A few weeks ago the girls and I were fortunate enough to attend an incredible event at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. It was a special preview screening of Academy Award-nominated director Mark Osborne’s latest animated film, The Little Prince, followed by an awesome party at the Media Arts Lab. We had the best time!
Before the screening we got to participate in a special meet and greet with Mark (who lives in Hastings and is a refreshingly down-to-earth, kind human). We saw some of the figures that were used in the stop motion portions of the movie as well as the copy of The Little Prince his wife gave him while they were dating, and the César he recently won in France for the film.
Mark told us that the making of this film was more or less a family affair, which got the interest of this momma’s heart right away. The movie is the story of The Little Prince within a story about a little girl, who was inspired by his daughter. And Mark’s son voiced the Little Prince. My girls thought that was so cool.
And the movie itself was really cool too. Magical, really. I’m pretty sure I felt just about every emotion imaginable while watching it. There were tears and laughter and fear. It was beautiful. The last animated movie that got me right in the heart like this one did was Up.
My almost five-year old hit the nail on the head with her description: really sad, a little scary, but really good. We absolutely loved it (and so did the rest of the sold out audience). If you haven’t seen a preview, check it out below.
When the movie was over, we walked over to the Media Arts Lab, which was decked out in decorations celebrating the movie. The girls’ eyes immediately lit up as they looked around and started noticing all of the awesome hands-on activities that were available for them to participate in.
Some of our favorite activities were the clay stop motion animation station, the animated mural (where the art being made was turned into a stop-motion creation), making paper roses, the virtual reality room (that’s my girls and Mark Osborne in the headsets in the photo below) and a computer animation technique that I can’t for the life of me remember the name of.
My girls had an amazing time and I found it completely refreshing to be surrounded by people who genuinely love what they do and are eager and enthusiastic about sharing it with others. The kids that were there fed off of that energy and it made the whole event that much more special.
The Film Center offers courses at the lab for everyone from Pre-K through adult. They have also started a new monthly family event that is FREE on the first Saturday of every month. We will most definitely be back to check that out!
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Hi! I'm Jen, a freelance writer and girl mom who loves reading the newest children’s books as much as I love a good psychological thriller. I believe fiercely in the power of kindness, empathy, and really good quality chocolate. When I'm not knee-deep in glittery crafts and girl talk, you can probably find me sprawled out on my couch in the middle of a Netflix marathon with dark chocolate smeared on my face. The struggle is real. 
