Press Release from Varese Sarabande:Elf accomplished the impossible when it was released in 2003: it became an instant, modern-day Christmas classic. Will Ferrell starred as Buddy—one of his iconic roles—a human boy raised to believe he is one of Santa’s elves. When Buddy discovers his true identity, he ventures out to find his real father, played by James Caan, and in the process spreads Christmas cheer to a cynical world.
A Little Princess (1995) is a cinematic gem from the early career of Alfonso Cuarón (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, Gravity). Based on a 1905 novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the fantasy drama is about a young girl subjected to the cruelty of her school headmistress in New York City after learning her father has died. In Cuarón’s masterful hands, the film is a joyous tribute to the power of imagination and the individual spirit.
A Little Princess was the first of two films for Cuarón and Scottish composer Patrick Doyle (the second being Great Expectations). Cuarón and producer Mark Johnson had been impressed with Doyle’s symphonic and choral score for Henry V, his strong melodic sense and dramatic sensitivity.
Doyle provided A Little Princess with a gem of a score, full of heartfelt themes, lilting waltzes, Indian flourishes (the protagonist had been living in India) and a marvelous sense of period storytelling. Choral passages include songs performed by star Liesel Matthews and Doyle’s then-young daughter. Doyle stays true to the ideal of childhood innocence, and the protagonist’s indomitable spirit, while taking the symphonic drama to Shakespearean heights.
Varèse Sarabande’s 28-track 1995 soundtrack album is expanded in this Deluxe Edition with an 11-minute bonus section of unreleased cues and alternates with 7 tracks, including 3 suites. Daniel Schweiger provides new liner notes.
