A Little Princess. - movie reviews

Christian Century, July 5, 1995 by James M. Wall

A Little Princess will no doubt have a long career on video--which is fine, since there are so few worthy feature films designed for children. But A Little Princess should first be experienced on the big screen because it features imaginative segments and moments of magic that are likely to lose some of their power on video. Unfortunately, Warner Brothers pulled the film from theaters after a short run earlier this summer. There are reports that in August this adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's novel will again be sent to theaters.

It is must-seeing for families, especially for those with daughters in the seven-to-ten age bracket. The 19th-century novel by Burnett (she also wrote The Secret Garden) undergoes some revision (the father goes off to war, not to the diamond mines), but the essential sense of wonder and courage remains. A seven-year-old British girl lives alone with her father in India, where she discovers the power of imagination. When World War I begins, her father enlists and places her in a New York private school run by a dictatorial woman, which leads to some creative conflicts with which children will identify. A Little Princess suggests that no matter how dark the moment, children can still rely on love and imagination. Director Alfonso Cuaron (like Nava, he is Mexican) gives his large cast of young girls enough impishness to keep the sweetness in check. And he concludes with a scary rescue sequence that seems both realistic and miraculous.