Little Prince movie gets go-ahead

Chicken Run, the highest grossing British animated film of all time, made £30 million at the UK box office. Written and illustrated by Saint-Expury, The Little Prince tells of an airplane pilot who crash-lands in the Sahara desert and meets a young boy who claims to be a prince from a distant world.

The French author was himself a pilot. A year after his book was published, his plane vanished over the Mediterranean during a reconnaissance mission.

The Little Prince has been filmed several times before, most notably in 1974 in an all-star musical version featuring Gene Wilder, Joss Ackland and Bob Fosse.

'The Little Prince's magical words and images are deeply rooted in the imagination of generations of children around the world,' said Francois Ivernel, managing director of Pathe. 'We intend to make a feature film that uses the very best animation techniques and talents.'