vs. 

We finished reading this book as a family in February.  It’s a 1943 novella written by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and has been voted the best book of the 20th century in France.  Last week I saw the movie pop up on Netflix and finally sat down to watch it yesterday.  I admit there were tears during both.  I’m a total sap.

The Story/Plot  One day a little golden haired prince shows up in the desert where an aviator has crashed his airplane.   He is peculiar and has an amazing planet hopping story to tell.  The two form a friendship as they search for ways to survive.  That’s in the book and the movie.  However, the movie adds a whole other story.  I think it’s safe to say that this other modern story is what the movie is about and the The Little Prince as it was written is just a part.  The aviator survives and years later as an old man he befriends a lonely girl and shares the story.  At this point, the movie completely jumps into something else entirely and I don’t want to spoil it.  Because of this addition, the story of the Little Prince really changes.  Surprisingly, I loved them both.  The movie, while diverging held true to the spirit of the book.  Thumbs up – tie

The Visual  I LOVED the pop-up book of the story we read, but the animation was wonderful and fresh.  I loved the animation and the 3D stop motion used.    Thumbs up – the movie

Characters vs. Actors  In the book there are way fewer characters and none of them jumped off the page as much as they came to life in the movie.  It didn’t hurt that the movie was narrated by all star cast (Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Benecio del Toro, Albert Brooks, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Ricky Gervais, Marion Cotillard, and others)  If this is one of  your favorite books I can see that what they do with your beloved characters might rankle a bit, but as for me it didn’t bother me so much.  Thumbs up – the movie

The Ending  I mentioned from the top that both made me cry, so they have that in common, but not much else.  The book is just a part of the movie and the movie is a continuation of the book and the endings have parallels.  Confused yet?  Me too.  Both work so I’m not choosing one.  Thumbs up – tie

And the winner is…the movie.  The book is so classic and pure that I almost feel guilty for liking the movie more.

Other book vs. movie polls you can vote on: (We Have Always Lived in the Castle) (Good Morning, Midnight/ The Midnight Sky) (Before I Go To Sleep) (The Little Prince) (Charlie St. Cloud) (Far From the Madding Crowd) (The Girl on the Train) (Tuck Everlasting)  (Northanger Abbey) (Me Before You) (And Then There Were None) (Still Alice) (The Blind Side) (The Fault in Our Stars) (The Hound of the Baskervilles) (Gone Girl) (Jack Reacher) (Ender’s Game) (Carrie, the original) (Under the Tuscan Sun) (The Secret Life of Bees) (The Shining, the original)