Product Details

• Actors: Liesel Matthews, Eleanor Bron, Liam Cunningham, Rusty Schwimmer, Arthur Malet
• Directors: Alfonso Cuarón
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: August 16, 1995
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (207 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0790725657
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,641 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #33 in	Video > Military & War > World War I
  #56 in	Video > Kids & Family > Adapted from Books > Fairy Tales

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

After the critical success of 1993's The Secret Garden, Warner Bros. returned to the novels of Frances Hodgson Burnett to create this 1995 adaptation of A Little Princess, which instantly ranked with The Secret Garden as one of the finest children's films of the 1990s. Neither film was a huge box-office success, but their quality speaks for itself, and A Little Princess has all the ingredients of a timeless classic. A marvel of production design, the film features lavish sets built almost entirely on a studio backlot in Burbank, California. The story opens in New York just before the outbreak of World War I, when young Sara (Liesel Matthews) is enrolled in private boarding school while her father goes off to war. Under the domineering scrutiny of the school's wicked headmistress, Miss Minchen (Eleanor Bron), Sara quickly becomes popular with her schoolmates, but fate intervenes and she soon faces a stern reversal of fortune, resorting to wild flights of fancy to cope with an unexpectedly harsh reality. Rather than label her fanciful tales as escapist fantasy, A Little Princess actively encourages a child's power of imagination--a power that can be used to learn, grow, and adapt to a world that is often cruel and difficult. It's also one of the most visually beautiful films of the '90s and creates a fully detailed world within the boarding school--a place where imagination is vital to survival. A first-class production in every respect, this is one family film that should (if it's not too stuffy to say it) be considered required viewing for parents and kids alike. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker

Alfonso Cuarón's film, based on a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, is one of the rare children's movies that don't merely pay lip service to the imagination but actually use it. The script, by Richard LaGravenese and Elizabeth Chandler, presents the battle of youthful fancy against adult "realism" as a kind of epic struggle; the antagonists are Sara Crewe (Liesel Matthews), a bright, happy, exuberantly creative girl, and Miss Minchin (Eleanor Bron), a boarding-school headmistress who is a ruthless downsizer of her pupils' imaginations. Young viewers should recognize this as their favorite sort of story: in the end, the children are rewarded for their spontaneity and the grownups are punished for their rigidity. The message, spoken by Sara, is "All girls are little princesses," and, although that may sound a bit sticky, this funny, lively, stirring movie makes us believe it. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am a Princess!, September 25, 2002

By	Lee Neville "Lee" (London, ENGLAND) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Little Princess (DVD)

"I am a Princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they live in rags. Even if they aren't pretty, or young, or smart, they're still princesses. All of us! Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?"

Well no. My Dad didn't call me a princess, and that's because I'm a guy. But after seeing this movie, I was really beginning to wish I was. "A Little Princess" is quite simply amazing. It is the most magical family movie there is. I just can't recommend it high enough. I saw this at the movie theater, 7 times and it is quite easily my favorite film of all time.

Set in 1914, "A Little Princess" tells the story of a girl called Sara who goes to a strict boarding school while her father from England goes to fight the War. The school is run by a mean spirited head teacher called Miss Minchin. From the start, Miss Minchin is jealous of Sara who considers herself to be a princess. After all, her Papa has told her that she will always be his little princess. Despite the harshness of Miss Minchin, Sara continues to fill those around her with magic as she tells stories to them of a beautiful princess and her prince.

The emotion begins early in this movie, firstly being when Sara and her Papa say goodbye as he goes into war. Midway through the movie Sara hears that her Papa has been killed in battle. I have to say, when I watched this I was gone. Ok I wasn't gone yet, but I was holding the tears in. Actress Liesel Matthews who plays Sara is so genuine, and director Alfonso Cuaron definitely brings out the best in her. It is at the end which is complimented by the music of Patrick Doyle, that I really did feel a few tears going by my face. It happened just after Sara realized she may truly have lost her father forever.

The DVD itself just has a trailer and it would be great if it had more extras, but the moie is just so wonderful that you have to buy this DVD. In addition, the subtle Dolby Digital 5.1 is just right for a movie such as this.

"A Little Princess" made my heart feel so much, and I really felt like a girl, getting upset over a family movie like this. I guess I was getting in touch with my inner princess. Maybe I am a princess after all.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice movie, too bad about the ending, September 6, 2001

By	Patti Whaley "pattiwhaley" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This was one of my favourite books when I was a little girl. The movie is well done, but I was disappointed at the "Hollywood ending" that replaced the original ending of the book; it's unnecessary and it doesn't ring true. In the book, although Sara is adopted by the wealthy man next door, who turns out to be her father's business partner and who restores her fortune, her father doesn't return. She becomes comfortable and secure again, and her efforts to be good and brave during hard times have made her a better person, but things will never be as they were before. To pretty this up with a dramatic last-minute reappearance, as was done in this film, is an injustice both to the book and to the audience; the best children's books don't avoid the question of irretrievable loss, but face it squarely and so help young readers to learn that although great losses will occur, we can survive them. Sara's father doesn't return; Beth March dies; Sykes kills Nancy; these leave us saddened but not destroyed. Too bad that this film ditched this sombre but true ending for an over-dramatised, all-but-incredible, sugar-plum ending; it's a good film, but it could have been a great one.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every girl dreams of being a princess!, April 17, 2001

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

If you remember seeing Shirley Temple in the 1939 "The Little Princess," this is the same basic plot with a wonderful new twist. The story is based on the beloved classic by the same author of The Secret Garden.

The movie opens with some stunningly beautiful scenes from India and all too suddenly Sara Crewe must leave with her father who is being called away for military duties. Sara has to go live in a New York boarding school. Through her experiences she learns to survive in the world and takes each day as it comes. Her vivid imagination is a pure delight and when she tells her magical stories, they are played out in a fairy tale like way onscreen. This contrasts with her real life at the school.

Sara's fun-loving spirit does get her into trouble from time to time. Overall, she is just used to living with her father and being free to do mostly what she likes. In her new school she has to follow many rules. She draws strength from her father's words to help her believe in herself. He tells her that she will always be his little princess.

A wonderful movie which shows that if we make the best of our circumstances, we will be blessed in the end. Five stars for storytelling magic!

~The Rebecca Review