Despite the title, this film is actually an adaptation of two of Ségur's books featuring Sophie: "Les Malheurs de Sophie" and "Les Petites Filles Modèles", including about half the material in each. For whom is this film intended? Too long, slow & arty for little girls of the age of those in the film: 6-8 apart from tiny Marguerite who is younger. It's also too whimsical and infantile for most older children and adults. I suppose it would do for the J M Barries and Lewis Carrols of this world, but they may not appreciate Disney-style hedgehogs, squirrel & frog who pop up from time to time - I certainly didn't. Sometimes a character in the film addresses us personally - that's rather "arch". Twice we get anachronistic singing, as in a film from the 70s. So I won't be buying it for my grandchildren who are younger & older than Sophie & her friends. But it's pretty. All the children are well-produced and engaging. Some of the adults are strange choices, particularly Goldshifteh as Sophie's mother, who is nothing like the mother in the book. Sophie's father was a shadowy character in the book and is more so in the film. Nor can one imagine him marrying the appalling Mme Fichini, especially after Goldshifteh. While the children sleep through the rest of the film one is left wondering if it was for her money . . . ah well! I would like to hear what others think.
