A Little Princess

Name: A Little Princess
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Family
Released: May 20, 1995
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews

1995

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 52 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 52 Ratings

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A Little Princess

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Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: May 20, 1995 | G

Starring: Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Liesel Matthews

Summary: A young girl must rely on her wits and imagination when she is separated from her soldier father and sent to a strict boarding school. [Warner Bros.]

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Genre(s): Drama, Fantasy, Family

Rating: G

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Jay Carr

With its beautifully crafted starburst of colors and themes spanning its requisite Victorian gravity, A Little Princess is a beguiling little supernova of a movie I can't imagine anyone not loving. [19 May 1995, p.64]

100

Lisa Schwarzbaum

There are moments in A Little Princess--particularly Cuaron's Indian play-within-the-play, which is nearly avant-garde in its conception--when you may just want to clap from pleasure. My advice to you is: Go ahead, you're a grown-up. [26 May 26 1995]

Kenneth Turan

Cuaron perfectly understands how a combination of simplicity and restraint help to create a sense of wonder on screen. Under his sure, quiet direction, A Little Princess casts the type of spell most family films can only dream about. [10 May 1995, p.1]

Empire Caroline Westbrook

Soppy and girlish in the extreme, this should keep even the tiniest viewer rapt, while all too many adults may fall victim to an inexplicable bout of eye-watering long before the closing credits. Read full review

Janet Maslin

Shaking off the solemnity that smothers many a well-meaning, high-minded family film, this one revels in an exuberant sense of play, drawing its audience into the wittily heightened reality of a fairy tale. The material, like the title, is a tad precious, but the finished film is much too spirited and pretty for that to matter. Read full review

Gary Kamiya

A Little Princess is a delightful film. Bring your children, or just bring yourself. Read full review

Peter Stack

Infused with a dark charm that will appeal to some girls, A Little Princess, based on the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, is as near to a mannered, lushly photographed Merchant/Ivory-style film as you'll get in a kids' movie. Read full review

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User Reviews

DavidS.

Jan 29, 2008

This is truly a classic telling of a classic tale, a must see for the whole family. The ending is so poignant that even though I know what's coming, it still chokes me up.

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alejandro970

Apr 26, 2020

Once upon a time a princess whose father, allegedly declared M.I.A in WW1, was unjustly slaved and locked up by an wicked, ice-heart headmistress. The first entry of Alfonso Cuarón at world cinema couldn't be better as you wait. The plot based upon a book of Frances Hodgson Burnett, withOnce upon a time a princess whose father, allegedly declared M.I.A in WW1, was unjustly slaved and locked up by an wicked, ice-heart headmistress. The first entry of Alfonso Cuarón at world cinema couldn't be better as you wait. The plot based upon a book of Frances Hodgson Burnett, with some touch of Hindi mythology and Charles Dickens, is an outstanding example of how translate a book to the big screen. It's a proof of how the child imagination has a unfathomable gift that dark world of adults are unable to understand. RUSH!… Expand

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kyle20ellis

Mar 13, 2022

I absolutely loved the book, and i know they changed a few things but I don't care. I loved it anyway, because of the music and the cinematography. It is not quite as good as Secret Garden, but an extremely close contender. The scenes with the war were gut-wrenching, and the locations ofI absolutely loved the book, and i know they changed a few things but I don't care. I loved it anyway, because of the music and the cinematography. It is not quite as good as Secret Garden, but an extremely close contender. The scenes with the war were gut-wrenching, and the locations of India were stunning. And the music is gorgeous, very sad at times. Liesel Matthews brilliantly portrayed the girl with a wide imagination. Matching her perfectly, was Eleanor Bron as the evil Miss Minchin never once over the top, and there were some funny and touching moments, like Sara's first meeting with Becky and when she learns of her father's death. The costumes are gorgeous, really they were, the ending was a real tearjerker and Cuaron perfectly captured the essence of the themes of love, friendship and acceptance.10/10 Bethany Cox… Expand

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JohnMasterL

Oct 20, 2015

Mágica y dramática, gracias a la dirección de Alfonso Cuaron, A Little Princess es sin duda alguna un clásico infantil; una película que tanto chicos y grandes la van a disfrutar.

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EpicLadySponge

Apr 18, 2016

A movie that just never moves out of the interesting to watch spot. Kids will instantly love every single bit of this fascinating adventure and it's another story that cannot be missed at all.

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amheretojudge

Jul 8, 2018

a bold and mighty walk of righteousness..

A Little Princess 3 And A Half Out Of 5 A Little Princess is a plot driven fantasy feature about a girl that stands for something that outs her on potential, power and tricks but lacks the force. There may have been various such features or talesa bold and mighty walk of righteousness..

A Little Princess

3 And A Half Out Of 5

A Little Princess is a plot driven fantasy feature about a girl that stands for something that outs her on potential, power and tricks but lacks the force. There may have been various such features or tales that walks on a familiar path and rigid structure but its Alfonso's lens that lures the audience in for a second look. It is rich on technical aspects like background score, sound effects, art design, cinematography and editing. The camera work is impressive and is shot beautiful with a mild tone and perfectly balanced energy attained for providing a wider range. The adaptation by Richard LaGravenese and Elizabeth Chandler is smart, gripping and thought-provoking due to its layered concept and its sketchy and edgy characters that are as much as juicy as they are nutrient. Alfonso Cuaron; the director, as mention earlier, has done an excellent work on executing such mythical tale that could not resonate more with practicality and the society that we all reside in. The performance by the young cast is plausible and convincing throughout the course of it where Liam Cunningham and Rusty Schwimmer has done a decent work on supporting them. A Little Princess is a bold and mighty walk of righteousness that withholds the audience not for its ingenious modern take on old comic tales but the essence of those pages that it sums of.… Expand

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Spangle

Mar 30, 2017

Will I ever enjoy an Alfonso Cuaron film? Gravity is probably my favorite by him, though it is complete garbage in hindsight. Had I not seen it in cinemas, its paper thin story and horribly annoying performance from Sandra Bullock would bother me more, but those visuals are first rate.Will I ever enjoy an Alfonso Cuaron film? Gravity is probably my favorite by him, though it is complete garbage in hindsight. Had I not seen it in cinemas, its paper thin story and horribly annoying performance from Sandra Bullock would bother me more, but those visuals are first rate. Children of Men is probably a film deserving of a rewatch though, as of now, I really did not care for it. However, I did see it a few years ago. One without an excuse is Y Tu Mama Tambien which I absolutely abhorred. One of my least favorite films I had ever seen. Drove me up the wall and made me run for the showers. Perhaps not my type of film, but regardless, the mere thought of that film sends me running to go turn on the shower head. It is instinct at this point. A Little Princess, an update on a classic fairy tale, joins the pantheon of beloved Cuaron films to completely pass me by and wonder how this man has become so popular. Am I alone in not liking him at all? Visually stunning films sure, but let us not pretend that he has not entirely benefited from a working relationship with Emmanuel Lubezki. Remove Lubezki from the equation and I am running for the hills from his work without any hesitation.

As for this film alone, the film suffers in its characters and in its emotional manipulation. Yes, it is a fairy tale, but the character of Miss Minchin (Eleanor Bron) hardly works. Abusing children and having the entire police force sent to arrest a small girl by accusing her of theft she clearly did not commit seems highly illogical and either the creation of the imaginative mind of a little girl or purely nonsensical writing. Personally, I lean towards the latter. Furthermore, once Sara (Liesel Matthews) is freed from her dungeon - in which she and friend Becky (Vanessa Lee Chester) are forced to work without pay to earn their keep in the home and also starved as punishment - we see Miss Minchin in the streets as a woman who is practically homeless as a result. She has been punished for her cruel nature, which is only fair. Yet, while she is comically cruel to the point that it lacks any basis in common sense and smacks of the writers trying to find a shorthand way to turn her into the antagonist, her fall is turned into comedic fodder. She, who looked down upon those with nothing, is then looked down upon the audience and the film itself for working for a living after losing her job as the headmaster of the school. Yes, she is a cruel wench, but is it not then equally wrong for us to mock her and laugh at her predicament? She may have reaped what she sows, but deserves a helping hand nonetheless and should learn from her errors. Being mocked sends the wrong message to the children audience of the film who will see her punished, laugh, and write her off as an irredeemable person incapable of change. Had she been reformed, shown the light, and taught to act like a reasonable human being, it would show that people can change for the better and those who are at the bottom should be helped, not mocked.

The character of Ram Dass (Errol Sitahal) also appears to be a "magical negro" stock character. The man responsible for keeping Sara going during her days at rock bottom, he exists to merely provide happiness to Sara and to benefit her by nursing her father back to health after his time served in World War I. He appears to have no life other than serving Sara and other whites, while being capable of performing magical acts such as transforming her room (even her bed sheets, which she was laying on) in her sleep to save her from being starved by Miss Minchin. Presently, this character is not seen as a magical negro by film critics, most likely because he is not black and instead an Indian man. Yet, though he does not meet the race requirement of the term, his characterization and role in the film is solely to serve our white protagonist and perform magical acts to keep her happy and motivated. If he is not a "magical negro", then I have no idea what this character could be classified as.

All of that said, however, I am not entirely a curmudgeon. A tale about a girl being reunited with her father after spending time at the bottom and learning to look past her rich upbringing and spread joy to all, A Little Princess is an uplifting and thoroughly magical tale. As a fairy tale, we see this one act as a revisionist fairy tale of sorts. Instead of showing one prince and princess, the film argues that every girl is a princess. They have the right to love who they want and to behave how they want. There are no restrictions on a princess and every girl deserves to experience this freedom and break free of the bonds put on them by society. For this message, the film is quite powerful, even if its ending is entirely emotionally manipulative and predictable. It is so heart warming and moving, however, it practically works.… Expand

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8	#8 Best Movie of 1995
55	#55 Most Discussed Movie of 1995
25	#25 Most Shared Movie of 1995