Film

The Little Prince

Name: The Little Prince
Genre: Adventure, Animation, Fantasy, Family
Released: 2015
Cast: Riley Osborne, Mackenzie Foy, Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard

Other titles called The Little Prince: the 1974 film.

Drama

A luminous animated adaptation of Saint-Exupéry's classic, framing the beloved novella through a girl trapped in productivity culture discovering wonder through her neighbour's memories. Visually sumptuous, emotionally direct, it reaches for both children and adults mourning the parts of themselves that grew up too fast.

TMDb rating

3.8

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love films that mix a grounded, ordinary story with a gentle, old-fashioned fable, and you don't mind your sentiment arriving with its heart on its sleeve.

Skip it if you want the book's spare, wistful strangeness kept intact, since this version wraps Saint-Exupéry's story in a busier, more conventional frame that some will find overfamiliar.

What it asks of you: It runs about one hundred and six minutes and moves between two timelines, so it asks patience for its quieter stretches before the more whimsical passages open up.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

How to Train Your Dragon2010

A boy finds belonging and purpose through an impossible friendship, learning that difference is strength. Shares the same earned emotional intelligence and gorgeous animation wrapped around a simple, profound idea.

But The adventure framework is familiar enough that you might mistake it for lighter fare than it actually is.

Spirited Away2001

A girl navigates a world of beautiful strangeness and moral complexity, discovering agency in wonder. Both films trust animation to convey spiritual depth and use visual poetry to make the impossible feel intimate.

But The pacing can feel dreamlike rather than propulsive; if you want plot momentum, this will frustrate you.

A Monster Calls2016

An older film about a boy processing loss through stories and imagination, with the same commitment to taking a child's inner life seriously. Devastatingly tender without ever being saccharine.

But It sits squarely in grief territory; this isn't comfort viewing, even when it's beautiful.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Little Prince

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

My Life as a Zucchini2016

Both use animation to hold space for childhood loss and resilience; both trust that wonder and sorrow are not opposites.

A stop-motion miracle about a traumatised boy finding family among other damaged kids in care. Formally adventurous, emotionally fearless—what happens when you point a rigorous artistic technique at real childhood pain.

But It doesn't flinch from the darkness that sent its protagonist to the orphanage; comfort isn't the goal.

The Secret of Kells2009

Gorgeously animated meditation on creativity, loss, and the magic available to those who pay attention. A folktale about making art in dark times, rendered in hand-drawn frames that feel almost impossibly lovable.

But The narrative is deliberately elliptical and folkloric; conventional plot beats are not the point.

Coco2017

A girl learns the cost of forgetting and the redemptive power of remembering. Uses spectacle and colour to explore love across time, and treats family and memory with rare seriousness.

But The emotional beats are somewhat orchestrated; if you resist the machinery, the film loses you.

The Tale of Despereaux2008

A mouse learns that forgiveness and love matter more than convention. Visually dreamy, narratively bold about pursuing what the world tells you not to want.

But Voice acting quality varies, and the tonal shifts can feel uneven if you're not won over early.

Moana2016

A girl answering an internal call discovers agency, ancestry, and purpose. Visually spectacular with a genuine respect for its source material and for the idea that knowing yourself is the real heroism.

But The musical-movie pacing might feel breezier than the emotional weight underneath deserves.

The Wind in the Willows2006

Gently adapted from Kenneth Grahame, it carries the same nostalgic longing for a simpler world and the friendships that matter. Quiet and warm without being mawkish.

But It's genuinely slow; if you're impatient with pastoral rhythms, this won't grab you.

Charlotte's Web2006

An animated meditation on mortality, loyalty, and what we leave behind. Treats its animal characters with dignity and its big themes without shrinking away from sadness.

But The animation feels dated, and the story's emotional arc is familiar enough to feel predictable.

The NeverEnding Story1984

Both are about children reclaiming imagination in a world trying to reduce them. Both centre the act of storytelling as spiritual resistance.

A boy discovers that stories save lives—literally and otherwise. A meta-textual love letter to reading and imagination, gorgeously realised with practical effects that still feel magical forty years later.

But It's a product of 1980s special effects; if you can't extend grace to its creature design, it collapses.

Tale of Tales2015

Both draw from classical source material about the world beyond the rational; both use visual richness to suggest that beauty and danger are inextricable.

Matteo Garrone's visually baroque interweaving of Basile's fairy tales—three parallel stories of desire, consequence, and the price of having your wishes granted. Feels like the unsettling original stories before Disney softened them.

But It's deliberately fractured, darkly erotic, and uninterested in reassurance; the fairy-tale logic is cruel and unsentimentalised.