A young girl called Sarah Crew who lives in India has to go to a boarding school in London as her father is fighting in the war. She has no mother but her father loves her very much and finds the best boarding school he possibly could. There she is treated as a princess and because her father is so rich she can have the largest bedroom and all the toys a girl could possibly want. She also has a locket which is very special to her and although she is not permitted to wear it she always keeps it on her. Sarah is called a princess by her father and proclaims to all the other girls that she is a princess which immediately gains her respect. She tells the other girls stories about when she was is India and most of the girls enjoy them apart from Lavinia. Lavinia is the only girl that Sarah openly quarrels with as they do not get on at all. Sarah is bright young girl but her best friend is a dunce, Ermengarde.

Whilst Sarah is celebrating her 11th birthday one of Captain's Crew's solicitors arrives with the news that Sarah's father has died and that his friend has run off with his money. Sarah now has no money and Miss Minchin, the headmistress, is furious and wants to turn Sarah out onto the streets however she is finally persuaded to keep her as a slave. She seizes all of Sarah's belongings and forces her to sleep in the attic next door to Becky. Sarah has to earn her keep by doing errands and cleaning. She also helps teach French as hers is very good. Sarah does not have enough food and she is continuously cold due to her bare thread clothes and broken bed. To make the situation worse her enemy Ermengarde gets her room making Sarah feel more bitter and sad. Will Sarah ever escape such horrific conditions and her depressing situation?

Personally I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it to anyone. The story line is great and really interesting. It keeps you on your toes and would interest people of all ages. The characters are really interesting and there are a wide range of personalities which show through. It portrays well how different characters get along. All the characters are suitable matched with an actor and every actor plays their part very well. The children really get into their character well and act so brilliantly with no moments of lapses. The adults all suit their parts well and certainly act very well to the needs of that person. One of the best thing about this film is that the star is not stuck up even though she is rich and cares for other girls which immediately allows the audience to like her. She stands up for what she believes which makes the film more interesting and enjoying. However I must admit I still cry at the end, those who have watched it might understand where…

Here are some of the characters, there are others:
Sarah Crewe - Liesel Matthews
Miss Minchin - Eleanor Bron
Capt. Crewe - Liam Cunningham
Amelia Minchin - Rusty Schwimmer
Becky - Vanessa Lee Chester
Ermengarde - Heather DeLoach
Lavinia - Taylor Fry
Lottie - Kelsey Mulrooney
Ram Dass - Errol Sitahal

Runtime - 97 minutes
Language - English
Certification - U
Directed by - Alfonso Cuarón
Released in - 1995 (1997 on DVD)
Released by - Warner Brothers
DVD regions - 2 and 4
Chapter - 31
Extras - None (unfortunately)
Genre - Family
Number of discs - 1
Subtitles - English, Spanish and French

It is rated U and I believe this is the correct rating as there is nothing that is not suitable for children. Although it is a little sad, nothing a child well get that upset about especially since there is a happy ending! I think children between the ages of 5 and 12 would enjoy this film but I still enjoy it. Although it's not the typical teenage film it is still quite fun to watch and may even interest some adults (definitely for those with kids).