The Little Prince
Growing up is not the problem, forgetting is.
Few things in life are more magical than a movie coming into your life exactly when you need it. The timing of movies is so wild. You can see an awful movie that speaks to exactly what you are going through and hold it as one of your favorites for that reason. You can also see a masterpiece at the wrong time and not love it as much as you typically would — I am so sorry for not giving 20th Century Women the respect it deserved.
A movie coming into your life when you need it can mean a million different things for each person. Perhaps you just got your heart broken and need a revenge-type movie like Jennifer’s Body to make you feel better. Or maybe you want to wallow in that sadness and go with 500 Days of Summer. Perhaps you are getting ready to start a new chapter of your life in New York and watch Lady Bird. The point is that there are countless examples, and it is even more magical when you have no expectations for how much perfect it is for the moment going in.
I knew absolutely nothing about The Little Prince beforehand. I probably should’ve been familiar, considering itis based on the children’s book of the same name from 1943 by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The book has sold over 140 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 301 languages. I picked it because I saw an Instagram post about it and one five-star review from someone I follow on Letterboxd. My expectation going in was just a nice kid’s movie that would be good for my mental health while I distractedly watched it to relax. What I got instead was a BEAUTIFUL film about the wonders of dreaming and the human connection.
On the surface, The Little Prince is about a little girl moving into a new neighborhood to go to Werth Academy, a school that will set her up to be essential in the future. Her mother is determined to make sure the little girl is successful at all costs, including the mental well-being of her own daughter. The Little Girl (I really wish she had a name to make writing about her easier) quickly makes friends with her new neighbor, The Aviator. He is a bit different than the rest of the ultra-serious rest of the neighborhood. I mean, look at his house.
The Aviator tells The Little Girl a story about when he was stranded in the desert, and a prince from another planet visited him. The Little Prince taught him all about a life where you don’t have to be “essential” and dream of something more. The Aviator and little girl form a bond over The Little Prince. Eventually, the Aviator ends up in the hospital, and the little girl goes on a journey to find the prince to help the Aviator. She ends up helping The Little Prince remember that he can dream of more, and he returns to his home planet. The Little Girl returns home to be with The Aviator, and the girl’s mom learns the same life lessons.
I know it probably sounds a bit strange and complex at times for a kid’s movie, but it was outstanding. If I saw this at a different time in my life, I’m sure it would not have hit me nearly as hard. Seeing it when I did, though, had me relating to it way harder than I would’ve ever imagined and somehow crying as the credits rolled. This movie came to me as I contemplate the value of being “essential” versus doing what I want that would be far more fulfilling. I watched it at a time where it feels like the concept of dreaming is essential.
The most impressive thing is that this feels so targeted for me at this moment in time, but I also feel like it is a universal story that everyone can relate to. It is the same phenomenon in Lady Bird, where despite a specific story of a teenager in Sacramento graduating high school, it can be relatable to so many other people.
We need to get political real quick because this kid’s movie pulled no punches with the anti-capitalist message. Before we even learn to walk, we are told that we must be essential, whether consciously or unconsciously. We are asked what we want to be when we grow up; such a stupid question btw. It is great to encourage little kids to follow their dreams, but then as they grow up, they are told that actually, that dream isn’t hiring, and they should go into this other field instead because it is safer and pays more.
As they take on those more secure careers, people lose the ability to dream of something more because they are so consumed with trying to survive to the next paycheck. Imagine how much better the world would be if people could actually follow their passions AND not have to worry about where they were gonna find food for the next two weeks. Or how cool it would be if people earned a living wage with adequate working conditions and didn’t have to work 80 hours a week to make ends meet. We might miss out on one or two billionaires traveling to space, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.
The Little Prince would have been a great movie with the message alone, but it goes up a few notches because of how superb the animation is. It mixes some hand-drawn elements with CGI for The Little Girl’s world and stop-motion for The Little Prince’s world. The combination brilliantly separated the two worlds. Having watched a decent amount of animation lately, it can be tiresome to see the exact same style in everything constantly. The animation in this was a breath of fresh air that I really appreciated. Beyond that, it just looks incredible.
I could go on about this film for hours. The score was outstanding, the voice acting was superb, the subtle comedy was excellent, and on and on and on. I was absolutely floored by how much I loved this movie and how much it touched me when I really needed this exact film. It just goes to show that sometimes the perfect moment can find you if you just give it a chance.