Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "The Little Prince" is one of the best-selling books of all time, having sold in upwards of 140 million copies, which puts it somewhere between J.K. Rowling's first "Harry Potter" novel (107 million copies) and Charles Dickens' classic "A Tale of Two Cities" (200 million copies). The story has been adapted numerous times (including an opera and a ballet), but next year's animated film might be the most wondrous interpretation yet, and if you have any semblance of your soul still intact the (French-language) trailer should make you feel the same way. Check it out below to see if it stirs any of your emotions:
The trailer itself is a gorgeous blend of papercraft animation (for the story of the Little Prince himself) and Pixar-esque CGI (for the framed story around it). There's no English-language version of the trailer yet, but one will be coming soon enough...the English voice cast for this film is first rate, including: Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Jeff Bridges, Marion Cotillard, Ricky Gervais and Benicio del Toro, among others.
For those not in the know, "The Little Prince" tells the tale of a pilot (who narrates most of the story) who dislikes adults; he claims he does not enjoy their company, for they are much too practical. Instead, he prefers the company of children, who are natural and curious.
The pilot next tells of how his plane crashed in the desert, where he met the Little Prince, a mystical creature from another small planet/asteroid. The pilot explains why the Prince left his planet and where he visited before coming to Earth. His adventures on six different planets are recounted, including the encounters with the king, the conceited man, the tippler, the businessman, the lamplighter, the geographer, the snake, the desert flower, the garden of roses, the railway switchman, the merchant, the fox and the narrator/pilot himself.
The pilot and the Prince share a rewarding relationship in the desert, and when the Little Prince departs, the pilot misses his company, so he writes the novel in memory of the Little Prince.
"Le Petit Prince" will debut October 7, 2015 in France. Thanks to BookRiot for the tip.
