The Little Prince (2010 TV series)

The Little Prince
English title card
GenreAction
Adventure
Based on
The Little Prince
by
Written byChristel Gonnard[1]
Directed byPierre Alain Chartier[2]
Voices ofGabriel Bismuth Bienaimé
Franck Capillery
Guillaume Gallienne
Marie Gillain[3]
ComposerFrédéric Talgorn[1]
Country of originFrance
Italy
Switzerland
Original languagesFrench
Italian
German
No. of seasons3[4]
No. of episodes78[4]
Production
Executive producerCédric Pilot[2]
ProducersAton Soumache
Alexis Vonarb
Dimitri Rassam
Cédric Pilot[2]
Running time26 minutes
Production companiesMethod Animation
DQ Entertainment
Rai Fiction
LP Animation
La Fabrique D'Images
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (seasons 1–2)
AB Productions (season 3)
ARD
SES S.A.[2]
Original release
NetworkFrance 3 (France)
WDR (Germany)
TSR (Switzerland)
Rai 2 (Italy, seasons 1-2)
Rai Yoyo (Italy, season 3)
ReleaseDecember 24, 2010 (2010-12-24)[5] –
December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20)

The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince; Italian: Il piccolo principe) is an animated children's television series inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince that began broadcast in late 2010. The series was created by Method Animation and the Saint-Exupéry-d'Agay Estate Production, in co-production with LPPTV, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Fabrique d'Images, DQ Entertainment and ARD, in participation with France Télévisions, WDR, Rai Fiction, Télévision Suisse Romande and satellite operator SES S.A.

It was produced by Aton Soumache, Alex Vonarb, Dimitri Rassam and Cedric Pilot, co-produced by Jean-Marie Musique, Christine Parisse and Tapaas Chakravarti, and developed for television by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patelliere with Romain Van Leimt. Main character creation and adaptation was done by Bertrand Catignol, with art direction by Gabriel Villate and Pierre-Alain Chartier. Storyboard supervision was done by Augusto Zanovello and Jean Charles Andre, and script edition by Christel Gonnard. The original score for the series was composed, orchestrated and arranged by Frederic Talgorn, and performed by WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln.

The series aired in over 150 markets around the world.[6] It was distributed as 36 mini-movies, each encompassing an individual story line, as well as 78 half hour episodes, where those story arcs are split into multiple parts. An English version, created by Ocean Productions, began airing in Canada on TVOntario on November 6, 2011. It also began airing on Knowledge Network on January 8, 2012.[7] In Australia, it began airing on ABC3 on August 19, 2012.[8] In the United States, the series launched alongside Primo TV on January 16, 2017.[9] Clips of the series are available online on YouTube.

Plot

Cast

Main characters

Supporting characters

B planet characters

B 546 episodes 1–2, The Planet of Time:

B 311 episodes 3–4, The Planet of the Firebird:

  • Princess Feng by Kira Tozer (English) the twin sister and only sibling of Huang, imprisoned by her own brother.
  • Prince Huang by Ian Hanlin (English) a prince who stole a crown from the Fire Bird to claim kingship. (spelled Wong in closed captions)
  • Shin-Joh by Alistair Abell (English) a stone-cutter (spelled Shinjo and Shinjoh in closed captions).

B 222 episodes 5–6, The Planet of Wind:

  • Zephir by Amitai Marmorstein (spelled Zéphyr in description) the son of the governor, musician.
  • The Governor of the Winds by Ron Halder (name later revealed to be Elus).
  • Foehn by Shawn Macdonald (spelled Fayne in closed captions) the first person Prince and Fox meet.
  • The Lieutenant by Andy Toth

B 678 episodes 7–8, The Planet of Music:

  • Semitone by Matthew Erickson (English) works in the instrument factory testing for Dissonance.
  • Euphony by Lara Gilchrist (English) a singing diva in love with Ivory.
  • Otto by Jason Simpson (English) in charge of the instrument factory (spelled Auto in the closed captions).
  • Ivory by Scott Roberts (English) Anemone's son, in love with Euphony.
  • Anemone by Linda Darlow (English) Queen of the Pistilaries and Ivory's mother (closed captions in episode one has Snake call her An Enemy).

D 455 episodes 9-10, The Planet of Astronomer/The Star Snatcher's Planet:

  • Antoine, the astronomer by Michael Adamthwaite
  • Claos by Michael Shepherd the adoptive father of Antoine (also spelled Klaus or Claus in closed captions)
  • Ted by Ellen Kennedy
  • Naomie by David A. Kaye the adoptive mother of Antoine (also spelled Naomi in closed captions)

B 356 episodes 11–12, The Planet of Jade:

B 370 episodes 13–14, Planet of the Globies:

D 333 episodes 15–16, The Planet of Amicopes:

D 444 episodes 17–18, The Planet of Gehom/Gehom's Planet:

W 5613 episodes 19–20, The Planet of Traniacs:

  • Marieke by Venus Terzo (English) the painter wife of Hannibal.
  • Hannibal by Dale Wilson (English) the train master.
  • Rosetta by Carol-Anne Day (English) the daughter of Hannibal and Marieke, Manuel's lover.
  • Manuel by Ryan Luhning (English) Hannibal's apprentice, Rosetta's lover.

J 603 episodes 21–23, The Planet of Bubble Gob:

B 723 episodes 24–25, The Planet of Carapodes:

  • Atsign by Alessandro Juliani (English) has magical bond with carapods.
    • Ambrosia an girl on Atsign's route who he talks to, she has a little brother. Later goes to visit Miney, revealed to have a sick father and a member of the Whatis, though it is not clear how she crossed the desert. Her name is not revealed until the end, when Atsign mentions seeing her uncle.
    • Mother of son a woman who finds out he got a promotion and bought a green suit.
  • Eenymeeny by Richard Ian Cox (English) a gambler and father of Mo.
    • Miney, the mother of Mo.
    • Mo, the son of Eenymeeny and Miney, expecting a letter from his girlfriend.
  • Philatello by Don Brown (English) runs the post office.
  • Zig by Trevor Devall (English) runs the circus, including an old tiger named Archibald.

B 782 episode 26–27, The Planet of Giant:

B 743 episodes 28–29, The Planet of Ludokaa:

H 108 episodes 30–31, The Planet of Lacrimavoras:

  • Solitas
  • Anima

C 669 episodes 32–33, The Planet of Coppelius:

  • characters TBA

C 0101 episodes 34–35, La planète des Okidiens (translated The Planet of the Okidians):

  • Okada by Maïté Monceau (French) she is the queen of the planet, she was tricked by the snake to destroy the planet.
  • Okimi by Chloé Renaud (French) She is the princess of the planet, she loves her late father and is upset not to give up to be the new queen.

A 42692 episodes 36–37, The Planet of Libris:

C 333 episode 38–39, The Planet of Cublix:

D 555 episodes 40–41, The Planet of Ashkabaar:

  • characters TBA

X 442 episodes 42–44, La planète du Gargand (called The Planet of the Gargand in English dub, or The Planet of Gargand on guides):

B 901 episodes 45–46, The Planet of the Grand Buffoon:

  • characters TBA

Z 222 episodes 47–49, The Planet of the Bamalias:

Multi-planet arc characters

Storylines in the second season are original stories that build upon multiple planets addressed individually in season 1 interacting together.

B 325 > B 330 > B 505 episodes ??-?? The New Mission:

  • The Hunter by Lee Tockar (English)
  • The Geographer by Tim Dixon (English)
  • The King by Colin Murdock (English)
  • Minizabit by ?
  • The businessman by ?
  • The Aviator by Christopher Gaze (English)

B 311 > D555 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Ice Bird (based on The Planet of Ashkabaar by Heloise Cappoccia & Christel Connard and The Planet of the Firebird by Julien Magnat)

D455 > W5613 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Astrotrainiacs (based on The Planet of the Trainiacs by An Keo and The Star Snatcher's Planet by Thomas Barichella)

D 333 > C 669 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Oracle (based on The Planet of Coppelius by Otto Carlo Rino and The Planet of the Amicopes by Heloise Cappocia)

  • Coppelius by Trevor Devall (English) is the Oracle's (and Solaris') king
  • Excello by Simon Hayama (English) described by the Little Prince as "the engineer from the Planet of the Solaris" and by Fox as "my friend Entelio's father"
    • Antellio or Entelio is the son of Excello and friend of Fox.
  • The Oracle by Ellen Kennedy (English) wears a giant eye-shaped mask and has a wall of television monitors. They are connected to Eavesdroppers, winged cameras, belonging to Coppelius. The Snake attempts to influence her.
  • The Geographer by Tim Dixon (English) is a recurring ally stored in the Little Prince's sketchpad

C 669 > B 901 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Grelon (based on The Planet of the Grand Buffoon by Thierry Gaudin and The Planet of Coppelius by Otto Carlo Rino)

  • Muche-Muche by Michael Adamthwaite (English) the husband of Tulip, son-in-law of the Grand Buffoon, father of Ballotin
  • Tulip by Cheryl McMaster (English) the daughter of the Grand Buffoon, wife of Muche-Muche, mother of Ballotin
  • Ballotin by Griffin Kingston (English) the son of Muche-Muche and Tulio, grandson of the grand buffoon
  • The Grand Buffoon by Michael Shepherd
  • Swindly (and The Hunter, returning) by Lee Tockar
    • Swindly's Herald: ?
  • The Geographer by Tim Dixon
  • The King by Colin Murdock
  • Captain Of The Guard: ?
  • Grelon, the pet of Ballotin (revealed to be Tolben who Little Prince met in Planet of Coppelius arc): ?
  • Visconti: ?

D 0101 > B 743 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Crystal Tears (based on The Planet of Ludokaa by Clelia Constantine and The Planet of the Okidiens by Christel Gonnard and Therry Gaudin)

D0101 > B782 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Giant Comet (based on The Planet of the Giant by Gilles Adrien & Alain Broders and The Planet of the Okidiens by Thierry Gaudin & Christel Gonnard)

X 000 > B222 episodes ??-?? The Planet of the Nymphalidae (based on The Planet of the Winds by Delphine Dubos and The Planet of the Snake by Julien Magnat)

Production

In October 2008, France Télévisions announced that it had acquired the rights to adapt The Little Prince into an animated series for broadcast in 2010 on France 3.[10] A year later, it was revealed that Method Animation would produce the €18.4 million computer animated series alongside Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, La Fabrique d’Images, DQ Entertainment, ARD and Rai Fiction. A stereoscopic 3D version was also confirmed.[11]

Initially, the series was envisioned as part of a media franchise, with Microsoft Studios set to publish an Xbox 360 video game adaptation developed by Paris-based game developer MKO Games. Sometime in 2010 the project was cancelled after two prototypes were completed.[12][13]

After three years of development, the 52 x 26-minute series held its premiere at MIPJunior in October 2010.[14] Pierre Alain Chartier directed the show, with a crew of 450 people. Alexandre de la Patelliere and Matthieu Delaporte developed the novel for television. The series debuted in France during the 2010 Christmas holidays.[15] The French version features an opening theme song performed by Yannick Noah.[16] The latter 26 episodes were made available in early 2012.[17]

In 2012, it was confirmed that the show had been renewed for a new season.[6] In conjunction with the production, Method Animation and PGS Entertainment launched a global drawing competition to create a new planet to be featured in the episodes.[18] The season would later premiere in France in 2014.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Little Prince episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast released
123December 24, 2010 (2010-12-24)December 24, 2011 (2011-12-24)
229February 20, 2012 (2012-02-20)May 1, 2013 (2013-05-01)
326December 24, 2014 (2014-12-24)December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20)

Book series

A comic book adaptation with at least 22 issues has been created. The graphic novel books compile the stories which were spread over 2 or 3 episodes, and do not present them in the order that the TV series does.

  1. Book 1: The Planet of Wind released August 8 or October 1, 2012
  2. Book 2: The Planet of the Firebird released August 8 or October 1, 2012
  3. Book 3: The Planet of Music released September 5 or October 1, 2012
  4. Book 4: The Planet of Jade released September 5 or October 1, 2012
  5. Book 5: The Star Snatcher's Planet released December 28, 2012 or April 2013
  6. Book 6: The Planet of the Night Globes released December 28, 2012 or April 2013
  7. Book 7: The Planet of the Overhearers released December 28, 2012 or May 2013
  8. Book 8: The Planet of the Tortoise Driver released December 28, 2012 or May 2013
  9. Book 9: The Planet of the Giant released August or October 1, 2013
  10. Book 10: The Planet of Trainiacs released August or October 1, 2013
  11. Book 11: The Planet of Libris released September or October 1, 2013
  12. Book 12: The Planet of Ludokaa released September or October 1, 2013
  13. Book 13: The Planet of Tear-Eaters released March 1, 2014
  14. Book 14: The Planet of the Grand Buffoon released March 1, 2014
  15. Book 15: The Planet of the Gargand released March 1, 2014
  16. Book 16: The Planet of Gehom released March 1, 2014
  17. Book 17: The Planet of the Bubble Gob released October 1, 2014
  18. Book 18: The Planet of Time released October 1, 2014
  19. Book 19: The Planet of the Cublix released October 1, 2014
  20. Book 20: The Planet of Coppelius released October 1, 2014
  21. Book 21: The Planet of Okidians released January 1, 2015
  22. Book 22: The Planet of Ashkabaar released January 1, 2015
  23. Book 23: The Planet of Bamalias released August 1, 2015
  24. Book 24: The Planet of the Snake released August 1, 2015

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "ON kids and family". Method Animation. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Little Prince » Credits". Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "Le Petit Prince » Casting". Archived from the original on May 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "The Little Prince : PGS Entertainment". PGS Entertainment. Retrieved March 10, 2017. 78x26' or 37 Mini Movies
    Season 3 (26x26')
  5. ^ "Voyage en 3D sur les traces du Petit Prince". France 3. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Keslassy, Elsa (March 14, 2012). "'Little Prince' to travel worldwide". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  7. ^ Morgane (19 August 2013). "The Little Prince TV series in Canada". Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016. You already know that Canada has warmly welcomed the Little Prince, with his arrival in Grevin Montreal. But did you know that the series of The Little Prince is regularly broadcast on three channels?
    Knowledge Network broadcasts the Little Prince every Sunday at 10:30.
    On TVO, The Little Prince airs on the first Sunday of the month at 2 PM. Episodes of seasons 1 and 2 have all been released, but the popularity of the series can not be denied and will be rebroadcast until the arrival of season 3! TVO has also participated in the drawing competition asking children to draw the planet of their dreams to appear in episodes of the next season. A happy little viewer will see its Planet Dinosaur on the screen!
    Télé-Québec, which aired the Little Prince this spring, also participated in the drawing competition of the season 3! The lucky winners will see their designs in the third season from Quebec.
    (TVO broadcast date was moved to 3pm in 2015)
  8. ^ "ABC3 - The Little Prince - The Planet of Time: Part 1". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  9. ^ "The Little Prince". Primo TV. V-me Media. February 10, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Le Petit Prince : Bientôt en dessin animé pour France 3". Premiere France (in French). Lagardère Group. October 1, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  11. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (October 23, 2009). "'Little Prince' returns to TV". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  12. ^ "The Little Prince [Prototype – Xbox 360]". Unseen64. March 13, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Beaumont, Peter (August 1, 2010). "Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince poised for a multimedia return to Earth". The Guardian. Scott Trust Limited. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (October 1, 2010). "PGS closes deals on 'Prince'". Variety. Penske Media Corporation.
  15. ^ Leffler, Rebecca (September 29, 2010). "'The Little Prince' returns in TV form". The Hollywood Reporter. Valence Media. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  16. ^ "Le Petit Prince sur France 3 pour le réveillon de Noël". Télé Loisirs (in French). December 24, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  17. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (March 28, 2012). "MIPTV: PGS Offers 4 New Seasons of Hit Toons". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  18. ^ Zahed, Ramin (October 4, 2012). "Method Launches 'Little Prince' Drawing Contest". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2019.