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the little white horse Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Dakota Blue Richards Nabs Her Second Big Role

Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Scripts », Family Films »

Her first film, The Golden Compass, hasn't come out yet, but young star Dakota Blue Richards has grabbed her next fantastical starring role. Variety reports that the young, 13-year-old actress will head The Secret of Moonacre, Gabor Csupo's (of Rugrats fame) next film. Our Christopher Campbell hoped it would be AnnaSophia Robb, but Richards is getting the part. See, this is the adaptation of Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse... which was then renamed The Moon Princess when Colin Firth was cast... and now it's The Secret of Moonacre. I'm not quite sure why they keep changing the name.

I wonder if Firth is still in this film, since he's not mentioned on Variety's cast list. They say that the young actress will be joined by Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, Natascha McElhone, and Juliet Stevenson. From an adaptation penned by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough, Moonacre is about a young orphan named Maria (Richards) who is sent to Moonacre Manor to live with her uncle. "There she enters a world of magical creatures, and discovers that she is the only person who can undo an ancient curse and save Moonacre Valley." Basically, the regular family fare. The production starts today in Budapest, and meanwhile, you can catch Richards in The Golden Compass on December 7.

Colin Firth Will Star In Family Fantasy 'The Moon Princess'

Filed under: Action », Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Family Films »

Considering all the women I know who love Colin Firth, I am shocked that he doesn't get more romantic leading roles. But then, maybe that is his choice? Seeing as he appears in such a diverse range of films these days, it could be that he is perfectly in control of what he wants. And apparently he wants to do the occasional movie for the kids. After making himself familiar to the tweens by showing up in What a Girl Wants and Nanny McPhee, he is now further increasing his chances of one day winning a Kid's Choice Award by signing on to The Moon Princess. Formerly titled The Little White Horse, which is the name of the book that is based upon, The Moon Princess is a live-action family-friendly fantasy about a 13-year-old girl who enters a magical world in order to put an end to an ancient curse. Firth will be playing the girl's eccentric uncle (though the IMDb lists his part as a dual role).

The Moon Princess will be directed by Hungarian-born filmmaker Gabor Csupo, who earned his cred with the kids and the studios this year with the very successful adaptation The Bridge to Terabitha, his directorial debut. If he does just as well with this similar-sounding follow-up, I bet he'll be offered a chance at a whole fantasy franchise. If it isn't that good, Csupo will probably still be okay. As a producer/co-creator of the cartoons Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys, as well as one of the original animators for The Simpsons, he isn't really that new to Hollywood. No other casting choices have been announced yet, but hopefully Terabitha's AnnaSophia Robb will be chosen as the lead since I can't think of any other 13-year-old with as much appeal or talent right now (forget Dakota Fanning who should never be cast in a fantasy film). Regardless of who else is involved, though, I'm enough interested thanks to Firth. If I could watch part of What a Girl Want because of him, I can watch anything because of him.
 
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