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The Little Prince

Actor(s): Richard Kiley, Steven Warner, Bob Fosse, Gene Wilder, Joss Ackland
Director(s): Stanley Donen
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Movie Details

MPAA Rating: G
Content Advisory: Suitable for Children
Movie Release: 1974
DVD Release: 04/06/2004
Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned
Subtitles: English
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Number of Discs: 1
Run Time: 1 hrs 28 mins
Studio: Paramount
Members Wishing: 15
Genres: Fantasy, Musical, Children's Fantasy, Musical Fantasy
See Also: The Little Prince

DVD Synopsis

Stanley Donen directed this lugubrious musical fantasy based on the classic Antoine de Saint-Exupery children's parable, featuring a musical score by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe -- their first film score since Gigi. The simple story concerns a French aviator (Richard Kiley) who crashes his airplane in the middle of the Sahara desert and comes upon a young blonde prince (Steven Warner) from another planet. The Little Prince tells the pilot that he is inspecting the universe and stays in the desert long enough to convey to the pilot his impressions of the earth and stories of other planets he has visited. In a supporting role as a serpent that the Little Prince met amongst his travels in the universe, Bob Fosse stops the show with a slithery dance routine. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Actors

Richard Kiley - The Pilot
Steven Warner - The Little Prince
Bob Fosse - Snake
Gene Wilder - The Fox
Joss Ackland - The King

Editorial Review of DVD

Stanley Donen's quirky adaptation of The Little Prince, featuring an eclectic cast that includes Bob Fosse and Gene Wilder, makes its debut on DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. English subtitles are accessible. There are no supplemental materials of any consequence, but this odd film may be worth a look especially considering the inexpensive list price of the disc. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Member Movie Reviews

Christine E. (Scaper) from SAINT LOUIS, MO wrote on 9/12/2009...

Beautifully filmed story, with an exceptional cast. Bob Fosse was unbelievable as the snake. Music by Lerner and Loewe, was "delightful"

Kendra M. (KendraM) from NASHVILLE, TN wrote on 1/13/2008...

I saw this film with my grandmother at Radio City Music Hall as a child back in 1974 (I think this is the year). I had not read the book at that time, and certainly did not like the movie. Since falling in love with the soundtrack of Le Petit Prince (Richard Cocciante's and Elisabeth Anais's French version), I decided to give this film another look. Also, it's considered a classic, so I thought maybe I'd like it better now.

I did like the main cast. I think Richard Kiley as the aviator was excellent and I very much enjoyed Steven Warner as the Little Prince. Gene Wilder (the Fox) like always, was great.

The movie was really bad, though. And, the musical score was appalling (I do not use this term lightly)! The Little Prince, too, is filled with poor melodies and lyrics. I am not a huge fan of Lerner and Lowe's (I love My Fair Lady, but not all the music), but these songs are just really atrocious. I wound up fast forwarding halfway through most of the songs since they sounded horrid and repetitive. Worse, they seemed to come out of nowhere with no real transition from dialogue to music. The Prince's Rose, for instance, said goodbye coyly yet gently but then belted out her obnoxious and brash goodbye song. And, it was HORRIBLE as were most all the tracks. Really atrocious stuff. I'm surprised it even passes as music.

The main message here is wonderful. The film does keep the main message, but if you don't know the book, some of the lessons learned and taught are lost in this film. You reach the same conclusion, because it's spelled out for the watcher, but some lessons (vanity, too much work-not enough play, focus on money) are lost along the way. In addition, the troubled yet charming lamplighter is absent here. Really, if time was an issue, why not cut out the horrendous musical numbers? These planetary visits the Prince makes in the book are pretty integral to the story.

Again, the scenes between the aviator and the prince were wonderful. Gene Wilder was excellent. The supporting cast was okay, but they didn't get the book's points across.

I'm surprised anyone thinks this is a classic. I have not seen the Rachel Portman's operatic version, but I can't sing the praises of Richard Cocciante's and Elisabeth Anais' version (LE PETIT PRINCE). Although it's not available with English subtitles, it is absolutely wonderful. And, the lyrics to the songs are almost the exact words that Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote, set to music. So, if you have the book in English, you can follow along with the dvd film version without any issue. In fact, the first song, Dedicace, is the exact dedication that Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote, set to music. And, Daniel Lavoie is perfect as the aviator. The music to this is truly sublime.