“The Little Prince” had it’s first press screening during the 68th Annual Cannes Film Festival earlier today. Rachel did not attend the press events but the director Mark Osborne, co-star Mackenzie Foy and actors who are voicing the international versions of the movie attended the photocall and press conference. The first reviews are getting released. We will round-up the reviews in this post and update it when more are getting released.

“The Little Prince turns out to be a respectful, lovingly reimagined take on Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic 1943 tale […] the film remains a consistent visual treat (the computer animation is more inspired in this section, with the grown-ups depicted as a colorless, zombified mass of tall, narrow bodies) and always echoes Saint-Exupery’s core theme of looking at the world through the hopeful, uncorrupted eyes of a child, where sometimes what appears to be a hat may in fact be a boa constrictor with an elephant inside.”
–Scott Foundas, Variety

B+
“It’s incredibly faithful to the book, retaining much of the language (the drawings from the book are also used at various points), reflecting the melancholy tone of the story while remaining quite charming. It’s also extremely well crafted, using both CGI and stop-motion elements in different sections of the film, resulting in some extremely beautiful images. The look of the film might pass muster with fans of the book, but the story itself is likely to be controversial, introducing new themes, new characters, and adventure elements that give it more mainstream and modern sensibilities […] And the voice-casting is about perfect. McAdams finds the right note of nuance to stop the Mother from becoming an uptight monster”
–Oliver Lyttelton, IndieWire

“Taking Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved book as its jumping-off point, this heartfelt bauble about a young girl facing the pressures of adulthood is constantly enlivened by its beautiful images, even if one itches for a narrative that’s a little less rudimentary […] Beyond audience awareness of the book, the movie also benefits from an impressive voice cast, including Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Marion Cotillard and James Franco.”
–Tim Grierson, Screen Daily

3/5 stars
“The animation of the Little Prince story is particularly lovely, the human figures looking like wood-carved puppets, the clouds like torn coloured paper and the Fox (James Franco) cutting a delicate and breezy swathe […] The voice talent is universally good. This is an accomplished and lovingly made adaptation”
–Jo-Ann Titmarsh, Hey U Guys

“A contrasting technique that makes it much easier for viewers to understand the difference between these two worlds. This part of the film is simply exquisite, not just because it’s immaculately executed but also because the papery textures of the characters, apt but not too-literal translations of the Saint-Exupery’s illustrations, evokes their fragility.”
–Leslie Felperin, THR

3/5 stars
“This is a very good-looking film that represents a brave attempt to do justice to a very popular book; it manages it, just.”
–Andrew Pulver, The Guardian