The Little Prince - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[cassandra]

Mark Osborne revealed that the book deeply affected him on a personal level when it was given to him by his wife years ago, back when they were dating. The two were college students at the time and trying to keep their long-distance relationship alive. "The Little Prince brought us back together," he admits. "I paid very close attention to it. It means so much to me and to everyone who has read the book, because it really connects you to the significant relationships and friendships in your life." Osborne's wife is thanked in the credits.

[beth]

James Franco's first animated film.

[carla]

Before doing this movie, Marion Cotillard used to play The Rose when she went to children's hospitals.

[tom]

Mark Osborne was pitching the movie to actors, artists and distributors all over the world using what he called a "magic suitcase" full of hand-made visual aids specifically create to communicate the tone and passion for the project. Model maker Joe Schmidt created this suitcase, which held the art book, and told the story of the movie visually. Schmidt had created a snapshot of Osborne's vision for the film: a constellation of tiny planets and stars lighted up on one side, a giant art book of illustrations filled the other. From somewhere deep inside the case, Osborne pulled out two large white circles that held slides that when placed up to each eye displayed 3-D images of stop-motion puppets. Then Osborne started flipping switches. In no time, a one-way mirror slid away to reveal a hidden chamber holding a collection of yellowed pages below. It was a mock-up of Saint-Exupéry's original manuscript, a key plot point in Osborne's film. Over the course of four years, Osborne pitched the movie close to 400 times.

[bessie]

This movie marks the first time Benicio Del Toro has voice acted in an animated movie.

[aaron]

Jeff Bridges and Benicio Del Toro reunite after 22 years since they last appeared in Fearless (1993) making this reunion their first animated film together.

[bernard]

In October 2010, director Mark Osborne put together a small team of artists and writers in Los Angeles to brainstorm and create concept art and the first draft of the screenplay. Then Osborne moved with his family to Paris to begin work on the pre-production of the film. Once there, a team of storyboard artists, look dev artists, character designers and production pipeline experts was assembled to begin the process of making the dream of the movie come true. The director said that during this time, not only was he pitching to artists and actors, he was also pitching the movie to distributors all over the world using a "magic suitcase" full of hand-made visual aids specifically create to communicate the tone and passion for the project. In four years, Osborne pitched the movie close to 400 times. Talented model maker Joe Schmidt created this suitcase, which held the art book, and told the story of the movie visually. As it turns out, the journey to bring The Little Prince from the page to the screen also benefited from an unusual production history. The project, which began with Osborne and his small team in Los Angeles, then moved to Paris during the development and storyboard stages. For the final phases of the animation, production and lighting, the team moved to Montreal in order to maximize the tax benefits offered to a French-Canadian project (a co-venture between Onyx Entertainment in Paris and Mikros Images Canada in Montreal).

[ruby]

The Werth Academy school in the film is named after the writer Leon Werth, to whom the Little Prince book is dedicated ("To Leon Werth, when he was a little boy").