Ever heard of movie rides? They are the kind of films, often in 3D, encountered in theme parks, where spectators actually experience the action they see on the screen: sensations of falling, being shaken around, high speed. The experience is often made even more vivid by added special effects (wind, smoke, etc.).…continue reading →
For our last escapade in Japan, here are some of the highlights from the official opening of the Little Prince motorway service area in Yorii. A delightful musical introduction is followed by words from Olivier d’Agay, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s great-nephew and director of the Succession Saint-Exupéry-d’Agay estate, who sees in this new development a splendid expression of the Little Prince’s values. Following in the footsteps of the Hakone theme park, the Yorii service area is the second location in Japan dedicated entirely to the Little Prince.
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The Little Prince is already nothing short of a publishing phenomenon (the book has been translated into over 236 languages, and over 130 million copies have been sold worldwide), and its eponymous hero is a popular icon. Now 2010 sees the Little Prince arriving on screens big and small.
Television: the animated series
The series is produced by Method Animation (Le Petit Nicolas, Skyland, Iron Man…), in partnership with France 3, German state-owned channel WDR, Italy’s RAI channel, Gallimard and Sony Video for the DVD edition. It reunites us with the Little Prince who, at the end of the book, had returned to his rose. Accompanied by the fox, the Little Prince sets off on another voyage from planet to planet, with plenty of new encounters along the way. A total of 40 countries have already bought the series, consisting of 26 episodes each lasting 52 minutes. Aimed at children between 6 and 10 years of age, the first episode will be aired on France 3 in time for Christmas 2010.
| The Little Prince on the big screen and in 3D The animated feature film of the Little Prince will be produced by Aton Soumache, with a budget of some €45 million. The film will be a faithful adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s book, voiced by a constellation of movie stars whose names will be announced at the next Cannes Film Festival. In common with recent box office hits like Avatar, this adaptation of the Little Prince will be screened entirely in 3D. The worldwide release is scheduled for the end of 2013. |
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After 3D, the next big thing is 4D
This will involve a 12-minute film in 4D (in addition to 3D depth, synchronised physical effects will be reproduced in the auditorium), made by par Nwave, the world leader in 3D cinema for independent theme and amusement parks. In this unique experience, spectators will be turned into travelling companions of the Little Prince. Look forward to a unique, sensation-filled experience in this short-length film, coming to theme park and planetarium screens from 2011 onwards.
Multimedia project
The new visual world of the Little Prince will be carried over into new online applications and next-gen consoles, aimed as always at the 6 to 10 age group.
The new Little Prince on the page
The Little Prince is a literary character above all, so all his new adventures will be published in book form (giant pop-up book, novelisation, comic strip, collections, etc.) by Gallimard, Hachette and worldwide.
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| Whoever you are, grown-up or child, the Little Prince and everyone on his website team wish you a very Merry Christmas, full of friendship and sharing. |
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Little princes and princesses the world over, look up at the stars, see them sparkle; somewhere up in the sky there is a Little Prince on his asteroid, taking care of his rose.
Merry Christmas, everyone! |
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On 16 November 2009, we told you about Bruno d’Agay’s journey around South America in search of documents and first-hand accounts of the exploits of Saint-Exupéry and l’Aéropostale. Well, Bruno arrived safely and is now in Argentina – in Concordia, to be precise. In the chapter entitled Oasis in his book Wind, Sand and Stars, Saint-Exupéry writes of a heavy landing in which one of the wheels on his landing gear was damaged.
As he was attempting to repair his aircraft, he met the Fuchs family. While he was waiting for the repairs to be completed, he accepted an invitation to be their guest at the family castle of San Carlos in Entre Rios province. It proved to be a vast, somewhat dilapidated building but the furniture was always impeccably cleaned and polished, an aspect that delighted Saint-Exupéry the moment he stepped into the castle. |
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Saint-Exupéry found his hosts to be rather unusual, too: the Fuchs family tamed wild animals! They had an iguana, a monkey, a mongoose and even… a fox – all tame. During his stay at the castle, the author was impressed by the two young daughters of the house, who led very different lives from those of most little girls in the 1930s. With serious faces, the two children watched him to gauge his reaction as they announced that there were vipers living under the dining room floor. |
“I, in my turn, watched these young girls without seeming to. Their refinement, their silent laughter behind the untroubled faces. And I admired that sense of royalty they gave off.”
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Rachel Portman is a composer who specialises in film scores, and has worked with such highly-respected directors as Alan Parker and Robert Redford. At the beginning of the decade, she was offered a new challenge: composing the score for an opera adaptation of The Little Prince, with the libretto by Nicholas Wright.
From 2003 to 2005, the opera has since played at the New York City Opera and the Houston Grand Opera, to name but two. Take a short « opera break » and watch an extract from the performance, as well as admiring some of the preliminary sketches (by Maria Bjørnson) for the many costumes. |
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| On one of the floors of the major exhibition based on the Little Prince, visitors are invited to enter small interactive pavilions. Inside there are screen animations with soundtracks taken from the book. One pavilion above all captures the attention of old and young alike, however. All the visitor has to do is pick up one of the pastel crayons provided and let imagination run riot. |  |
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The famous request: « Please… draw me a sheep » has parked a response in every visitor. Here is a selection of some of the finest sheep from the Oca. |
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On Saturday afternoon, we all have a date with our inner child. Virgil Tanase’s adaptation for the stage is conceived as a child’s game, an inner monologue between the man of today and the child of yesterday. What better place than the theatre to rediscover a child’s imagination? A theatre where a little prince waits for us to come and play with him…
Premiere: Saturday 17 October 2009, 2 p.m.
Théâtre La Pépinière – 7, rue Louis le Grand, Paris II
Métro: Opéra
Bus: 21, 27, 68, 95.
Parking: Marché Saint-Honoré
| 2009 is the Year of France in Brazil, which is hosting a number of French cultural and artistic events. Brazil is also a great friend to the Little Prince and to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Which explains why the city of São Paulo is hosting an exhibition dedicated exclusively to Saint-Exupéry and the Little Prince. |  |
The venue
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The Oca pavilion is a futuristic building designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1954. This giant exhibition pavilion, totalling 10,771 m² on four floors, is renowned for staging world-class art exhibitions. The Oca stands in Ibirapuera Park, in the very heart of São Paulo. |  |
The exhibition
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The concept is as simple as it is appealing: whisk adults and children away on a journey into the world of the Little Prince, his philosophy, and the thinking of his author. Each floor constitutes a world of its own. At the start, the first exhibition space presents Saint-Exupéry, his period, his work and the origins of the Little Prince. The visitor then travels onwards through a series of themed worlds (the desert, the stars, the cosmos, etc.). Spaces like the Little Prince Cinema will offer the visitor an insight into the link to Saint-Exupéry’s book « Wind, Sand and Stars » (Terre des Hommes). |
| Saint-Exupéry’s message to mankind is one of fraternity, and serves as a touchstone for more contemporary commitments. The exhibition offers an opportunity to explore « new territories » for the Little Prince such as protecting the environment, promoting the rights of the child or caring for sick children at the Pequeno Principe Hospital. |  |
Son et lumière shows, dedicated sets and multimedia events immerse the visitor in another world, a different universe of which he becomes an integral part.
If this article sounds a little like a movie trailer, that’s because our team will soon be heading out to São Paulo, and it will be our great pleasure to share with you our experiences of this unique universe, the only one of its kind in the world, dedicated to the Little Prince. More later.
And why not share your views on the forum?
