A Little Princess PILF-2195 ( 0151 )

In 1914, a kind-hearted young girl named Sara Crewe lives in India with her widowed father Richard, a wealthy British Army Officer who shares her love for stories of myths and magic. Called in to serve in the Great War, Richard enrolls her at the all-girls boarding school in New York City which her late mother had attended. It is run by a haughty and spiteful headmistress, Maria Minchin, and her kindly sister Amelia.

Instructing Maria to spare no expense for his daughter's comfort, Richard furnishes the school's largest suite and leaves Sara with a locket once owned by her mother and a doll named Emily. These he tells her will keep them connected through magic.

Although stifled by Maria's strictness, Sara becomes popular among the girls, including an African-American scullery maid, Becky, for her kindness and powerful imagination. In her spare time, she writes to her father. He gets caught in a gas attack while trying to save a fellow soldier in the trenches.

Hoping to extort more money from Richard, Maria throws Sara a lavish birthday party, but Richard's solicitor arrives with news that he has been killed in battle; the British government has seized his assets, leaving Sara penniless. Maria moves Sara to the school's attic with Becky to work as a servant and confiscates her belongings, including the locket, allowing her to keep only Emily and a book.

Though her life is bleak, Sara remains kind to others, but gets her revenge on Lavinia, the school bully. Charles Randolph, the elderly neighbor who lives near the school, receives word that his son John has been declared missing in action while fighting in Europe. Ram Dass, Charles' Indian associate, comes to notice Sara from the neighboring attic, overhearing her imaginative stories. When a wounded soldier suffering from amnesia is misidentified as John, Ram Dass encourages Charles to take the man in.

Meanwhile, Sara's friends sneak into Maria's office and recover her locket, visiting Sara that night to hear her tales of Prince Rama. After catching Sara with the other girls, Maria punishes her and has Becky locked up in the attic for an entire day. However, Sara stands up to Maria's cruelty with her father's belief that "all girls are princesses" regardless of their lot in life. She later comforts Becky by imagining a feast and fine clothes for them. The next day, they awaken to find that the dream has come true, with their attic secretly transformed by Ram Dass.

With Sara's encouragement, Amelia runs away with the milkman, with whom she is in love. Later, Maria discovers that the locket is missing. Confronting Sara in the attic, she accuses her of "stealing" the finery left by Ram Dass and viciously locks Sara in her room while she summons the police.

With Becky's help, Sara narrowly escapes by making a perilous climb over to the Randolph house. As Maria and the police search for her, Sara discovers that her father Richard is the recovering soldier, but suffering from amnesia, he does not recognize her. Although Maria clearly recognizes Richard, she instead lies by callously saying that Sara has "no father". As Sara is dragged away by the police, Ram Dass helps Richard regain his memory. Outside Richard saves her, and the two are happily reunited while Maria, defeated, angrily walks away.

Sometime later, Charles has taken over the school, now a much happier place for the girls, and has found peace in knowing that Richard tried to save his son. Richard's fortune has been restored, and he has adopted Becky. As punishment for her vile treatment of Sara and the other girls, Maria is reduced to working for a young chimney sweep she mistreated earlier. Sara gives Emily to the girls and shares an unexpected hug with Lavinia, before she and Becky depart for home.