Rating: 
Summary: Poor Little Rich Girl
Review: The young star of "A Little Princess," Liesel Matthews, aka Liesel Pritzker, is a real life poor little rich girl. She and her wealthy Chicago family have recently made headlines regarding disputes over the management of their fortune. Life imitating art?
Rating: 
Summary: The Little Princess
Review: I read the book "The Little Princess." A few years ago i saw the actual movie, therefore i think that it somewhat ruined the book. There were things between the book and the movie that were different so my views changed.
The book was an enjoyable one. It starts out as this little girl is dropped off at a boarding school, the one where her mother attended as a child, as her father left to fight in World War 1. Her mother died years before so there was no one else as she had lived in India most of her life with her father.
So her father leaves and she is treated like a little princess because her father is of wealth. When news of her fathers death comes to the boarding school her world gets turned upside down. The headmaster of the school is an aged bitter women. It seemed to me that she had an unspoken twist of jealousy for the young girl. This woman acts as if she is doing a good deed and sas she will keep her around as a maid and servant. She goes from being treated with luxury and anything she could ever want to cleaning, grocery shopping, and whatever else needs to be done around the school.
After working in this school and many other trials she finally finds her father is still alive and after a emotional journey and reunion her and her father leave the school. They take along her new friend and "sister" and a new teacher is made the head of the school.
I liked this book alot. It was different that the movie but in some ways that is better. I got a new view on things and i do agree with part of it when it says: "every girl is a princess." It is a fun book for children.
Rating:
Summary: Remakes don't have to be copies....
Review: I had never seen the original (Shirley Temple) movie when I watched this for the first time and I think I would have thought less of it if I had. I really was able to appreciate the fresh take on this story and the gorgeous visuals. The sequences where you see Hindu parables are exceptionally well done. The art direction in this movie was spot on, down to the correct colors for the victorian era girls clothes. I also thought the casting was great and that the performers were adroit at bringing their characters to life.
Rating: 
Summary: Cinematic masterpiece
Review: I saw this movie on TV maybe a year or two after it came out in 1995. I remember enjoying it back then but I had since forgotten much about it. Thankfully, it's now available on DVD from Warner Brothers and it should be your very next movie purchase.If you haven't seen this movie yet order this DVD asap and when you watch it take the phone off the hook to make sure there are no interruptions, then gather the whole family around the TV and enjoy a truly family movie masterpiece. However, this is not a kids movie, there are many mature themes presented, in a gentle way though. And there is a scary monster briefly in a fantasy scene. Probably best for kids 8+ (but others will have different opinions on this). At the end of the movie mom will be crying but this is no cause for alarm- these will be very happy tears. Don't be surprised if Dad is holding back tears too.
The credits at the beginning have the style of being for a children's movie. I was wondering if this was for children only. Then, the opening scene looks like something from a stage play and I thought if this is the way the whole movie looks I wasted my money. But that first scene was a fantasy scene (as you realize later). What happens next is the movie itself starts and within moments stunning beautiful cinematography of a river or lake in India with a huge Buddha head in the water and two children sitting happily on top of it! When a stunning scene like this is early in a film, you know you're watching something special. In brief, the movie is set in 1914 and little girl, Sarah, is sent to a boarding school in New York, New York (after spending all her life in India) when her father must fight for Britain in the First World War. The girl is played by the beautiful and radiant newcomer Liesel Matthews. DVD notes say that thousands of girls were auditioned for the part of Sarah. The whole movie is told from Sarah's point of view and there are very few movies that have true cinematic magic, but this one does. For example, the scene where she parts with her father is one of the most tender and touching moments I've ever seen in all cinema. Several other scenes are spell-bindingly magical too. Sarah becomes friends with most of the other 20 or so girls in the boarding home and soon teaches them how to awaken their sense of imagination, tells them wondrous stories of mythical India, and that "all little girls are princesses". However, the wicked and stern headmistress, played to perfection by Eleanor Bron, will have none of this imagination stuff from the girls. In fact, they can't even talk during dinner! As scenes unfold, so does the cinematic magic. The music score is also wonderful and is brilliantly effective in the movie climax- which I now consider one of the greatest moments in all movies. The cast is perfect. Several of the girls seen in the movie went on to other movies and TV shows. Although they are seen very briefly, take a close look and you'll see: -Camilla Belle (only 9 years old here). She appeared in Jurassic Park: The Lost World and you've seen her in other movies and TV shows too. Too bad she's only seen very breifly in this movie. - Kaitlin Cullum (9 years old here too). She played the part of Elizabeth in TV show Grace under Fire (1993) and was Katelyn in Galaxy Quest movie. She was also played the part of Eve Plumb/Jan Brady in TV movie "Growing Up Brady" (2000). She also won Best Young Actress Under 10 in the Television 1994-1995 17th Young Artists Awards. -Heather DeLoach (as Ermingarde) is the "Bee Girl" from the Blind Melon music video The DVD is double sided- TV format on one side, wide-screen on the other. You get three theatrical trailers- the one for this movie and two from Secret Garden (1993 and the black & white trailer from the 1949 movie). You also get production notes and brief bios with still pics. The best movie of 1995. Best cinematography as well. It didn't win these awards in 1995 but it should have. One of my top 10 favorite movies.
Rating:
Summary: Not for purists
Review: Nice scenery, but not for purists. The movie is visually stunning, but the plot is only barely related to the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Needs a better actress as Sara.
Rating:
Summary: The sweetest thing
Review: Much better than the movie, the book offers a vivid imagination and leaves such a good feeling, that you'll want to read it again. This book is really good and sweet, you'll feel as if the story is about you. It was made for every girl and should be read by every girl.
Rating: 
Summary: Missing the Charm and Literary Quality of the Book
Review: This movie was a big disappointment--it comes across flat as a pancake. I was dismayed to see the change in the ending, but that wasn't the only thing which was changed. The whole feeling of the movie was different than the book. I wasn't even compelled to feel sorry for Sarah, because she comes across as spoiled and superior in the movie. Her charm and imagination never shine through. All in all, this picture was just a shadow of the wonderful story Francis Hodgson Burnett wrote.
Rating:
Summary: Magical!
Review: This is one of my all time favorite movies. It is so uplifting and entertaining. Sarah, the main character starts out the movie living in exotic India with her father. He ends up needing to go to war, so sends Sarah to a boarding school in New York. He tells her she is a little princess, that all girls are. I won't spoil the great plot for you by giving anymore details to the story, but I will say that I was touched and uplifted by Sarah's great level of character. She is very generous, talented, thoughtful, and she can believe she will be alright, even in cruel circumstances, and she is more than alright! There is a perfect ending to this perfect movie. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: Sweet Princess
Review: This loses it's charm if I watch it too much,but it is a nice movie about a rich girl sent to an orphanage while her father is away at war.When news comes that her father has been killed,Sara is treated as a maid by the heartless woman who runs the place.
Rating:
Summary: A Feel- Good Story
Review: I really thought this was a great book. I enjoyed all things about the book. Some parts were confusing though. I think this is a good book for all ages.
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