The Little Prince

The Little Prince is a 2015 English-language French 3D animated fantasy adventure family drama film directed by Mark Osborne and based on the 1943 novella of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The film premiered on May 22, 2015 at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in an out-of-competition screening, followed by a wide release in France on July 29, 2015 by Paramount Pictures. Wild Bunch is overseeing international film sales. Paramount Pictures released the film in France on July 29, 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 in Canada. Warner Bros. assumed distribution in Austria, Germany and Japan. The film was originally set to be released in theatres across the United States on March 18, 2016 before being dropped due to budget cuts; Netflix acquired the US distribution rights and released the film on August 5, 2016 in the United States.

Plot
The Aviator introduces a girl to a world where she rediscovers her childhood and learns that it's human connections that matter most, and that it is only with heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The film stays completely faithful to the novel it's based on.
 * 2) Great mixture of CGI and stop-motion animation.
 * 3) Amazing performances from Mackenzie Foy, Paul Rudd, Riley Osbourne, Jeff Bridges, etc.
 * 4) The film isn't just about the pilot and the prince. It's about how the story can touch people since it was created, from toddlers to adults.
 * 5) The character designs for the characters are lovely and beautiful.
 * 6) A ton of emotional and heartwarming moments in the movie, enough to make the viewer cry.
 * 7) Unlike the Hollywood animated films that are usually comedies, this movie isn't much of a comedy at all. It's more of a "Where Dreams May Come" esque movie.
 * 8) Stunning backgrounds and visual effects.
 * 9) "Growing up is not the problem. Forgetting is".

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) It doesn’t have too much to do with the book.

Reception
The film has received critical acclaim, earning praise for its style of animation and homage paid to the source material. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 93%, based on 95 reviews, with an average rating of 7.27/10. 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."

Trivia

 * This film earned $97.6 million on a €75 million budget, becoming the most successful French animated film abroad of all time.
 * This film was planned to be released theatrically by Paramount alongside its own animation division in the United States on March 18, 2016. However a weekend earlier, Paramount dropped the planned release for the region. According to Cartoon Brew, 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. However, after Netflix  and Paramount made an agreement, Netflix acquired the US distribution rights and released the film on August 5, 2016 as the first animated and foreign "Netflix Original" film. However, due to Netflix's license expiration, the film was removed from Netflix in the United States (and some other countries as well following a lawsuit) in May 2021, making it the first time a "Netflix Original" film was removed from the service. This film is speculated to transfer to Paramount's proprietary streaming service Paramount+ soon.