Sara had a life full of love and luxury. But when her father vanishes during the war, she’s sent to a cold orphanage, where she’s treated like nothing. Her world changes forever.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

In a small town in India, a girl named Sara tells a really exciting story to her friend, Laki. In the story, Sara talks about a Princess named Sita who is married to a Prince named Rama, who has been banished to an enchanted forest by his jealous stepmother. One day, Sita sees an injured deer in the forest and tells Rama to help it.

Before he leaves, he draws a magical circle around Sita and tells her that she’ll be safe inside there. After Rama heads over to help the deer, Sita hears someone else calling for help, so she leaves the circle and follows the voice. She eventually sees a beggar who asks her for some money.

Even though Sita had no money with her, she took off her bracelet and decided to give it to him. Just as he collects the bracelet, the beggar turns into a monster who takes her to his palace, where he intends to get married to her. As Sara gets to this point in her story, she asks Laki’s mom, Maya, if she has ever met a real prince before.

Maya says that Laki’s father is her prince, but Laki looks confused because he always thought that his dad was in the army. Maya says he was, but that he was still her prince, and she was his princess. Sara then mentions that she was talking about real princes and princesses.

Maya says that all women are princesses, and this makes Sara smile. After playing around with Laki for a while, Sara heads home to meet her dad, Captain Crewe, who has been called to serve in a war in Europe. As Crewe stares at the surroundings, he says he’ll really miss India because it’s the only place that stirs his imagination. Sara also says she wishes they could stay forever, and Crewe mentions that he knows. He, however, says that since England has gone to war, he has to join them.

He then asks if she understands this, but Sara asks why he’s taking her to America. Crewe says it’s safer, and that he’ll even enroll her at a school in New York, which is the same one her late mom attended when she was Sara’s age. Sara doesn’t know how to feel about this, but she forgets about it and tells Crewe that Maya told her that all girls are princesses.

Crewe says that Maya is a wise woman, and that Sara can be anything she wants to be as long as she believes in it. Sara then asks what her dad believes, and he says that she’ll always be his little princess. The next day, Sara and Crewe leave India and board a ship headed for New York.

On the way, Crewe gives Sara a locket which he gave his late wife on their wedding day. Sara looks happy about this, and she asks what her dad liked most about her mom. Crewe says he liked her eyes and the sound of her voice. As he also takes Sara to dance with him, he says that he loved dancing with his late wife. While they’re dancing, a man named Ram carries his monkey as he watches them.

After a while, Crewe and Sara arrive at a school called Miss Minchin’s Seminary for Girls. As Sara looks amazed, a woman named Amelia welcomes them into the building. She then says that her sister, Minchin, will soon be down to meet them. Almost immediately, Minchin shows up and welcomes Crewe and Sara to the school. She also takes them around while talking about the school’s reputation and rules.

On the way to Sara’s class, she sees a young maid named Becky mopping the floor, and this leaves her disappointed. When she eventually enters her class, Minchin introduces her to the French teacher, Dufarge, and her classmates. Minchin says she’s sure that Sara will become the most popular student in the class because she’ll be able to tell the other kids about her adventures in India.

As she then talks about the school’s strict rules, Sara looks distracted and sees a girl named Lavinia dipping the hair of a girl named Ermengarde into a small container of paint. Sara looks shocked by this, but she realizes that Lavinia is most likely the class bully. Just then, Minchin tells Crewe that the school has a high reputation for sending the most poised and charming young ladies into society.

As she sees Sara’s locket, she mentions that jewelry is not allowed at the school. Sara quickly holds it and asks if she can wear it in her free time. Minchin doesn’t really want this, but she says it’s fine if Sara wants to do that.

All the students in the class are shocked, and Lavinia also whispers that Sara will get into a lot of trouble. Following this, Minchin takes Crewe and Sara to Sara’s room. She says it’s the largest suite in the building, and that she made it as beautiful as Crewe wanted. Crewe then thanks her for the effort and mentions that he just wants Sara to feel at home as much as possible. He adds that he doesn’t mind how expensive it might cost.

Just then, Minchin says she’ll leave them together to say goodbye before Crewe leaves. After Minchin heads out of the room, Crewe tells Sara that he had the room decorated to have all the best things she could possibly need. He also shows her a doll he got for her from France. He adds that the doll’s name is Emily, and Sara looks happy as she holds her gift. After saying that dolls come alive magically when people aren’t watching them, Crewe tells Sara that anytime she misses him badly, she just needs to tell Emily so that her doll can send him a message.

He adds that he’ll send one right back so that when Sara hugs Emily, it will be like she’s actually hugging him. Sara then says that he doesn’t have to worry much because she’ll be fine. After she hugs him, Crewe leaves, and she watches him heading away in a carriage. The next morning, all the other girls sit at the dining table and talk about all the toys they saw in Sara’s room. While some of them believe that Sara’s father is a very rich businessman who is friends with the British Royal family, Lavinia says she heard that Crewe was thrown out of India for selling poisoned crackers.

Just then, Sara leaves her room and sees a picture of her mom on the wall. As she admires the picture, Minchin scolds her for just leaving her room. Sara says sorry for this, but Minchin just ignores her apology and tells her that she’s supposed to start French lessons with Dufarge later that day.

Sara asks if she has to do that, but Minchin thinks she’s being rude to Dufarge. As Minchin tells her to apologize to Dufarge, she says it in French, and the teacher looks shocked. He then tells Minchin that Sara doesn’t need to learn French because she’s already good enough. He adds that Sara might be able to tutor the other kids and help Minchin improve her pronunciation. Minchin doesn’t say anything about this, but as Dufarge leaves, she and Sara head to the dining table.

As they get there, Becky serves Sara her food, and she says thank you. However, Minchin says that no one is allowed to talk at the table. Sara finds this weird, and as she talks again, Minchin looks pissed. After having breakfast, the girls head to their class, and as they learn the multiplication table, Ermengarde struggles to get the answer to one of the questions Minchin asks her. Minchin says that Ermengarde has clearly not been studying well, and that she’ll report the issue to the girl’s father.

Ermengarde looks sad and sheds a tear because of this, and Sara feels sorry for her. Days later, Sara writes a letter to Crewe telling him about the school’s strict rules and how she’s adapting. As she then looks out of the window, she sees a man named Charles Randolph saying goodbye to his son, John, who is leaving to fight in the war.

A while later, Crewe gets the letter, and he reads about Sara’s time at the school and how much she misses him. Even though she ends the letter by saying that she hopes it puts a smile on his face, Crewe is unable to smile because the war is already getting intense, and people have been dying. Days later, a girl named Lottie starts yelling in the hallway, and Amelia struggles to get her to stop.

As she leaves to get a cookie to see if it will calm Lottie, Sara shows up and sees what’s happening. She then tells Lottie that it will be very hard for her to study if she carries on like that. Lottie says she misses her mom, but Sara mentions that she’ll see her soon. Lottie then says that her mom is dead, and she won’t see her ever again. Sara feels sad to hear this, but she mentions that she also doesn’t have a mother anymore.

Lottie asks if she’s serious, and Sara says she is. As Lottie asks where Sara’s mother is, Sara says she’s in heaven with her baby sister because she’s now an angel. She adds that she always talks to her mom even though she can’t see her. Lottie asks how that is possible, and Sara says it’s how Angels work. She mentions that Lottie’s mom is also an angel, and that she definitely has beautiful wings and a crown of baby rosebuds.

As she keeps talking about angels and what she believes they can do, Ermengarde stares at her from her room. Becky also stops to hear what Sara is saying. Just as Sara sees Becky, the young maid quickly runs away to her room. Sara doesn’t get this, but Lottie mentions that no one is allowed to talk to Becky. Sara feels bad about this, but despite Lottie’s warning, she heads to Becky’s room and sees her cleaning her legs.

As Becky sees her, she looks scared and asks if there’s anything she can do for Sara. She adds that she only came into the room to change her shoes. Sara says she doesn’t want anything, and Becky tells her to leave so that they won’t get into trouble together. The next day, Sara drops off one of her shoes in Becky’s room as a present. As Becky sees the shoes, she looks happy and immediately changes into them.

Later that night, while Lavinia is reading a story to the other girls, they all feel sleepy but can’t say anything. After a while, Minchin tells Lavinia to hand over the book to Sara to read. As Sara starts reading it, she notices that everyone is feeling sleepy, so she changes the story to make it more exciting.

Minchin immediately notices this and asks what she’s doing. Sara then mentions that she only imagined a different end to the story because she didn’t want the main character to marry an awful man. Sara asks if Minchin has ever believed in something just to make it real. Minchin seems pissed and says it’s quite easy for Sara to do anything she wants because her dad is rich. She adds that she no longer wants to hear anything make-believe at the school again.

Minchin then sends all the kids to their rooms, and Sara looks disappointed. On the way to her room, some of Sara’s classmates ask if she can continue her story after Minchin falls asleep. Sara says she can, and that they can just come to her room silently.

Shortly after, Minchin goes to bed, and most of Sara’s classmates head to her room. Some of Lavinia’s friends also get tired of sitting with her, so they leave her alone and head to Sara’s room. Becky also stands just by the door so that she can hear the story. Following this, Sara continues her story about Sita and Rama and talks about how the princess remained in the monster’s palace while hoping for her prince to save her. The next day, Sara fixes Ermengarde’s hair and tells her that she looks like Emily.

Ermengarde says that her dad doesn’t like dolls, and that he doesn’t even like coming to see her at the school because he doesn’t think he belongs there. Sara then asks Ermengarde why he sent her to the school, and she says that her dad wants her to belong. Following this, Sara heads down to see if her dad has come to see her.

Interestingly, she sees a man resembling her dad leaving the building, so she runs after him. After she stops him, she realizes that the stranger is not her dad, and she looks disappointed. Elsewhere, Crewe appears to be the sole survivor of an attack on his unit. As he walks past some dead bodies, he suddenly notices that John is still breathing. However, as he tries to carry John away, their enemies launch a gas attack, and Crewe passes out.

Later that night, Sara continues her story and mentions that Rama went to the monster’s palace to try to save Sita. Before he got there, the monster shot arrows at him to keep him trapped in a circle. Unfortunately, the arrows happen to have been strapped with poisonous gas, and as it gets released, Rama falls down and loses consciousness.

Days later, Sara celebrates her birthday and gets a big cake for her party. As she blows out her candles, Lavinia jokingly calls Sara a princess and tells her to share the cake fairly. Sara then mentions that all girls, including bullies like Lavinia, are princesses.

As Minchin tries to caution her for what she said, a man named Mr Barrow rings the doorbell, and she goes to meet him. Barrow then introduces himself as Crewe’s solicitor. He also asks if he can speak to Minchin privately, so she takes him to her office. After they’re done talking, Barrow leaves, and Minchin goes to tell Sara and the other girls that the party is over. Sara doesn’t understand this, but Minchin tells the other girls to head to their room.

Following this, she turns to Amelia and tells her to check Sara’s things to see if she has a black dress. After Amelia leaves, Sara asks why she needs to wear a black dress, and Minchin tells her that her dad is dead. Sara cannot believe this, but Minchin also mentions that the British government has seized all of Crewe’s assets.

As Sara looks distracted and struggles to believe this, Minchin tells her that she’s now alone in the world. Minchin adds that the only way Sara will have a place to stay is if she decides to keep her at the school out of charity. Later that night, Minchin allows Sara to take only her doll and a book from her room before sending her to the attic to live with Becky.

Minchin says that she’ll be seizing all of Sara’s toys and clothes because of all the expenses she has incurred since she arrived at the school. She adds that Sara now has to work at the school as a servant. She also snatches Sara’s locket from her and says that if she disobeys any of the school rules, she’ll be sent away to live in the streets.

She then says that she wants Sara to always remember that she’s no longer a princess. Sara looks sad as she hears this, and after Minchin leaves, she draws a circle on the floor and lies down inside it while calling for her dad. The next morning, Sara goes to serve breakfast to the other students. They seem shocked to see her working as a servant, but Minchin tells them that no one is allowed to speak to Sara anymore. Shortly after, Sara starts mopping the hallway, but Lavinia intentionally walks on the mopped floor so that there’ll be more work for her to do.

Later that day, as Sara heads out to buy groceries, her scarf falls next to Ram, who also happens to be in the city. After staring at Sara strangely for a while, Ram goes to meet his friend, Charles, who has just received information about the condition of his son. That night, while Sara is sitting alone on her own side of the attic, Becky comes over to see her.

Interestingly, Becky gives Sara a well decorated pillow and says that she forgot to give it to her as a birthday present. Sara thanks her for it, but Becky then asks why she stopped telling her stories. Sara says they’re just make-believe, and that they don’t mean anything.

Becky says they mean something to her because she likes hearing Sara talk about magic. Sara then mentions that magic is not real, and Becky heads back to her side of the attic. After this, Sara cries and hugs Emily as she tries to talk to her dad to tell him that she’s scared. The next morning, while Sara is sweeping the yard, Lottie sees her and asks if she’s still a princess. Sara just ignores her, and after a while, Minchin tells Lottie to walk with her other classmates instead.

A while later, Sara sees the cook baking a round loaf of bread. She looks very hungry, but she can’t say anything because Minchin doesn’t allow her to eat good food. As Amelia nearly eats the bread, the cook stops her and mentions that it’s meant to be a present for Charles, who has just heard that John is missing in action.

Later that day, as Sara heads out to buy some supplies, a kind boy gives her some money. She then takes it to a pastry shop to buy something to eat. After she buys a small loaf of bread, she sits outside the shop. Before she starts eating it, she sees a hungry-looking young girl standing with her sister and mom while they’re trying to sell flowers to get enough money for food. Since Sara believes that the young girl needs the bread more than her, she walks over to give it to her.

The girl is shocked by this, and her mom gets her other daughter to give Sara a flower while calling her a princess. On the way home, Sara passes the front of Charles’ house and remembers what the cook said about Charles’ son. She then leaves the flower at the entrance and walks away, but she’s unaware that Ram saw her.

Later that night, Becky asks Sara about where she used to live, and she tells her friend about India. The next morning, the door in the attic suddenly opens, and as Sara goes outside to the balcony, she sees Ram smiling at her and doing some nice gestures that makes her happy. The next day, Sara sees Minchin sending the boy who sweeps the chimney away from the school because he made a mistake.

Sara feels sorry for him, but she gets an idea to mess with Minchin. Shortly after, Sara and Becky pour sand into the chimney to get Minchin pissed. While they’re in the kitchen, they also notice that Amelia likes the milkman, Frances, and they find this funny.

Later that night, Ermengarde sneaks into the attic to see Sara. She then asks why Sara doesn’t like her anymore, and if she did anything to get her pissed. Sara says she didn’t do anything, and Ermengarde mentions that she misses their friendship.

Following this, Sara allows Ermengarde to stay, and she also introduces her to Becky. Since Ermengarde wants a story, Sara decides to continue her old one. As she starts narrating it to Ermengarde and Becky, Sara mentions that after a gazelle saw that Rama was dead, it gave up its life for the prince. Following this, Rama wakes up looking stronger and ready to go after the monster. Days later, Charles and Ram visit a military hospital, where they’ve been told that John is receiving medical care.

As they get there, Charles says that the man the doctor is referring to as John isn’t his son. The doctor looks confused but mentions that he and the rest of the team thought that the injured man was John because he’s the only one still unaccounted for. After the doctor walks away, Ram tells Charles that he thinks they should take care of the unidentified man because he might be able to tell them where John is when he regains his memory and his sight.

Charles initially hesitates, but since he trusts Ram’s ideas, he agrees to take the man home. Elsewhere, Ermengarde and some of Sara’s other friends wait for Minchin to leave the school building before using Lottie as a distraction to enter Minchin’s office to take back Sara’s locket. Amelia struggles to keep Lottie calm, and she gets frustrated as she wonders what to do.

Unfortunately, Minchin returns to the school after she forgot one of her gloves, but Becky smartly stops her from entering her office so that Ermengarde and the other girls can escape. After this, Amelia complains to Sara about how she doesn’t like teaching kids because it gets her frustrated. Sara then suggests running away with Frances and getting married, but Amelia doesn’t sound sure about this because Minchin won’t support her.

Sara says that Amelia doesn’t have to worry much because she’ll be long gone before Minchin realizes anything. Shortly after, Sara walks past Charles’ house just as he arrives home with the unidentified soldier, who still has a bandage around his head and eyes. Later that night, Sara’s friends bring her the locket, and she thanks them for this.

Before she continues her story, Ram’s monkey, Hanuman, enters the attic, and as the other girls look scared, Sara tells them not to be. She adds that Hanuman is her friend, and that he can even say hello to them. The girls find this funny, and Sara then continues her story and tells them about how Rama went to the palace to defeat the monster and save Sita.

After the story ends, Hanuman leaves, and Ram bows to greet the girls. As they do the same thing, Minchin enters the attic and looks shocked. Sara quickly mentions that she was the one who invited the girls to the attic. Minchin then tells them to go to their rooms, after which she scolds Becky and says that she’ll stay in the attic throughout the next day without food. Minchin adds that Sara will do all of Becky’s chores without eating anything as well.

Sara looks disappointed by this, but Minchin tells her that she needs to be productive and useful rather than having ridiculous dreams. Sara says she doesn’t believe in what Minchin just said, and the headmistress asks if she still thinks she’s a princess. Sara says she is, and that where she now lives or how her clothes look don’t change that.

She then asks if Minchin’s father never told her that. Minchin feels sad as she hears this, and she says that she’ll send Sara and Becky out of the school the next time she sees them with the other girls in the attic. As she angrily walks away, she sheds a tear because Sara’s question hurt her. Later that night, Becky looks scared that Minchin will send them away if they mess up again. As she says that she has nowhere else to go, Sara mentions that they have each other because she sees Becky as her sister.

Becky sounds happy to hear this, but she remains concerned about the food they’ll eat the next day. Sara then suggests using their imagination to set a table with whatever food they want. As the girls do this to make themselves happy, Ram watches them from Charles’ house while also staring at the unidentified soldier, who is still sleeping. The next morning, Sara wakes up and sees that the attic is already well decorated, with real food also on the table. She looks shocked by this, and as Becky also wakes up, she can’t believe her eyes.

Even though the girls don’t know where everything came from, they still decide to eat the food because they’re hungry. Elsewhere, Ram says an Indian word in front of the unidentified soldier, and he says that it sounds familiar. Ram says he’s from India, and the soldier believes he has been there before. He eventually says that his memory is still a blur, but that he hopes he can sort it all out soon. Ram says he will, and he smiles as he looks at the soldier.

Later that night, Amelia sneaks out of the house and runs away with Frances. Just as Sara watches them, Minchin enters the attic to ask for the locket, but she sees how beautifully decorated the place looks. She asks where it all came from, but Sara says she doesn’t know.

Minchin then accuses her of stealing everything just like she did with the locket. After she snatches the locket, she heads to her office and calls the police to come and arrest Sara. Meanwhile, the unidentified soldier takes off his bandage, and it turns out to be Crewe. He then goes to meet Charles and Ram to thank them for everything they’ve done for him.

Shortly after, the policemen arrive at the school, and as Sara looks scared, Hanuman opens the door leading to the balcony. This gives Sara an idea, and she decides to walk on a narrow board to Charles’ house because she knows that the police won’t believe that she’s not a thief. Just as she starts walking on the board, Minchin sees her and looks shocked.

Minchin then tries to grab Sara, but this only makes her lose balance and nearly fall to the ground. After this, the board falls off, but Sara quickly holds on and enters Charles’ house. Minchin then tells the cops to head to the next house to catch Sara.

When they get there, Ram and Charles go out to see them, and Sara sneaks into Charles’ office, which is where Crewe is sitting. As she hides in a corner and puts down her head, Crewe sees her and asks if she’s okay. After he mentions that he won’t hurt her, he asks for her name, and she says it’s Sara.

Crewe says it’s a nice name, but as Sara puts up her head, she looks shocked to see her dad. She then runs to hug him, but Crewe holds her back because he doesn’t remember who she is. Almost immediately, Minchin enters the room and looks shocked to see Crewe.

However, as she notices that Crewe can’t remember his daughter, she tells the cops to arrest Sara because she has no father. As they do this, Crewe looks confused and wonders if he knows Sara. Suddenly, Ram stands close to him and stares at him strangely. With this, Crewe remembers his daughter and heads out to stop the cops from taking her away. Minchin looks disappointed by this, and she walks away from the scene.

Days later, Charles takes over the school and names it after himself. As Crewe prepares to leave, he goes to meet Charles and Ram to thank them for everything they did for him. He also says that he has gotten back his assets and is now heading back home. Charles looks happy for him and says that he’s glad Crewe sorted everything out. He also thanks Crewe for doing his best to try to save John.

Shortly after, Sara and Becky leave the school in new clothes, and they say goodbye to their friends. Sara also gives up Emily and tells her friends that if they want to talk to her, they can always use the doll to get through to her. After Sara hugs Ermengarde, Lavinia comes out of the school building.

Sara then goes to meet her, and surprisingly, Lavinia hugs her. All the other girls are shocked by this, but Lavinia just smiles at them. Following this, Sara and Becky enter Crewe’s carriage and head home together. Elsewhere, Minchin looks wretched after losing the school and is now sweeping chimneys with the boy she sent away the other day.

Weeks after enrolling at a school for girls, Sara learns that her dad has died in the war. Since her dad also lost all his assets, Minchin grows hostile toward Sara and forces her to work as a servant. Luckily, Crewe happens to be alive, and just before Minchin got Sara sent to jail, he saves her. Minchin’s evil ways eventually made her end up as a chimney sweeper in the city while Sara and Becky went home with Crewe, who regained his fortune. In this story, we learn that cruelty and self-centeredness often leads to humiliation and regret.

A Little Princess 1995.