The Little Prince (2015 film)
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''The Little Prince'' is a 2015 French
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by Mark Osborne and based on the 1943 novella of the same name by
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint-Exupéry, simply known as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ; 29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of s ...
. The film stars the voices of
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
,
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
,
Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
,
Bud Cort Walter Edward Cox, known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's film ''Harold and Maude'' (1971) and the eponymous hero in Robert Altman's film '' Brewster McCloud'' (19 ...
,
Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...
,
Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...
,
James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...
,
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...
,
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
, Riley Osborne,
Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...
and
Mackenzie Foy Mackenzie Christine Foy (born November 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She is known for portraying Renesmee Cullen in the 2012 film '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'', which earned her a Young Artist Award nomination a ...
. It is the first adaptation as a full-length animated feature of ''The Little Prince''. The film relates the story of the book using
stop motion Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
animation, which is woven into a
computer animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images ( moving images), while computer animation re ...
framing narrative about a young girl who has just met the book's now-elderly aviator narrator, who tells her the story of his meeting with the Little Prince in the
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desert. The film's animation was provided by studios ON Animation Studios & Mikros Image. The film premiered on 22 May 2015 at the
68th Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...
in an out-of-competition screening, followed by a wide release in France on 29 July by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. The film was originally set to be released in theatres across the United States on 18 March 2016 before being dropped due to budget cuts;
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
later acquired the U.S., U.K. and Australia distribution rights and released it on 5 August 2016. The film has received positive reviews, earning praise for its style of animation and homage paid to the source material, and earned $97.6 million on a €75 million budget, becoming the most successful French animated film abroad of all time.


Plot

An ambitious young mother moves to a new neighborhood and imposes a coaching life plan for her daughter that leaves no time for playing or even making a friend, all for her to enroll at the prestigious Werth Academy. The girl, however, becomes distracted by her elderly retired aviator neighbor, who tells her the story of the "Little Prince", claiming that he encountered him in the
Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
after crash-landing there. The aviator recounts the Little Prince asking him to draw a sheep. He drew two sheep (including a ram) before the Little Prince complained he needed a sheep that would live forever. The aviator drew a box with three holes saying that the sheep that he desired was inside it, which satisfied the Little Prince, much to the aviator's surprise. The girl and the aviator continue to read and play together without the mother's knowledge. The aviator tells the girl about the Little Prince's home, "
Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
B-612", covered in baobab sprouts. He states that after clearing away the sprouts, the Little Prince discovered and found and nurtured a
Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
into maturity. Despite becoming his friend, she was rather selfish and both too young to know how to love each other, which caused the Little Prince to travel to elsewhere with a flock of birds. During his journey, he meets adults that live on other asteroids, such as a king, a conceited man, and a wealthy businessman. The Little Prince eventually landed on Earth, meeting a snake who tells him where he is. The little Prince then meets and befriends a
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
. After a while, the fox bade goodbye to the Little Prince, advising him to always see with his heart. The aviator gives the girl a stuffed fox as a gift, telling her that he will leave soon to go find the Little Prince. The two decide to go out for her "birthday", but when they are pulled over by a police officer, the aviator is revealed to have no licence and the officer takes the girl home. Realising that she has not been following the plan, her infuriated mother redoubles her daughter's assignments. Nevertheless, the girl continues to read the story of the Little Prince, secretly visiting the aviator to find out the story's ending. The aviator tells her that the Little Prince had succumbed to a
venomous snake Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...
bite to be reunited with his beloved Rose. Although the aviator assures her that he firmly believes the Little Prince succeeded, the girl, upset by the dark twist to the story, wishes that she had never met the aviator or heard the story. The girl tries to forget about the Little Prince, and focuses on her assignments. Towards the summer's end, the aviator is hospitalised. Deciding to put things right, the girl sets off in search of the Little Prince. Escaping out through her bedroom window to go to the aviator's yard, the girl, accompanied by her now-conscious stuffed fox and The Little Prince's story pages, flies the aviator's now-fixed plane into space. They find all the stars mysteriously gone, all the while landing on an asteroid populated by workaholic adults owned by the Businessman from the Little Prince's story, who captures and holds all the stars to power his asteroid and belongings (including his employees). After encountering a police officer and an
elevator operator An elevator operator (North American English), liftman (in Commonwealth English, usually lift attendant), or lift girl (in British English), is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator. Description Being an effec ...
who were the Conceited man and the King from the story, they finally find the Little Prince, who has become an anxious, incompetent adult renamed "Mr. Prince" and works as a janitor for the Businessman, having no recollection or memory of his past. Mr. Prince accordingly takes the girl to an "academy" where she is to be "reconditioned" as an adult via a machine controlled by a tall, sinister Teacher. Recognising the drawing of his sheep's box from the aviator's pages, which he still keeps the original despite his amnesia, believing it could be important, Mr. Prince begins to regain his memories and saves the girl from the same fate that he had by putting the Teacher in the machine instead. They escape from the Businessman together and liberate all of the stars from his glass vault, which return to their rightful place in the sky. The girl and the fox then take Mr. Prince back to B-612, which is overgrown with dead, withered baobabs. They find the Rose dead, but seeing her image in the sunrise, the baobabs disappear and Mr. Prince turns back to his younger self, giving him renewed hope. The girl and the fox (once again an inanimate toy) return home, accompanied by another flock of birds. The next morning, the girl and her mother visit the aviator in the hospital. The girl apologises and presents him with the formerly loose pages bound together as a book, along with all the formerly missing parts filled in. The girl subsequently begins her studies at Werth Academy and reconciles with her mother. Both of them happily stargaze one night, while the Little Prince and the aviator are heard laughing joyfully together on Asteroid B-612.


Cast

* Riley Osborne as the Little Prince, an eternally young boy and resident of "
Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
B612", a small asteroid roughly the same size as him. **
Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...
as Mr. Prince, the adult Little Prince who has forgotten his own childhood and becomes an anxious, incompetent
janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...
for the Businessman. *
Mackenzie Foy Mackenzie Christine Foy (born November 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She is known for portraying Renesmee Cullen in the 2012 film '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'', which earned her a Young Artist Award nomination a ...
as the Little Girl, a smart, feisty and precocious girl with a kind heart. She has a very inquisitive mind and struggles to balance growing up and basking in her childhood. *
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
as the Aviator, an eccentric and retired
aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
who befriended the Little Prince in the
Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
and acts as a mentor to the Little Girl. *
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
as the Mother, a busy, sensible, loving and committed mother who cares for her Little Girl. *
James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...
as the Fox, a
red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...
whom the Little Prince cares for and tames, and who eventually becomes one of his many friends on Earth. *
Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...
as the Rose, a bright and beautiful
rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
whom the Little Prince cares for and talks to. *
Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...
as the Snake, a sly and
venomous snake Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...
whom the Little Prince meets and is instantly wary of. *
Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...
as the Businessman, an arrogant and greedy businessperson who owns the stars in the sky and generates money to buy more stars. *
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
as the Academy Teacher, a slim, tall and deceptive teacher who operates an "Academy", a place where children are transformed into workaholic adults. *
Bud Cort Walter Edward Cox, known professionally as Bud Cort, is an American actor and comedian, known for his portrayals of Harold in Hal Ashby's film ''Harold and Maude'' (1971) and the eponymous hero in Robert Altman's film '' Brewster McCloud'' (19 ...
as the King, an unreliable king of an asteroid and whom the Little Prince visits. He becomes an
elevator operator An elevator operator (North American English), liftman (in Commonwealth English, usually lift attendant), or lift girl (in British English), is a person specifically employed to operate a manually operated elevator. Description Being an effec ...
for the Businessman later in the movie. *
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...
as the Conceited Man, a man who conceives a personality and sticks to it. He becomes a police officer for the Businessman later in the movie. * Jacquie Barnbrook as the Nurse, a nurse in the hospital where the Aviator is hospitalised. * Marcel Bridges as the Concerned Neighbour, a serious neighbour who's curious at the Aviator's attitudes. * Jeffy Branion as the Policeman, a police officer who repeatedly arrests and detains the Aviator.


Production


Development

On 14 October 2010, ''
Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American media franchise that originally started in 2008 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily voic ...
'' co-director and ''
More More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka S ...
'' creator Mark Osborne was hired and set to direct ''The Little Prince'' based on the 1943 novel of the same name. Irena Brignull (writer of ''
The Boxtrolls ''The Boxtrolls'' is a 2014 American stop-motion animated fantasy comedy film directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi (in their feature directorial debuts) loosely based on the 2005 novel ''Here Be Monsters!'' by Alan Snow. It is produc ...
'') and
Bob Persichetti Robert Persichetti Jr. (born January 17, 1973) is an American animator, story artist, storyboard artist, screenwriter, and film director. He is best known for co-directing the film '' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse''. Filmography Director * ' ...
wrote the script for the film based on a story conceived by Mark Osborne. , Alexis Vonarb and Dimitri Rassam produced the film with the budget of $70‒80 million for release in 2015. The film features a framing device not present in the novel with a schoolgirl discovering ''The Little Prince'' through a reclusive elderly neighbour. Mark Osborne made the film's hero a little girl after research from the
Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor
Institute on Gender in Media revealed the gender disparity among characters in animated films. She represents "the spirit of adulthood," according to Osborne. "In animation, it always had to be boy-centric. Right now there seems to be a changing of the tide but these things don't happen overnight. These movies take years to make, so back when I was first pushing to make the little girl the main character, it was seen as quite revolutionary", Osborne recalled in April 2015. The film uses computer animation for the girl's world and stop-motion animation for the world of ''The Little Prince'' as she imagines it. Development and storyboarding of the film was completed in Paris. The team then moved to
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
for the final phases of animation, lighting, colour and production to maximise the tax benefits offered to a French-Canadian project, a co-venture between Onyx Entertainment in Paris,
Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...
and Lucky Red in Italy, and Mikros Image Canada in Montreal. One of the film's associate producers is Brice Garnier from Canada's Kaibou Production. Kaibou service rendered
Line production A line producer is a type of film or television producer who is the head of the production office management personnel during daily operations of a feature film, advertisement film, television film, or TV program. A line producer usually works on ...
and service production (3D animation and stop motion). Studio partners were Studio Mikros Image Canada, Toutenkartoon Canada and Technicolor (picture and sound post-production). Kaibou also provided financing through tax credits, gap financing and local taxes. Osborne was pitching the film to actors, artists, and distributors all over the world using what he called a "magic suitcase" full of hand-made visual aids specifically created to communicate the tone and passion for the project. Model maker Joe Schmidt (the modeller of ''
Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...
'') created this suitcase, which held the art book, and told the story of the movie visually. Schmidt had created a snapshot of Osborne's vision for the film. A constellation of tiny planets and stars lit up on one side, a giant art book of illustrations filled the other. From somewhere deep inside the case, Osborne pulled out two large white circles that held slides that when placed up to each eye displayed 3-D images of stop-motion puppets. Then Osborne started flipping switches. In no time, a one-way mirror slid away to reveal a hidden chamber holding a collection of yellowed pages below. It was a mock-up of Saint-Exupéry's original manuscript, a key plot point in Osborne's film. In four years, Osborne pitched the movie close to 400 times.


Casting

On 5 June 2013, it was announced that
James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...
,
Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions. She has received ...
,
Mackenzie Foy Mackenzie Christine Foy (born November 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She is known for portraying Renesmee Cullen in the 2012 film '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'', which earned her a Young Artist Award nomination a ...
,
Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...
,
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti (; born June 6, 1967) is an American actor and film producer. He first garnered attention for his breakout role in '' Private Parts'' as Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton, leading to supporting roles in ''Saving Private R ...
,
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
and
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
joined the film.
Albert Brooks Albert Brooks (born Albert Lawrence Einstein ; July 22, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 1987's '' Broadcast News'' and was widely praised for his performance as a ...
joined the cast on 12 September to voice The Businessman, a villain. Thanks to Osborne's emotionally engaging pitch and the global popularity of Saint-Exupéry's book, a group of A-list actors were able to be recruited to lend their voices to the film's characters. As Osborne explained, "It began with
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...
. He was our first and only choice to play the Aviator, so after a great deal of time trying to get to him, I finally got the chance to go to his home in Santa Barbara to talk to him directly. He was blown away by the pitch, and it really put us on the road to assembling the perfect cast." As Bridges recalls, he was instantly drawn to the role of the Aviator. "Mark gave me this incredible pitch, brought this suitcase with him which showed me what the movie was going to be about. We shared the same concern, which was if you simply just move around these iconic characters like the book, it might not do justice to the work. He had this great other story, which treated the book as almost another character in the movie. It’s a great way to pay tribute to this classic book, so I was excited and thrilled to be part of it." In the early stages of production, Mark Osborne's daughter Maddie and his son Riley, helped by providing the temporary scratch voices for the roles of the Little Girl and the Little Prince. His daughter got older and her voice began to change, so she had to be replaced by the 12-year-old
Mackenzie Foy Mackenzie Christine Foy (born November 10, 2000) is an American actress and model. She is known for portraying Renesmee Cullen in the 2012 film '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2'', which earned her a Young Artist Award nomination a ...
. Osborne's son Riley was kept as the voice of The Little Prince because they never found anyone who did a better job than him. "He was 11 at the time, and was very natural in the part so we kept him as the Prince!", Osborne told. To voice the complex role of the Little Girl's Mother, the film-makers approached
Rachel McAdams Rachel Anne McAdams (born November 17, 1978) is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre degree program at York University in 2001, she worked in Canadian television and film productions, such as the drama film ''Perfect Pie'' (200 ...
. ''The Little Prince'' marks the first time McAdams has lent her voice to an animated project. "I was so excited to be part of this movie, and I loved ''
Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American media franchise that originally started in 2008 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily voic ...
'', so I knew our director Mark (Osborne) was going to do a wonderful job with the adaptation. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to animation." McAdams says it was important for her to connect with the material. "I play the Little Girl's Mother, who is a working single mum. She has this massive, intricate life-plan for her daughter and wants her to follow the rules to a tee. The Mother is a little highly-strung, but she means well. She and her daughter are a real team until the Little Girl drifts away."


Music

The film's score was composed by
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...
(who had previously worked with Osborne on ''
Kung Fu Panda ''Kung Fu Panda'' is an American media franchise that originally started in 2008 with the release of the animated feature film of the same name, produced by DreamWorks Animation. Following the adventures of the titular Po Ping (primarily voic ...
'') and
Richard Harvey Richard Allen Harvey (born 25 September 1953) is an English composer and musician. Originally of the mediaevalist progressive rock group Gryphon, he is best known now for his film and television soundtracks. He is also known for his guitar co ...
. Camille was featured in the film's soundtrack.
Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...
’s cover version of Keane’s "
Somewhere Only We Know "Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, ''Hopes and Fears'' (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles C ...
" appeared in the French trailer, but not featured in the soundtrack.


Release


Premiere

The film was chosen in 'Official Selection' for the
2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...
on 22 May 2015. ''The Little Prince'' made its U.S. premiere at the
Santa Barbara Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California since 1986. The festival boasts screenings of over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. SBIFF al ...
on 3 February 2016. It was the first animated movie to open the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s Big Surprise Celebration since the exhibition started in 1985.


Release and distribution

Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...
is overseeing international film sales.
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
released the film in France on 29 July 2015 and in some other countries, and had also intended to handle distribution in the United States. The film was also released in other territories by
Entertainment One Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
in Canada. and
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
(which also distributed the film in the U.S.) (originally
The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...
) in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Warner Bros. assumed distribution in Austria, Germany and Japan. The film was to be released theatrically by Paramount alongside its own animation division in the United States on 18 March 2016 in
RealD 3D RealD 3D is a digital stereoscopy, stereoscopic projection technology made and sold by RealD. It is currently the most widely used technology for watching 3D films in theaters. Worldwide, RealD 3D is installed in more than 26,500 auditoriums by app ...
, however, on 11 March, a week away from its release, Paramount dropped the planned release for the region. According to
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, Paramount left because the French producers did not pay an additional, previously agreed $20 million for the North American prints and advertising budget, however they still retained the distribution rights in said region. Later then,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and Paramount reached an agreement to distribute the film as the first animated ''Netflix Original'', and released the film in North America on 5 August 2016. Due to Netflix's expiring distribution license, the film was quietly removed from the service in the US in May 2021, which marks the first time a ''Netflix Original'' was removed from the service, and is speculated to transfer to Paramount's proprietary streaming service
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soon. As of September 2022, the film is available on Netflix in the United Kingdom, India and Italy only.


Marketing

On 11 September 2014,
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
Japan released a teaser from the film. The first trailer in French was released by Paramount Pictures on 8 December 2014. The first trailer in English was released on 12 December 2014. The first official English trailer and the first poster for the film were released on 20 April 2015.
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Canada released a new trailer on 13 November 2015. The first full American trailer was released by both Paramount Pictures and Netflix on 25 November 2015 and 16 May 2016, respectively.


Home media

''The Little Prince'' was released on DVD and
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on 9 February 2021 by
Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...
, six years after its worldwide release.


Reception


Box office

As of 20 September 2015, it had grossed $12.1 million in France and, as of 20 March 2016, $88.7 million worldwide. In its opening week in France, ''The Little Prince'' earned $3.3 million from 727 screens debuting at No. 2 at the French box office. In its second weekend it grossed $1.4 million (down 41%) from 830 screens for a two weekend total of $5.5 million. The film debuted at No. 2 in Brazil on 20 August, behind of '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation'', with 330,000 tickets sold. In its second weekend, it topped the box office charts, with over 851,000 tickets sold, making history in Brazil as the first non-American animated film to lead the box office in the country. The film kept the first place at the Brazilian box office for three consecutive weeks. As of 5 October, the film has grossed over R$27 million () and as of 18 October, it reached over 2 million admissions in Brazil. The film opened in China on 16 October, where it grossed $10.9 million in its opening weekend ranking third behind ''
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'' and ''
Goodbye Mr. Loser ''Goodbye Mr. Loser'' () is a 2015 Chinese comedy film directed by Yan Fei and Peng Damo, and starring Shen Teng, Ma Li, Yin Zheng, Ai Lun, Wang Zhi, Tian Yu, Song Yang, Chang Yuan and Li Ping. The film is based on a play of the same name. It was ...
'', It grossed a total of $20.9 million in 10 days and by its third weekend, it had grossed . It grossed a total of in China, with the country being the largest territory for the film. It was number-one on its second weekend in Japan.


Critical response

The film has received positive reviews, earning praise for its style of animation and homage paid to the source material. On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds a score of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . Its consensus reads: "Beautifully animated and faithful to the spirit of its classic source material, ''The Little Prince'' is a family-friendly treat that anchors thrilling visuals with a satisfying story." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 70 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Furthermore, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' reinforces positive reviews on the film, stating "it is deeply personal and profoundly moving, a sensitive and affecting portrait of humanity".


Accolades


References


External links

* * *
''The Little Prince''
at The-Numbers.com
Production Notes
(PDF) {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Prince, The 2015 3D films 2010s French animated films Italian animated films 2015 animated films 2015 films 2015 computer-animated films 2015 fantasy films French animated fantasy films Annie Award winners Dystopian films Children's drama films 2010s children's fantasy films Films scored by Hans Zimmer Films scored by Richard Harvey Films about children Films based on French novels Films directed by Mark Osborne 2010s stop-motion animated films Works based on The Little Prince Paramount Pictures animated films Paramount Animation films Paramount Pictures films César Award winners Films about princes English-language French films 3D animated films Method Animation films Animated coming-of-age films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Films set in the Sahara