Sometimes I come across a movie that is supposed to be one thing but does one element particularly well that it almost works against it. The Little Prince is one of those movies, a movie that certainly has a lot going for it especially considering that part of the story is loosely based on the book by french author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Is directed by Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne and features a mix of different mediums of animation to create something that is supposedly meaningful and true. Even with my personal issues, this film still has some great qualities that make this movie worth a watch.
A little girl is forced by her mom to stick to a life plan so she can prepare for her new academy. One day the little girl meets her new neighbor, an old man who is an aviator who still holds on to beliefs of childhood wonder. At first the little girl rebuffs the aviator's affections, but sooner or later she finds it in herself to understand his ways and what it truly means to be a child in a world that tries to force you to grow up. The old aviator also shares with the girl his story about a little prince who goes on a mindblowing adventure to reunite with his long lost friend who is a rose.
The story can be separated into two categories, the first plotpoint shows us the simple yet subtly complex story of the little prince narrated by the old aviator and the other story is about a schedule drivin little girl learning what it means to be a child and have fun. personally I like the secondary storyline the best as it delivers on creativity and melodramatic storytelling. The journey of the little prince goes in many interesting directions and the little prince’s character has such a quality of innocence that it is sure to bring out the little kid inside of you. However, the story is not entirely about the little prince as it’s also about the relationship between the girl and the old aviator. Sometimes the plot of that story can get a little unorthodox and too cliched especially when it comes to the girl and her mothers clashing point of views, but the relationship between the aviator and the girl feels genuine enough in it’s execution that some of the main story’s flaws can be somewhat forgiving. Despite one story doing better than the other, it's clear that the overall ideas and messages were in the right place and I’d much rather see a movie that tries many different compelling ideas even if some of them turn out to be better than others.
The animation in this movie switches between different styles from CGI to stop motion to even some 2D animation. Most of the movie uses CG animation especially when telling the story of the girl and the old aviator. Sometimes the animation can feel very exaggerated in how it presents the cold and grey reality of the girls' world compared to the more colorful setting of the old man's house. The star of the movie is the beautiful stop motion animation that is used when telling the story of the little prince. The best way to describe the stop motion is saying how expertly crafted and visually dazzling it is both in environments and character designs. It’s so good that sometimes it makes the CG animation feel lacking in its presentation. Then there are some 2D animated bits that don’t even last very long but are drawn very well nonetheless especially toward the beginning. The music is done by Hanz Zimmer and Richard Harvey. While it’s not Zimmer’s finest scoring, It’s still lovely enough to compensate for the movie’s runtime and deliver on creating a sense of childhood wonder.
Let me make one thing perfectly clear, I don’t think the little prince is a mediocre movie. I believe that this movie has a lot of heart and moments of pure creativity with meaningful and true messages. However, I still believe that some elements of the movie work better than others. Still, this movie was pretty successful with critics and audiences alike so it's clear this movie did something right. I still can confirm myself loving parts of it even if it means getting through some of the more awkward and unorthodox moments.
(Final Grade: B+)