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>>> The Little Prince

THE LITTLE PRINCE (Mark Osborne). 106 minutes. Opens Friday (March 11). See listing. Rating: NNNN


Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic children’s book The Little Prince gets a beautiful, affectionate and enchanting tribute from Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne. 

The original fable, about a young boy who falls to Earth from his lonely asteroid and becomes frustrated by the concerns of narrow-minded adults, is perhaps too slender for a feature film. Instead of padding the material, Osborne and his writers frame it within a modern day tale about a nameless young girl (Mackenzie Foy) who moves next door to the kooky, elderly Aviator (Jeff Bridges), the narrator of Saint-Exupéry’s novella.

The set-up works splendidly, setting the main story in a Tati-esque metro-polis where the city grid looks like a whirring circuit board and children must always have pencils sharpened, no crayons. The Little Girl’s happenstance friendship with the Aviator gives him the opportunity to recount his whimsical memories of The Little Prince. Sections from the book are delicately and breathtakingly rendered in stop-motion.

Saint-Exupéry’s darker tones and intense emotions are all here, echoing the Little Girl’s own self-discovery in a dual narrative that dares to be more evocative and sophisticated than children are accustomed to. Is it a surprise that the film was produced in Europe? 

Even the strained, last-ditch effort for some Pixarish adventure in the finale feels like it owes a little something to Salvador Dali. 

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