Brilliant adaptation with surrealist undertones
Z. Freeman | Austin, TX | 04/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This trippy claymation adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic tale of The Little Prince is both stunning to watch and emotionally memorable. The narration by Cliff Robertson helps keep the story going, and since most of his dialouge is straight from the book, it provides the insights and intricacies of the human heart that can never be perfectly transferred to the screen.
The way that this adaptation makes use of color and sound could only be from the 70s, and while this is clearly a children's short film, adults can enjoy it too. Much of it even seems specifically made for those viewers who may be in an altered state of some sorts.
For those who like the book, this is a great transfer to screen, entirely unpretentious and childlike in it's presentation, in the same way the book is."
Unique in presentation and execution, but little more...
Heavy Metal Hero | USA | 12/30/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Few seem to remember this claymation version of "The Little Prince," which unfortunately isn't too surprising, even though the art itself is executed wonderfully. The original book is much too strong to be solidly translated into a narrated eye-candy short. This was bested a thousand-fold both by the other work of Will Vinton's studio (see "Martin the Cobbler," "Dinosaur," and perhaps even the California Raisins specials) and by the animated show a few years later, which proved far more poignant despite the target audience of children. While ultimately better than the '74 live-action movie, it does nothing more than add an abridged, artsy spin to a story that's superior in its original text format.
Those who love claymation and/or anything having to do with The Little Prince will find more to savor here; devotees of the original book or the animated "The Adventures of the Little Prince" may see this as a denigration in an artful guise."