Precocious young Madeline is an English orphan, one of twelve girls under the care of school mistress Miss Clavel (Frances McDormand) in Paris. She hates their neighbor, the arrogant Spanish ambassador's son Pepito. She falls into the river and is rescued by a stray dog which is given the name Genevieve. Lord Covington attempts to sell the school and there is the evil Leopold, the tutor.
I don't know much about the source material. The movie needs to get going a lot sooner. The girls meeting Pepito needs to be earlier. The hospital section leads to the touching reveal at the end but it could be done with a lot less time. It doesn't need to go to the hospital. It just needs the portrait. Once they have the mice fight, Pepito and Madeline can get into a prank war which would serve as filler in the middle. It takes awhile but this gets better.
I don't know much about the source material. The movie needs to get going a lot sooner. The girls meeting Pepito needs to be earlier. The hospital section leads to the touching reveal at the end but it could be done with a lot less time. It doesn't need to go to the hospital. It just needs the portrait. Once they have the mice fight, Pepito and Madeline can get into a prank war which would serve as filler in the middle. It takes awhile but this gets better.