The Little Prince Blu-ray Review

The 1080p Blu-ray presentation of "The Little Prince" deftly combines CGI and stop-motion animation to create a visually distinctive experience. The Blu-ray features a highly impressive color output that breathes life into the scenes, even without the additional depth provided by HDR. The color palette plays a pivotal role in distinguishing the gray, lifeless world of the Little Girl from the vibrant and warm environment of the Aviator's home, illustrating their contrasting lives. The visual texture is meticulously rendered, allowing viewers to admire both large-scale backdrops and fine details on characters and objects.

Technicolor's AVC encode delivers top-notch clarity and transparency, effectively capturing the brilliant colors and intricate textures of the stop-motion miniatures. Spread over a BD-50 disc, the animation retains outstanding definition, right from the subtle rosy shading on the girl's cheeks to the richly detailed stop-motion scenes. Despite minimal aliasing and banding, which rarely disrupts the viewing experience, the overall picture quality remains stellar. The balance achieved between CGI and stop-motion sequences is remarkable, ensuring a seamless transition between these disparate animation styles.

The Blu-ray's 2.35:1 aspect ratio supports maximum clarity and impressive lighting effects, with inky black levels providing perfect contrast. The CGI segments are crisp, while the stop-motion animation exhibits unparalleled precision, highlighting the differing animated styles with distinct textural prowess. Whether depicting the rigid, colorless suburban life or the fantastical, colorful adventures of the prince, the video presentation succeeds in delivering a visually engaging and technically sound experience. Viewers are treated to an expressive and dynamic visual narrative that showcases the depth and brilliance of this unique animated film.

The Blu-ray release of "The Little Prince" features a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack that delivers an immersive and detailed audio experience. Paramount's presentation is fluid and smooth, capturing both broad and subtle sound cues with exceptional definition and spatial awareness. The audio mix is excellently staged, allowing for dominant front-and-center sounds to coexist seamlessly with minor ambient support, enhancing the film's atmosphere. The soundtrack is meticulously balanced, using surround channels effectively to create a lifelike and immersive auditory environment. Dialogue remains crystal clear and perfectly centered throughout the film, ensuring intelligibility without compromise.

The Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio underscores the film’s magical essence with its carefully curated soundstage, which is characterized by playfully discrete placement and pinpoint clarity. The dense mix exhibits smooth fidelity and impressive dynamic range, keeping the listener engaged from the mundane sounds of suburbia to the fantastical realms of imagination. Low-frequency effects are judiciously used to add necessary depth, while avoiding overwhelming the audience. The gentle musical score benefits from a forward soundstage and clean imaging, contributing to the film's wondrous and enchanting atmosphere.

Overall, the lossless audio track is both full and confident, offering a consistent immersive experience bolstered by a plethora of ambient and atmospheric sounds. Sonic anomalies such as pop or hiss are notably absent, ensuring a pristine listening experience. Optional English and English SDH subtitles are available, displayed in a white font within the scope presentation, complementing an already excellent audio presentation.

Paramount's Blu-ray release of "The Little Prince" offers select but solid special features that provide an insightful dive into the film’s creative process. Highlighting the technical intricacies involved in adapting the beloved story, "The Making of The Little Prince" is a comprehensive 25-minute featurette showcasing discussions from the filmmakers on digital character design, practical visuals, stop-motion animation techniques, and the film’s score. Supplementary to this, the "Turn Around" music video by Camille delivers a brief yet engaging musical accompaniment intertwined with clips from the movie. Though some international extras are notably absent, this release enhances its value with a digital HD copy.

Extras included in this disc:

• The Making of The Little Prince: Filmmakers discuss adapting the story, character design, visuals, scoring, and more.
• Turn Around - Music Video by Camille: A music video with scenes from the film.

Mark Osborne's 2015 adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s "The Little Prince" is a beautifully crafted film that paints a delicate balance between imagination and reality. The tale centers around a young girl, voiced by Mackenzie Foy, whose life is meticulously planned out by her overbearing mother, portrayed by Rachel McAdams. Their structured existence is disrupted upon moving next to an eccentric, elderly Aviator, endowed with quintessential charm by Jeff Bridges. This character introduces the girl to the whimsical world of the Little Prince via an enchanting story that transcends their modern-day backdrop.

The screenplay weaves a dual narrative; one depicting the little girl’s struggle against her mother’s rigid control, and the other breathing life into Saint-Exupéry’s 1943 novella. This juxtaposition allows the original narrative to serve as a parallel adventure that significantly enriches the girl's journey. The modern contextualization of the girl's life, dominated by helicopter parenting, draws timely criticism on contemporary pressures on children. The story uses its vivid stop-motion animation segments — differing from the CG animation of the present-day scenes — to create an enthralling visual dichotomy that reflects the contrasting worlds. The segments drawing directly from the novella stay true to its heartwarming messages about childhood innocence and joy.

Technically, the film is a visual feast. The stark, geometric CGI employed for the modern-day narrative sharply contrasts with the lush, imaginative stop-motion segments depicting the Little Prince’s story, creating a visually satisfying and thematically poignant narrative fabric. The voice acting elevates this experience significantly. Jeff Bridges’ heartfelt portrayal of the Aviator, alongside stellar performances from McAdams and Foy, adds layers of emotional depth and authenticity. Hans Zimmer’s musical contributions punctuate key moments with an emotive score that enhances both worlds' wonder and poignancy. This unique blending of animation styles, expert voice work, and enchanting storytelling makes Osborne’s adaptation a compelling cinematic experience.

"The Little Prince" Blu-ray Review

Paramount's "The Little Prince" Blu-ray offers a compelling and inventive adaptation of the beloved classic children's story. The film cleverly employs a modern-day framing story that follows a young girl who, under the influence of her rigidly structured mother, learns to embrace her imagination and follow her heart, courtesy of the timeless tale of "The Little Prince." This dual narrative is executed with seamless integration, offering resonance for viewers of all ages. The film distinguishes itself with a blend of animation styles, particularly the enchanting stop-motion segments that breathe life into The Prince's segments. These creative choices enhance the emotional depth and visual appeal of the movie.

The A/V presentation on this Blu-ray is top-notch, with high-quality video that captures the vibrant animation and precise audio that immerses the viewer in the film's sweeping score and sound design. The stop-motion animation is dazzlingly detailed, and the film's themes of childhood wonder and the bittersweet transition to adulthood are thoughtfully portrayed. The voice acting is superb, adding further layers to the story’s emotional core. Paramount has included a couple of notable extras, with a making-of featurette providing valuable insights into the creative process behind the film, balancing the somewhat limited bonus content.

In conclusion, "The Little Prince" takes the original story and uses it as a propellant for moving the girl's life in the right direction, allowing her to navigate life's choices with a reawakened spirit of wonder and autonomy. It effectively intertwines two parallel stories—the prince’s and the little girl’s—resulting in a film that is both imaginatively rich and emotionally poignant. With its excellent animation, voice acting, and superior A/V quality on Blu-ray, this release comes highly recommended for both long-time fans of the story and newcomers alike.