The Little Prince(ss) is a live action short film in the Launchpad series from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and was released on Disney+ on May 28, 2021.
Synopsis[]
When Gabriel, a 6-year-old Chinese kid who loves ballet, becomes friends with Rob, another Chinese kid from school, Rob’s dad gets suspicious about Gabriel’s feminine behavior and decides to intervene.
Plot[]
Gabriel Wang is a first grader who loves ballet while Rob Chen is a second grader who plays basketball. Rob injures his knee while playing and meets Gabriel on the bus where he offers him a band aid. Rob is confused when Gabriel mentions that he does ballet, but he points out that that is because he has never seen a true ballet show in New York City. As they get off the bus, both of their dads meet and Mr. Chen notices Gabriel's backpack which is pink and has ballet shoes sticking out of them. When Rob goes to his family restaurant to do his homework, Mr. Chen sees the band aid and sees the somewhat effeminate design (pink with strawberries).
Rob has trouble connecting with the other students at school, but when the Wangs visit his restaurant, he becomes very sociable with Gabriel and is invited over to his house. Rob also notices Gabriel's love for the color pink and when he asks why he likes it so much, he says that it looks like a dream and has him look through a piece of pink fabric; essentially seeing the things the way Gabriel sees them. Later at home, Rob creates a doll for Gabriel and tries to include the pink fabric as a tutu. When Mr. Chen sees this, he becomes disturbed and tries to explain that Gabriel is a boy and that boys are not like this, but Rob tells him that that is who Gabriel is.
Mr. Chen visits the Wangs as they are about to have dinner and shows them the unfinished doll. He tells them that it is not right for a boy like Gabriel to be into such things and that it is wrong; words that cause Gabriel to go and cry. However, Mr. Wang does not budge. He tells Mr. Chen that he is proud of his son regardless of what his interests are and that he needs to understand that. He also explains that he is proud of Rob for seeing Gabriel for who he is and accepting it. Mr. Chen, speechless, quietly leaves. The next day, Gabriel and Rob do not seem interested in wanting to talk to one another. However after ballet class, Rob approaches Gabriel with the missing tutu from his doll and the boys head home together.
Cast[]
- Kalo Moss as Gabriel Wang
- Ching Yin Ryan Hu as Rob Chen
- Evan Lai as Chen
- Brian Yang as Wang
- Lynn Chen as Anne
- Danni Wang as Song
- Yvette Tucker as Teresa
- Ellarose Kaylor as Charlotte
- Dallas Skye as Lila
- Donnie Masihi as Michael
- Atticus MacVie as Atticus
Trivia[]
- The title is a play on the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry children's novel The Little Prince.
- The movie Gabriel was watching was Mulan, a film that many have viewed has containing LGBTQ themes.
Videos[]
Gallery[]
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