List of The Little Prince adaptations
Encyclopedia
The Little Prince
The Little Prince , first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ....
) by French writer, poet and aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
. The illustrated book was first published in 1943. Its sales figures are in excess of 80 million copies worldwide, and it has been translated into over 190 languages. The novel has been adapted into various media, including movie musicals, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, and an animated series.
Audio adaptations
- Actor Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
won the 18th Annual Grammy Award in the category of "Best Children's Recording" for his (1974) narration of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. - An audio adaptation was made in 1954, with the French actor Gérard PhilipeGérard PhilipeGérard Philipe was a prominent French actor, who had appeared in 34 films between 1944 and 1959.-Career:...
as the narrator, Jacques Grello as the fox, and Georges PoujoulyGeorges PoujoulyGeorges Poujouly was a French actor who gained international acclaim as a child for his performance in the award-winning film Forbidden Games...
as the little prince. - BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
broadcast on 1 January, 2000, a dramatisation by Bonnie GreerBonnie GreerBonnie Greer, OBE is an American-British playwright and critic.-Early life:Greer's father was born to a family of Mississippi sharecroppers. He was stationed in the UK during World War II and took part in the D-Day landings...
of a new translation into English of The Little Prince. It starred Robert PowellRobert PowellRobert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay...
as the aviator and narrator, Garrett Moore as the little prince, and Bernard CribbinsBernard CribbinsBernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active...
as the king, the drunkard, and the lamplighter. An audio cassette recording is available in the BBC Radio CollectionBBC Radio CollectionThe BBC Radio Collection was an imprint or record label used for audio books from the British Broadcasting Corporation, mainly of previously broadcast material...
series.
Music
- Nico Nico DougaNico Nico Dougais a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
user and a Vocaloid song producer JimmyThumbP/OneRoom composed the song Little Traveler that is based from the story. - Chinese singer Laure Shang WenjieShang WenjieShang Wenjie , the champion of the third season of a singing contest in China, Super Girls or Super Voice Girl.-Career Life:She majored in French in Fudan University and was French song contest winner of the second season....
's song "Qin Cheng" included a reading of quotes from The Little Prince. - Singer/pianist Regina SpektorRegina SpektorRegina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...
has a song entitled "Baobabs", the entire song referring to The Little Prince and the effect it has on its readers. - French singer Mylène FarmerMylène FarmerMylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
has recorded a song, "Dessine-moi un MoutonDessine-moi un mouton"Dessine-moi un mouton" is a 1999 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer, first in a studio version, then in a live version during her 1999 concert Mylenium Tour. The song was the only single from her third live album Mylenium Tour and was released on 5 December 2000...
" ('Draw me a sheep'), which is an allusion to The Little Prince. - Russian rock band Mashina VremeniMashina VremeniMashina Vremeni is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer in Soviet rock music, and remains one of the oldest still active rock bands in Russia...
played a concert program in 1979–1980. It was called The Little Prince and included intersong quotations from the book. The whole concept of the program (the live version was released in 2000) was based on the story and the philosophy of the book. - Jana KirschnerJana KirschnerJana Kirschner is a Slovak singer.She first attracted public attention as a participant of the beauty pageant Miss Slovakia 1996. In 1996 she made her first album Jana Kirschner. She won the prize for Discovery of the Year , Album of the Year , and Female Singer of the Year...
, a lead slovak singer has a song "Fox", named after a character from the book. The lyrics of the song deals with the relationship of the little prince and the fox. - In 2008, Taiwan female group band S.H.ES.H.ES.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. The name of the group is an alphabetism derived from the first letter of each member's name. Since releasing their first album Girls Dorm , S.H.E has recorded 12 albums with sales totalling over 15 million, and...
released a song entitled "Planet 612", which pays tribute to The Little Prince. - Shin Hye SungShin Hye SungShin Hye Sung was born Jung Pil Kyo on 27 November 1979. He is a South Korean singer, known as the lead vocalist of six-member boy band Shinhwa. His stage name "Hye Sung" means comet. His English name is Steve Jung...
, a popular Korean singer has the nickname 'little prince'. He had a fanmeeting in Japan with the theme 'le petit chamber'. He also drew a fox image which resembles the character in the book especially for the fanmeeting. - American screamo/skramz band The Saddest Landscape take their name from the closing passage of The Little Prince, and one of their songs, Forty Four Sunsets, refers to an episode from it.
Film, television and leisure
- In the Walt DisneyWalt DisneyWalter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
TV movie Eloise at the PlazaEloise at the PlazaEloise at the Plaza is a live-action film based on the Eloise series of children's books drawn and written by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight...
, The Little Prince played an important part in the Prince's plot. His mother read the book to him and several quotes from the book appeared in the movie as well. - In 1966 Soviet Lithuanian film Malenkiy prints was made by Arūnas Žebriūnas.
- A film musical adaptation titled The Little PrinceThe Little Prince (film)The Little Prince is a 1974 American/British science fiction musical film with screenplay and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
was made in 1974. This film is notable chiefly in that it marked the penultimate collaboration of composer Frederick Loewe and lyricist Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
, and was their final musical. The authors were dissatisfied with the film's Hollywood treatment. Loewe refused to visit London to supervise the arrangement and recording of the score. The film was unsuccessful at the box office, but has become somewhat of a cult classic and is again available. - A Claymation short film adaptation titled The Little Prince was created in 1979 by Will VintonWill VintonWill Vinton is an American director and producer of animated films. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, near Portland. He has won an Oscar for his work, and several Emmy Awards and Clio Awards for the work of his studio.- Education :...
. - The Adventures of the Little Prince, a Japanese animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series based on the book, aired in Europe and North America in the 1980s. The show was made by the Knack animation studio and first aired in Japan in 1978 under the title . In it, the little prince often traveled to Earth to help people. During the 1980s, the English-language version was aired in the United States on NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, as internationally-produced animation often was. The English version featured Julie Dees (later voiced by veteran voice actress Katie LeighKatie LeighKatherine "Katie" Leigh is an American voice actress best known for her role as Connie Kendall on the Focus on the Family radio program Adventures in Odyssey since 1987...
) in the role of the little prince and is available on DVD from Koch VisionKoch VisioneOne Home Video a division of Entertainment One, was founded in 1999 as part of Koch Entertainment's entry into the television programming and home video market as Koch's rental and sell-through home video division...
. - The 2001 film Picture ClairePicture ClairePicture Claire is a 2001 thriller film directed by Bruce McDonald of a screenplay by Semi Chellas. The film stars Juliette Lewis, Gina Gershon, Callum Keith Rennie, Kelly Harms, Camilla Rutherford, Peter Stebbings, and Mickey Rourke...
(starring Juliet Lewis and Callum Keith Rennie) includes several references, including animations, to The Little Prince. - Actor James DeanJames DeanJames Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
's fondness for the work extended to his memorizing most of its passages. The nickname of his 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder, "The Little Bastard", is a play on words of his favorite book. A stylized sculpture in memorial to Dean was built in Cholame, CaliforniaCholame, CaliforniaCholame, California is an unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, USA. It sits within a mile of the San Andreas Rift Zone fault line at an elevation of 1,157 feet above sea level and is located at . Cholame is reached via State Route 41, just southwest of the junction of...
during the late 1970s. It carries a plaque quoting the Little Prince that reads "What is essential is invisible to the eye." He reportedly spoke those words often. - The boardgame, Der Kleine Prinz, designed by Kai Haferkamp, and published by KosmosKosmos (game publisher)Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. is a media publishing house based in Stuttgart, Germany, founded in 1822 by Johann Friedrich Franckh. In the nineteenth century the company published the fairy tales of Wilhelm Hauff as well as works by Wilhelm Waiblinger and Eduard Mörike.The "Friends of Nature...
, 2003, is a semi-cooperative game where the players try to help the little prince "tame the fox" by performing activities and guessing games, somewhat like CraniumCranium (board game)Cranium is a party board game based on Ludo. Whit Alexander and Richard Tait created Cranium in 1998 after Richard spent a weekend playing games with another family and recognized the need for a game involving a variety of skills. He left his job at Microsoft, convincing friend and co-worker Whit...
. - 2010 : French animated television series of 26 episodes of 52 minutes each by Method Animation.
Theatre
- A 1981 musical theatreMusical theatreMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
adaptation entitled The Little Prince and the AviatorThe Little Prince and the AviatorThe Little Prince and the Aviator is a musical with a book by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Don Black, and music by John Barry.Based on the classic book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the musical deviates from the original in that aviator Toni, whose plane crashes in the Sahara Desert, explicitly is...
closed prior to its BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
opening. - A French-language musical, Le Petit Prince, by composer Riccardo CoccianteRiccardo CoccianteRiccardo Cocciante, also known in French-speaking countries as Richard Cocciante , is an Italian singer-songwriter and actor. His oeuvre includes recordings in Italian, French, and Spanish; he has recorded some of his songs in all three languages.He was born in Saigon, French Indochina, now Ho Chi...
, ran at the Casino de Paris from October 2002 to January 2003. Daniel LavoieDaniel LavoieDaniel Lavoie is a Canadian singer–songwriter.Lavoie was born in Dunrea, Manitoba, Canada. His mother was a musician and he learned to play piano at a young age...
played the Pilot while Jeff Tetedoie played the little prince. It was revived at Shanghai Oriental Art Centre in July 2007, and in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in January 2008. - A play adaptation, The Little PrinceThe Little Prince (play)The Little Prince is a play based on the book of the same name by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, adapted by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar before 2000. Rick Cummins wrote the music, and John Scoullar wrote the script and lyrics...
, was written by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar in 2000. - Peter Joucla adapted and directed a version for Tour de Force Theatre which toured Germany between October and December 2005, produced by American Drama Group Europe.
- The Little Prince,staged as solo play by Indian actress Rashi BunnyRashi BunnyRashi Bunny is an Indian theatre and cinema actor. She is most notably known for her performances in Bhisham Sahni's Madhavi, Manjula Padmanabhan's Hidden Fires, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince...
directed by Arvind GaurArvind GaurArvind Gaur , Indian theatre director, is known for his work in innovative, socially and politically relevant theatre. Gaur's plays are contemporary and thought-provoking, connecting intimate personal spheres of existence to larger social political issues...
and adapted in Hindi by Capt.Rigved (2008-09) - The Hampstead Theatre in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
produced a theatre adaptation of The Little Prince, which ran from December 2008 to January 2009. - Oxford University Dramatic Society will tour a new translation and adaptation of the book to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2011.
Opera
- Russian composer Lev KnipperLev KnipperLev Konstantinovich Knipper , a Russian composer of partially German descent and an active OGPU - NKVD agent.Lev Knipper was the nephew of the actress Olga Knipper...
composed an operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Malen′kiy prints ('The Little Prince') in 1962–71, which was first performed in 1978. - An opera, The Little PrinceThe Little Prince (opera)The Little Prince, subtitled A Magical Opera, is an opera in two acts by Rachel Portman to an English libretto by Nicholas Wright, based on the 1943 book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...
, based on the book was composed by Rachel PortmanRachel PortmanRachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...
. It had its stage premiere in 2003 at the Houston Grand OperaHouston Grand OperaHouston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
in HoustonHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
starring Nate Irvin as the Prince and Teddy Tahu Rhodes in the role of the Pilot. It was broadcast on BBC2 in the UK on 27 November, 2004, as a studio-filmed production starring Joseph McMannersJoseph McMannersJoseph McManners is an English actor and singer. He lives on a non-working farm in Petham near Canterbury and recently left Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys for Tonbridge School after being awarded a drama and academic scholarship.-Singing career:McManners decided to become a singer after he...
as the Prince and Teddy Tahu RhodesTeddy Tahu Rhodes-Early life:Teddy Tahu Rhodes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 August 1966, to a British mother and a New Zealand father. The Maori word "Tahu", which means "to set on fire", was added to the family name soon after they settled in New Zealand...
as the Pilot. - German composer Nikolaus Schapfl composed a 2003 opera, The Little Prince, after first obtaining the rights by the author's heirs in 1998. The opera is in two acts and calls for 11 soloists, chorus and orchestra. As of 2007, it has been performed 25 times in seven other European cities by five different orchestras and ensembles. In 2005 it was broadcast by the Bavarian Classic Radio.
Literature
- French artist Joann SfarJoann SfarJoann Sfar is a French comics artist, comic book creator and film director.-Life and career:Sfar was born in Nice. He is considered one of the most important artists of the new wave of Franco-Belgian comics. Many of his comics were published by L'Association which was founded in 1990 by...
drew an adaptation of The Little Prince which was released in 2008 by GlénatGlénat (publisher)Glénat Editions SA is a French publisher with its head office in Grenoble. The company publishes many things, including comic books and manga in France, Benelux, and Spain; it was founded by Jacques Glénat. The Spanish subsidiary has its head office in Barcelona. The Benelux subsidiary, Glénat...
in France.
Further reading
- Consuelo de Saint-Exupéry, Esther Allen; translated by Esther Allen. The Tale of the Rose: The Love Story Behind The Little Prince, Random House Publishing Group, 2003, ISBN 0812967178, ISBN 9780812967173.