonhomme in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic children’s book. Except the rulers of the asteroids, in this case, were studio and marketing execs, and the snake, more than likely, box office projections. But he’s finally landed back on his planet with his rose today, which in 2016 is Netflix.
But for those seeing it for the first time at the top of their carousels this weekend, should you watch?
Anyone who has fond memories of reading the prince’s story of discovering how very bizarre grown-ups are, or translating it in French class, should block off some Sunday afternoon movie time. And it's still very much worth a click for those who haven’t.
The animated film is a delightful homage to the genius of Saint-Exupery from director Mark Osborne, who carefully pays tribute to all of the main characters from the book (save for a personal favorite, le buveur, or drunk, who somehow doesn't make the cut). Marion Cotillard is the rose come to life, and James Franco the voice of the playful but oh so wise fox, ou le renard to those of us who wore down the pages of our French to English dictionaries trying to make sense of the story in beginning French class.
Instead of a direct translation, Osborne gave it an update by introducing a Little Girl (Mackenzie Foy) and modern Mother (Rachel McAdams), who would put even the most intense momager to shame. The Girl’s life is scripted down to the minute until she meets The Aviator, so perfectly voiced by Jeff Bridges you'll think he was your own slightly eccentric grandpa. Living in the quintessentially kooky house next door, The Aviator draws The Girl out of her routine of arithmetics with the tale of the petite prince, giving her one page of the story and his drawings at a time.
References to the legendary drawings in the original are so exact they looked like pages of the book had been ripped out and pulled onto the screen. Osborne used stop animation to bring the drawings to life and distinguish the tale of the prince from the rest of the computer animated story, a clever trick to distinguish the two.
The middle of the movie, after the original story ends, gets a little lost. But the magic is regained for the end, forcing adults who forgot how to use their imagination during a dull workweek to remember. And being able to stream it from the comfort of one’s sheets, like the comforting bedtime story it started as, makes it all the much better.