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 A
LITTLE PRINCESS
REVIEWED
BY RISSI C.
Our
rating: 4 out of 5 Because
of: brief scenes of war, some scary images and
magical themes
Rated:
Every
girl everywhere is a Princess…
When
Captain Crewe (Liam Cunningham) decides to join the British army, he sends
his beloved young daughter Sara (Liesel Matthews), to the academy her
mother went to, Miss Minchin’s School for girls in New York. Miss
Minchin (Eleanor Bron), a cold-hearted, lonely woman, and Miss Amelia
Minchin (Rusty Schwimmer), a warm-hearted lady, are the headmistresses.
Heartbroken to be separated from her father Sara promises to write to him
every day.
Soon
Sara gets settled into her new surroundings, and takes under her wing
Lottie (Kelsey Mulroodney), a child who has recently lost her mother, and
Emengarde (Heather DeLoach), whose father is disappointed in her attempts
to learn, and whom all the snotty girls all pick on. With Sara’s vivid
imagination, she tells the most wonderful stories and soon becomes a
favorite among her classmates. Miss Minchin has been instructed to spare
no cost with Sara, so she throws her a very expensive birthday party. When
Captain Crewe’s solicitor arrives on the same day to talk to Miss
Minchin, little does Sara know that her beloved father has been killed in
action. With Sara left penniless, Miss Minchin decides to keep her on as a
servant. After her world is turned upside down, Sara tries to adjust to
her new life. She’s not allowed to talk or socialize with any of the
students.
She
makes friends with the other servant girl, Becky (Vanessa Lee Chester),
who lives up in the attic with her. Becky remains her faithful friend
through all her hardships. With her father gone, Sara loses her passion
for storytelling and her imagination, until some of her true friends help
her get it back. The result is a beautiful story that will live on in your
heart long after you have seen it. There
are a few scary images in this film. Sara’s stories are very imaginative
and depicted as she imagines them; in one, there is a creepy, supernatural
ten-headed dragon. A brief scene shows Captain Crewe walking through a
tunnel filled with lots of wounded and dead bodies, but there is nothing
graphic. Sara puts a “curse” on one of the snotty girls at school,
making her believe that her hair is going to fall out.
I
loved the casting in this film. Eleanor Bron was marvelous as the
cold-hearted headmistress. She looked and acted the part magnificently.
Liam Cunningham was also wonderful as Captain Crewe, but I think the best
and most surprising performance came from Liesel Matthews, she was simply
amazing. I had never seen her in anything else, but I want to tell you she
is the best Sara Crewe I have seen. Lottie was a very good little actress
as well, and very cute. Most
of us have read the book of the same title, seen a movie version or just
heard the story of Sarah, but I have never seen a more stunning production
of A Little Princess. The
Shirley Temple version is a much lighter and happier version for children,
but this one is much more enjoyable for older viewers. It's darker and
there are several scenes that make you want to cry, but they do throw in
some fun things to incite laughter, and I really liked that.
The
music is stunningly beautiful, and makes me want the soundtrack. As
someone who hasn’t read the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, I can’t
say which version is the most faithful, but this one is the most
memorable. One of my favorite scenes is of Sara twirling in the snow; you
are never sure if she’s dreaming or it’s really happening but the look
of joy on her face is wonderful to see. One word to describe this film for
me is enchanting. It enchanted me from beginning to end and I hope you
will enjoy it as much as I did. It’s a beautiful story that I am going
to watch over and over again.
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