Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa (English: Sarah... The Little Princess) is a 1995 Filipino family drama film directed by Romy V. Suzara. The screenplay, written by Shaira Mella Salvador, was based on the 1985 Japanese anime Princess Sara, which in turn was based on the 1905 children's novel A Little Princess by British-American playwright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. The film stars Camille Prats in the title role, with the cast including Rio Locsin, Mat Ranillo III, Angelica Panganiban, Romeo Rivera, and Jean Garcia.
Produced and distributed by Star Cinema, the film was theatrically released on June 7, 1995. This is the fourth film adaptation that was based on the programs transmitted by ABS-CBN (both network-produced and foreign).
Contents
Plot
Sarah Crewe, a beautiful little girl who was born in India, is sent to a boarding school in England, leaving her life in India and her father, Captain Crewe. Life is rather hard for Sarah, so he bought her a doll named Emily.
Sarah quickly became the center of attention at school and befriended almost all students, even the school's scullery maid, Becky. The rich yet selfish Lavinia Herbert, once the most popular girl in school, grows jealous of Sarah.
Sarah is then informed during her birthday party that her father died in a mining accident. Out of greed, Miss Minchin locked Sarah away in the attic, taking her possessions and forcing her into servitude to make her earn her keep, telling people outside that the girl had disappeared. Upon the downfall of her perceived rival, a gloating Lavinia and her coterie of girls then torment Sarah and Becky.
In the end, her father's friend discovers that Sarah, the person they have been searching for a long time, lives just next door, and eventually adopts the girl to repay her father for saving him. Miss Minchin and Lavinia feel remorseful about their cruel actions and ask Sarah for forgiveness for all the cruelties they inflicted on her.
Cast
Main cast
Camille Prats as Sarah Crewe
Supporting cast
Jean Garcia as Miss Minchin
Rio Locsin as Miss Amelia
Mat Ranillo III as Captain Ralph Crewe
Angelica Panganiban as Becky
Angelica Pedersen as Lavinia Herbert
Paula Peralejo as Gertrude
Romeo Rivera as Mr. Anthony Crisford
Jaime Fábregas as James, the school cook
Romy Romulo as Ram Dass, Mr. Crisford's Indian servant
Tony Carreón as Señor Francisco, the Spanish language teacher
Ramón Recto as Mr. Barrow
Malou Crisólogo as Miss Mollie
Kathleen Go Quien as Ermengarde St. John
Ani Pearl Alonzo as Lottie Leigh
Sara Polverini as Jessie
Ryan de Vela as Peter
Alex Symington as Peter's father
Hilda Levantolia as Nuni Muni
Fritz Franz Pinar as Elma Rebato
Sarah Asher Geronimo as Sarah's classmate
Production
After he finished Lagalag: The Eddie Fernandez Story and some television films, director Romy V. Suzara became inactive in directing for months before he was assigned to be the director of Sarah... Ang Munting Prinsesa. Most of the film was shot on location in Scotland, with other scenes shot on set in Baguio, Philippines. A departure from the original novel and the anime is that the girls studied Spanish as a foreign language instead of French.
Hundreds auditioned for the title role in the film. It was ultimately offered to Camille Prats, despite not auditioning for the role, because she bears a striking resemblance to the anime character, particularly with her hair and eyes. In 2022, Angelica Panganiban revealed that she was not initially cast for a specific role in the film. She was only picked on the spot as Becky by an assistant director during the filming.