The Magician's Elephant (film)

Last updated

The Magician's Elephant
The Magician's Elephant poster.jpg
Official release poster
Directed byWendy Rogers
Screenplay by Martin Hynes
Based on The Magician's Elephant
by Kate DiCamillo
Produced byJulia Pistor
Starring
Edited byRobert Fisher Jr.
Music by Mark Mothersbaugh
Production
company
Pistor Productions
Distributed by Netflix
Release date
  • March 17, 2023 (2023-03-17)
Running time
100 minutes [1]
CountriesUnited States
Australia
LanguageEnglish

The Magician's Elephant is a 2023 animated fantasy adventure film directed by Wendy Rogers, written by Martin Hynes and produced by Julia Pistor. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, the film features the voices of Noah Jupe, Mandy Patinkin, Natasia Demetriou, Benedict Wong, Miranda Richardson and Aasif Mandvi. Animated by Animal Logic, the film was distributed by Netflix and released on March 17, 2023.

Contents

Premise

Peter is searching for his long-lost sister Adele. A fortune teller tells him to find a magician with an elephant. [2]

Voice cast

Production

On August 17, 2009, 20th Century Fox announced that Martin Hynes would adapt a novel titled The Magician's Elephant, which was yet to be released, into a feature film. [4] In that same announcement, former Nickelodeon Movies producer Julia Pistor was also confirmed as the producer of the film. [5] On December 15, 2020, after languishing into development hell for a number of years, it was announced that Pistor had taken the property to Netflix who acquired the film rights to the book and screenplay to develop the animated feature film, with Animal Logic in Sydney working on the animation. In the same announcement, Noah Jupe, Benedict Wong, Pixie Davies, Sian Clifford, Brian Tyree Henry, Mandy Patinkin, Natasia Demetriou, Aasif Mandvi, Miranda Richardson, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste were all cast to star in the film. [6]

Release

The Magician's Elephant was released on March 17, 2023. [7]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 67% of 37 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Always well-intentioned and once-in-a-blue-moon compelling, The Magician's Elephant is an adaptation with a message about believing in yourself unveiled with more whimsy than magic." [8] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandy Patinkin</span> American actor and singer (born 1952)

Mandel Bruce Patinkin is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television, and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer known for his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber. He is known for his leading roles on stage and screen and has received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for seven Drama Desk Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate DiCamillo</span> American childrens author

Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo is an American children's fiction author. She has published over 25 novels, including Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant, the Mercy Watson series, and Flora & Ulysses. Her books have sold around 37 million copies. Four have been developed into films and two have been adapted into musical settings. Her works have won various awards; The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses won the Newbery Medal, making DiCamillo one of six authors to have won two Newbery Medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benedict Wong</span> British actor (born 1971)

Benedict Wong is an English actor. He began his career on stage before starring in the film Dirty Pretty Things (2003), which earned him a British Independent Film Award nomination, and the BBC sitcom 15 Storeys High (2002–2004). This was followed by roles in the films On a Clear Day (2005), Sunshine, Grow Your Own, and Moon (2009), and the CBBC series Spirit Warriors (2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aasif Mandvi</span> British-American actor, comedian

Aasif Hakim Mandviwala, known professionally as Aasif Mandvi, is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on The Daily Show from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the HBO comedy series The Brink and the CBS/Paramount+ psychological drama Evil. His film roles include playing Mr. Aziz in Spider-Man 2 and Commander Zhao in The Last Airbender. His stage work includes appearing on Broadway as Ali Hakim in Oklahoma! and in productions of Disgraced (2012), which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2013.

Martin Hynes is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and film producer.

<i>The Magicians Elephant</i> 2009 novel by Kate DiCamillo

The Magician's Elephant is the thirteenth book written by American author Kate DiCamillo. It was released on September 8, 2009, and illustrated by Yoko Tanaka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Hechinger</span> American actor (born 1999)

Fred Hechinger is an American actor. He is best known for playing Trevor in the coming-of-age film Eighth Grade, John Calley in the Western drama News of the World, and Ethan Russell in the psychological thriller The Woman in the Window. He also starred in The Fear Street Trilogy of horror films on Netflix and the first season of the HBO anthology series The White Lotus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series</span>

The Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series is one of the award categories presented annually by the Critics' Choice Television Awards (BTJA) to recognize the work done by television actors. It was introduced in 2011 when the event was first initiated. The winners are selected by a group of television critics that are part of the Broadcast Television Critics Association.

The British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance was instituted in 2009. It is awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), a British organisation that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, children's film and television, and interactive media.

<i>Wish I Was Here</i> 2014 American comedy-drama film

Wish I Was Here is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Zach Braff and co-written with his brother Adam Braff. The film stars Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Josh Gad, Pierce Gagnon, Ashley Greene, Kate Hudson, Joey King, Jim Parsons, and Mandy Patinkin. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014 and was given a limited release on July 18, 2014 by Focus Features. This marked the final film appearances for James Avery and Allan Rich before their deaths on December 31, 2013 and August 22, 2020 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasia Demetriou</span> British actress

Natasia Charlotte Demetriou is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. She is best known for her roles as Nadja in the FX horror comedy series What We Do in the Shadows (2019–present) and Sophie in the Channel 4 sitcom Stath Lets Flats (2018–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Tyree Henry</span> American actor (born 1982)

Brian Tyree Henry is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as rapper Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles in the FX comedy-drama series Atlanta (2016–2022), for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

Pixie Love Davies is an English actress. Born and raised in England, she began her career in 2012, starring in the BBC's The Secret of Crickley Hall. After making her film debut in Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012), she appeared in several other features, including Out of the Dark (2014) and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016). In 2018, she had her breakout role as Annabel Banks in Disney's Mary Poppins Returns. Davies also voiced Adel in Netflix's The Magician's Elephant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah Jupe</span> British actor

Noah Jupe is a British actor. He is known for his roles in the television series The Night Manager (2016); the dark comedy film Suburbicon (2017); the drama film Wonder (2017); the horror film A Quiet Place (2018) and its sequel A Quiet Place Part II (2021); the sports drama film Ford v Ferrari (2019); the drama film Honey Boy (2019), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male; and the miniseries The Undoing (2020).

Jamie Demetriou is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Bus Rodent in Fleabag and for creating, co-writing, and starring in Stath Lets Flats. For the latter, he won Best Male Actor in a Comedy, Best Writer of a Comedy, and Best Scripted Comedy at the 2020 BAFTA Awards.

<i>Evil</i> (TV series) American supernatural thriller television series

Evil is an American supernatural drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King that premiered on September 26, 2019, on CBS. The series is produced by CBS Studios and King Size Productions. The series was filmed in Astoria, NY and Brooklyn, NY. Evil features an ensemble cast led by Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, and Aasif Mandvi. Kurt Fuller, Marti Matulis, Brooklyn Shuck, Skylar Gray, Maddy Crocco, Dalya Knapp, Christine Lahti, Michael Emerson, Ashley Edner and Andrea Martin also star.

<i>Peter Pan & Wendy</i> 2023 film by David Lowery

Peter Pan & Wendy is a 2023 American fantasy adventure film directed by David Lowery from a screenplay he co-wrote with Toby Halbrooks. Jim Whitaker served as producer on the Walt Disney Pictures production, which is a live-action remake of Walt Disney's 1953 animated feature film Peter Pan, in turn based on the 1904 play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. The film stars Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson in the title roles. Jude Law, Yara Shahidi, Alyssa Wapanatâhk, Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, and Jim Gaffigan also appear in supporting roles. The story follows Peter Pan and Wendy, who go to the magical world of Neverland with Wendy's brothers and Peter's best friend Tinker Bell. Along the way, Wendy embarks on the adventure that will change her life and encounters Peter's archenemy Captain Hook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netflix Animation</span> American animation studio

Netflix Animation is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films.

Sharkdog is a children's animated streaming television series. Created by Singaporean artist Jacinth Tan Yi Ting, the series premiered on Netflix on September 3, 2021. A special, titled Sharkdog's Fintastic Halloween, was released on October 15, 2021.

References

  1. "The Magician's Elephant". British Board of Film Classification . Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  2. McNary, Dave (December 15, 2020). "Noah Jupe, Pixie Davies, Sian Clifford Board Animated Film Magician's Elephant for Netflix". Variety . Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Giardina, Carolyn (December 15, 2020). "The Magician's Elephant Animated Feature In the Works at Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  4. Sciretta, Peter (August 17, 2009). "Martin Hynes to Direct The Magician's Elephant". /Film . Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  5. McNary, Dave (August 17, 2009). "Fox rides Elephant". Variety . Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  6. Wiseman, Andreas (December 15, 2020). "Noah Jupe, Benedict Wong, Pixie Davies, Sian Clifford, Brian Tyree Henry & Mandy Patinkin Among All-Star Voice Cast For Netflix Animation The Magician's Elephant". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  7. Grobar, Matt (January 18, 2023). "Netflix 2023 Film Slate Unveiled: Luther: The Fallen Sun, The Mother, Extraction 2, Heart Of Stone, The Killer, Rebel Moon & Others Get Premiere Dates". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 18, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  8. "The Magician's Elephant". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  9. "The Magician's Elephant Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved March 19, 2023.