Rating: 
Summary: Worth the bucks
Review: Okay - I have never read this book. I have never seen the 1939 production. I know both are classics, but this movie in itself is just GOOD. I received this videotape a few years ago as a birthday present, complete with its free promotional locket, so I could be a princess, too! And although I initially would have preferred a copy of "The Secret Garden", I gave this movie a first critical viewing, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed watching. Sara Crewe is wonderfully portrayed by Liesel Matthews. She seems natural for the part, and at home as an actress. It was not obvious that this was an introductory role for her. I found myself nearly totally immersed in Sara's life, through her hardships, times of despair and times of joy and hope. She is a little girl I would have loved to know and befriend. This movie is captivating for everyone, but specifically young female audiences. I definitely recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Best version of all!
Review: There are many movies based on "The Little Princess," which is about a wealthy girl from India who is orphaned and knocked down to servant status at a boarding-house halfway across the world. I think I've seen all of them, and read the book straight through at least once. But there's one movie which is hands-down best of all, perhaps even better than the book. <a href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0113670/">A Little Princess</a> (imdb link) is unique for several reasons- intertwined with the usual story and mirroring its path is a tale told by Sara herself about the adventures of Rama, which is portrayed with special effects that were quite lush for the time. The other reason is that they changed the ending.
I had no idea that a movie could be better than the book it's based on and get away with changing the ending! The new ending makes sense, is very carefully followed up to in the plot with some intricacies that you don't even notice until watching it through the second time, so it doesn't seem as if they just pasted it in, but more like it was supposed to be there all along- and, strangely, that I had always felt so, even before this movie was made; it always felt like a thread was missing from the book. It's as if this version was the real one that just hadn't made it into the original. It's twice as magical, but just as likely to happen in real life as the other. And somehow, the happy ending actually makes the story more of a tearjerker than when it had a relatively sad ending. (My mother and I were both crying between every commercial break. I for one am not prone to crying at movies.)
A scene justifies the ending-change in which Sara is reading a book aloud to the other students. She pauses a moment, reads ahead silently, doesn't like what she sees, and then starts making up a new ending. Everyone looks up. Miss Minchin snatches the book out of her hands, and Sara keeps story-telling to the others without skipping a beat. When confronted about it, Sara tells Miss Minchin, "Well, I couldn't bear to see her marry that awful old man- haven't you ever imagined a different ending to things you read? Haven't you?"
Later in an argument, we find out that Miss Minchin has never understood what was meant when Sara mentioned being "a little princess," seeing it only as an arrogant, false statement- "Look around you, child! Look at where you live, what you're wearing! Look in the mirror! How can you say that you're a princess?" Miss Minchin sees no value in imagination, and tells Sara that she should learn to face only "the cold, hard reality." That's all that Miss Minchin has ever believed in, and even when faced with an impossible fairy-story-like situation (such as a man declared dead months ago, standing before her quite alive...) she can't even grasp it, and brushes it away before it can change anything in her. She only allows herself to see the reality she finds so miserable- and that's just what she always gets. She isn't evil, as portrayed in some other versions; just a helpless cynic, who always pushes away tenderness and freedom rather than dare experience it or see it, instead focusing her eyes on practicalities like control needed and money needed. She has never learned that there can be a balance struck between the two.
Same as the book, the message is that all the women in the world, are princesses, and all the men princes; and a little imagination, magic, love, and hope can do nothing but make the world a bit more wonderful than without.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Story Anyone Can Fall in Love With!
Review: This has got to be one of my favourite movies. I'm the type of person who loves orphan stories such as The Secret Garden, Annie, etc. But this one touched me like no other. It's about a little girl named Sarah who loves storytelling. She hasn't any brothers or sisters, nor a mother, so she just has one father whom she loves more than anyone. They both live together in India. Then her father is called to battle, and Sarah is sent to a boarding school in New York, where her mother used to attend as a girl. When her father is killed in battle and there's no one to pay for Sarah's school fees, the cruel headmistress forces Sarah into a life of poverty. She quickly befriends the other servant girl whose name is Becky, and somehow manages to live through the hardships that come her way. The ending just blew me away. The ending isn't the same as the book, because this movie is only based on the book, not a recreation. But all the same, you'll love it. The perfect family movie, and a great movie to introduce not only girls-but boys also-to the world of poverty children in England used to suffer.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: This was my absolute favourite book as a child! I don't know how many times I poured over it. Burnette's fluent writing style and addictive plot completely swept me away. Even now as a university English major, I still sometimes turn to A Little Princess for a taste of the magical escape contained within its pages.
Rating: 
Summary: What on earth??
Review: What a horrible movie. It should have had a different title and not pretended to be based on a book, or at least have had a lead character that wasn't pretentious, spoiled and bratty.
There was some serious overacting, and Sara just didn't look right for the part. I guess the people who made the movie didn't read the book.
And there is one scene towards the end, where Sara is in her room and the girls play with the neighbour monkey- if you look at the locket as they hand it back to her, and then when Miss Minchin takes it, the photos are reversed. I guess the director thought we wouldn't notice but I was so bored by the movie I happened to see it.
One of the worst movies I have ever seen, even for a children's one...
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, though some liberties were taken with the story
Review: When Alfonso Cuarón was picked to direct the new Harry Potter, many people were surprised because his last movie was definately for grown-ups only. They seem to have forgotten that he is responsible for this beautiful retelling of a classic children's book. This movie is based more on the classic Shirley Temple version than it is on the book, which means that it takes some creative liberties. Gone are the diamond mines (the best part!) and back comes the father. I did not really like these changes. The movie is also transfered from London to New York, so it's a little unclear what they were doing in India. Despite those qualms, though, this is a brilliantly filmed fable. The girls are wonderful: dorky Ermegard, prissy Lavinia, spoiled Lottie, and Sarah pulls off the admirable feat of not being completely insipid (if you think that this is an insult, then you haven't read the book). It is good for all ages. My friend, for reasons still unclear to me, dragged me to see this in the theater when we were about 15... if a cynical teenager thought that a movie about little girls at a Victorian boarding school was really good, then you know it's gotta be great!
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