The animated adaptation of the beloved Saint Exupéry’s tale, directed by Mark Osborne, will be released in 2015 both in the United States and in France.

The director is an American, the executive producer specializing in animation (Kaibou Studio) is Canadian, but producers of Onyx Films, Studio Orange and Chapter 2 are French. The adapter, Irena Brignull is English, but the writers Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière are French. It is a logical continuation of the international adventure of Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s book. 

The tale was indeed written at Bevin House, a Victorian mansion at Northport, on Long Island. Nowadays, a statue dedicated to the Little Prince stands in the courtyard of the Northport public library. The American publisher Raynal & Hitchcock released it in New York a few days apart in English, and then in French in April 1943. Three years later, the French publication took place, after the war and after the death of the pilot. Today, the original manuscript is exposed at the Morgan Library, on Madison Avenue.

The Little Prince by Mark Osborne intertwines the original tale with the story of a small girl who discovers it in present day. Mark Osborne, who already directed SpongeBob and Kung Fu Panda, has been working on the movie since October 2010. In July 2013, he entrusted the Montreal studio of the French society Mikros Image with its animation. The studio has combined 3D animation on Maya software (CGI animation) for the little girl from the real world, with animation by successive shots (stop motion) for the world of the book as she imagines it. 

The American voices comes from an all-star Hollywood casting, including Marion Cotillard (the Rose), James Franco (the Fox), Jeff Bridges (the narrator) and Benicio Del Toro (the Snake). The voice of the Little Prince is not yet known.

This animated feature is scheduled for a release in France on October 7, 2015. Paramount should release it simultaneously in the United States. Its rights have already been acquired in other countries and it is expected that the adaptation of this book translated into 270 languages and dialects will conquer all continents.