I've had my eye on this film for a while; it's been to various different film festivals and even got a wide release in France but only last week was it finally released in the UK with the help of Netflix.I'm surprised this film hasn't been promoted more; even if you haven't read the book it's based on (like me) the film boasts a fantastic cast with the likes of Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, James Franco and more. The animation style is similar to that of Pixar, which is interwoven with stunning stop-motion moments. So in general this film has a lot going for it.
For the most part, I really liked The Little Prince. As I say, the cast do an amazing job, each role is brought to life with very unique voices and delivery. You can have a film with unknown cast and sometimes that works quite well but sometimes when you hear these voices and you instantly recognise them, it gives you as sense of comfort and familiarity; and the lines delivered by ones such as Jeff Bridges and James Franco make them really stick with you. Like a lot of good animated films, The Little Prince gives you a lot of mottos and life lessons to remember; some of the ones in this movie though, I felt didn't come across as clearly as intended. Something would be happening and I was left wondering exactly what it was trying to tell me, and that's the thing with this movie, there seems to be a lot of metaphors, all of which are presented beautifully, but are left up for interpretation. So in terms of cast and dialogue, I really thought the film was something special.
I mentioned the animation before and I'll just elaborate. The majority of the film is computer animated and although not as detailed as the more popular animation studios can give, which is to be expected, the look and style were enjoyable enough and it seems like they took a few notes from Pixar, which is never a bad thing. The animation though is nothing compared to the visually stunning stop-motion sequences that are presented. It's nothing like I've seen before and was by far the most interesting parts of the film; a visual experience.
I'll move onto the story now. The summary of which is a little girl moves to a new house with her very controlling, almost OCD, mother and meets her neighbour, an old man who has a hoarding problem that tells her about his supposed experience he had in the Sahara desert. The first two thirds I really enjoyed, some could argue it's a bit slow, but for me I enjoyed the storytelling element and the sometimes very real depictions of life spliced in with the wildly imaginative metaphors. The friendship between the little girl and the old man was a charming and entertaining watch, and the stop-motion story always had me invested. The third act however took quite a turn in the narrative, the tone changed somewhat and I was constantly waiting for some degree of explanation. I felt it got a little too mixed up into what was real, what was metaphorical, and it didn't quite give closure to some of the plot threads. According to some Internet articles both the book and the film try to base it's logic on a child's imagination so I suppose in that way it makes sense...in a nonsensical kind of way.
In the end, The Little Prince was a visually stunning film with a great script and voice work but the narrative was a little shaky, especially towards the third act.
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