A Little Princess, Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (1995)

A Little Princess: A Review

by Moriya Bradley

(Grade) A-

The 1995 film A Little Princess, directed by Alfonso Cuaron is a stunning representation of what it means to be a child and believe in the magic of life.  The film is based on the children's classic book of the same name, written by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The Premise:

Sara is a young girl with a brilliant imagination and sense of self, who wants nothing more than her father to return to her from the war.  The year is 1914, and she is leaving her peaceful life in India to go to New York, where she will be enrolled in Miss Minchin's School For Girls, the very school her mother attended when she was Sara's age.  Sara quickly flourishes at school, despite the overly-strict headmistress, Miss Minchin, as well as some unforeseen tragic circumstances.  Sara is exposed to some extreme hardships, and tries to find her way through while keeping her spirit up.  Sara takes her journey with the help of some loyal friends, including the school servant, Becky.  

Thoughts:

One of the reasons this movie is so great is because of the heartfelt performances.  Watching it, one can’t help but feel that every cast member really gave their all and did a magnificent job of captivating the audience with each quirky character.  Sara is played by the adorable Liesel Matthews, accompanied by Liam Cunningham as her father, Captain Crewe, Eleanor Bron as Miss Minchin and Vanessa Lee Chester as Becky. This, accompanied by a wonderful score and heartwarming original music, the film feels like an all around polished piece of art.

Visually, the film is breathtaking.  The main setting is 1914 New York City, which is looks as dismal and depressing as Sara must’ve felt when she’s was there.  But Sara’s imagination and storytelling often whisks us with her back to India, a place of romance and magic.  Sara so passionately illustrates with her storytelling themes of love and sacrifice, captivating both her classmates and us as viewers.  There is such a feeling of honesty and innocence despite the tragedy of the story, making it most enthralling and enjoyable for even the most detached of viewers.  This is a wonderful movie great for watching with the family, but enjoyable for everyone.

Content Overview:

This film is rated G.  The running time is 97 minutes.   There may be mild profanity, and a child gets slapped on the face at one point.  There is one war scene where dead bodies are shown, though there is no blood.  There are two scenes where there is poison gas, though not visibly violent.  There may be some brief disturbing images, that though animated, may frighten young viewers.