THE LITTLE PRINCE (2016)
A whimsical reminder that childhood, hope, and imagination matter.
Should You Watch It?
Yes. The Little Prince is a delightful, whimsical story that celebrates childhood, imagination, courage, love, hope, and belief. Its strong moral worldview gives families plenty to appreciate, while its beautiful animation and alluring characters hold attention throughout.
The movie does include a few dark or intimidating scenes that may trouble younger children. Its unusual movement between reality and imagination can also feel somewhat esoteric, especially toward the ending. Still, those elements lead to fruitful takeaways about hope and the possibility of miracles when the future is unclear.
For a thoughtful, visually beautiful family movie with meaningful themes, choose The Little Prince.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESA little girl and her mother move next door to an eccentric older aviator. The mother has planned every minute of her daughter’s summer to prepare her for adulthood, but the aviator introduces the girl to a different world through a story about a little prince.
As the girl and the aviator become friends, she discovers a world shaped by imagination, love, courage, and hope. A fox, a rose, a snake, and several very odd adults help deepen the story.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is a beautifully made, highly engaging animated movie. The Little Prince is brilliantly animated, with stunning scenery and alluring characters that maintain the viewer’s attention throughout.
The movie shifts between stop-motion animation and 2-D animation, creating a visually distinctive experience. Its dialogue and characters carry strong themes about miracles, hope, and the importance of staying young in vision and imagination.
The film is somewhat esoteric, and the ending could have been edited to create better story flow. Even so, its beauty, imagination, and moral purpose make it a strong family selection.
The Worldview
The Little Prince presents a strong moral worldview centered on love, courage, hope, commitment, and the possibility of miracles. It portrays a grownup world where time is money, sameness is prized, and business can become greedy and controlling. Against that world, the film celebrates children’s vision and imagination.
The little girl learns what it means to truly love and be loved. She fights for what she believes and helps others believe again. The little prince’s journey also presents temptation and commitment through the snake and the fox, while the rose represents love complicated by vanity. These ideas give the movie a light redemptive quality.
The film includes some light existential humanist elements. Its belief in miracles and hope is encouraging, though it does not present those ideas explicitly through biblical faith. Still, its emphasis on courage, love, and hope aligns with important biblical values.
Scripture points to the same deeper source of hope: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong moral worldview stressing love, courage, hope, commitment, and a light redemptive belief in the possibility of miracles, with some light existential humanist elements; business man is seen as greedy and taking over; no foul language; a few violent actions, including a small drop of blood, an animal being eaten by another and some screwball comedy that involves dropping a bowling ball on someone’s head; no sexual content; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, very little immorality, but the lead character does lie to her mother and steal a bike; broken family as father has left family.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The film contrasts a world focused on growing up quickly with the value of childhood imagination. What helps you protect wonder and creativity in your family?
Matthew 18:3 · Philippians 4:8The little girl learns about love and courage through the aviator’s stories. How do love and courage work together when you must stand up for what is right?
1 Corinthians 16:13–14 · 1 John 4:18The story presents commitment as an alternative to temptation. What does faithful commitment look like in everyday life?
Ruth 1:16–17 · Matthew 5:37The movie says hope is necessary when the future is unclear. Where does the Bible say lasting hope comes from?
Romans 15:13 · Hebrews 6:19The Final Word
Beautiful, imaginative, and rich with themes of courage, love, and hope, The Little Prince gives families much to discuss. A few dark scenes may trouble very young children, and the ending is somewhat difficult, but the movie’s moral vision and artistry make it WORTH THE TRIP.
