CREDIT: PARAMOUNT PICTURES (2016)
"Once upon a time there was little prince who lived on a planet that was scarcely bigger than himself."

Growing up is hard to do. The pressure mounts, for perfect grades, perfect extracurricular activities, perfect essays and perfect time management. Every moment from kindergarten onwards must be scheduled so no second of learning is wasted. It’s a truth so many today are used to, as the idea of childhood disappears into organized activities and piles of homework.

In The Little Prince, life for The Little Girl is no different, as her mother guides her to get into the best school there is, Werth Academy. Unfortunately, this involves a move to a new neighbourhood, with a new neighbour, The Aviator. It is he who introduces The Little Girl to The Little Prince, a figure of wonder and imagination who teaches her about love, loss and the wonder of childhood.

Fans of the original book, Le Petit Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, won’t be disappointed as the film stays true to the original masterpiece. Showing pages from the original, written in French, the movie shows the audience a love for the story that inspired it. The French influence appears in other places in this English adaptation, especially in the soundtrack, which feels perfectly suited to every scene.

Along with the excellent music, the many art styles in the film are woven together to create a unique look and feel. There are incredible moments of wonder and beauty, and the characters offer such depth that one can’t help but take joy in their happiness and feel the pain of their heartaches.

The only film that could offer comparison is the 1985 movie The Adventures of Mark Twain, which used a similar narrative style and mix of animations. However, The Little Prince offers a far more cohesive plot and benefits from everything animation studios have learned in the past 30 years.

This is a movie with a message. The message is far from new, as there has always been a battle between those who want to prepare children for all the pain, fear and hard work of adulthood and those who want to let children be children. The film seems to pity the first, while praising the second for remembering that which is all-important, that the only things we really need are those that “can only be seen with the heart”.

It’s impossible to watch The Little Prince and not feel a connection to the characters and to the message of the story. We’ve all felt the pressure for perfection, to be the best and smartest and prettiest, and in that pressure it’s easy to forget the little things, like the importance of friendship and the need to play and dream.

With loyalty to the original work, beautiful music and incredible animation, The Little Prince is a movie worth watching, whether or not you’ve read the story in French class. For those who loved the story as children, the film is far from disappointing.