The Little Prince: The adorable work-in-progress sketches for Netflix's new animated film - exclusive

Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams and James Franco are among the big names lending their voices

The Little Prince premieres on Netflix on Friday 5 August

The first ever animated feature film based on Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic French novella The Little Prince premieres on Netflix on Friday.

To celebrate the release, the streaming service has given us exclusive access to some adorable sketches drawn the creative team behind Mark Osborne’s movie as they worked to bring the 1943 fable of friendship, love, loss and loneliness to life for a modern audience.

Osborne’s film focuses on a young girl known as The Little Girl, who being prepared by her mother to enter the big bad adult world. She is adjusting to a new home and school when she is unexpectedly interrupted by her kind-hearted eccentric neighbour, known as The Aviator. He introduces her to a world where anything is possible, a world that he was introduced to long ago by The Little Prince where only the heart can see what is invisible to the eye.

Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, James Franco, Marion Cotillard, Benicio Del Toro and Ricky Gervais are among the big names enlisted to voice various characters, with Mackenzie Foy voicing The Little Girl and Riley Osborne as The Little Prince.

Oscar-nominated director Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda) recalls the day he first heard about the project from his agent. “Back in 2009, my agent asked me if I knew of the book, because two French producers wanted to make a big animated movie based on it,” he remembers. “I knew the book very well and that’s why my first instinct was to say no. I believed that there was no way you could do a straight adaptation. But I thought about it more and I realised that the material was just too good to say no to. It was the chance of a lifetime to build a story from this starting point; the themes of the book are so rich and resonate so much. The opportunity to protect the book with the movie was something I couldn’t pass up. When I suggested we build a story around the book, to protect it instead of expand it, I was elated that this was agreeable to the estate.”

The Little Prince has personal meaning to Osborne as it was given to him by his wife years ago back when they were college students trying to keep their long-distance relationship alive. “It brought us back together,” he admits. “I paid very close attention to it. It means so much to me and to everyone who has read the book, because it really connects you to the significant relationships and friendships in your life.”

Osborne mixed CGI animation with stop-motion to create a film that would “parallel or equal the very deep emotional experience of reading the book”. McAdams, who voices The Mother, believes the film’s emotional intensity and the fact it pays such close homage to the original book are two of its huge assets. “The Little Prince does a fantastic job of celebrating life’s mysteries,” she says. “When we grow up, it’s easy to need an answer for every question. Just like the book, the movie pays attention to the importance of enjoying the journey and our relationships, and not necessarily understanding everything. It all circles back to the famous quote from the book, which is ‘What is essential is invisible to the eye’.”

The Little Prince arrives on Netflix on 5 August