The Magicians Elephant Review written by the Hobbit. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Watch
Movie: The Magician’s Elephant
Rated: PG
Length: 1hr. 39 mins.
Release Date: March 17, 2023
Streaming Service: Netflix
Genre: Fantasy (magical realism), coming of age
Warnings: parent’s death, loss of a sibling, a few war scenes
The Magician’s Elephant Summary
The Magician’s Elephant is an animated adaptation of the book by Kate DiCamillo. It follows Peter who has been separated from his sister. He is told by a fortune teller that he will find her by following an elephant. Thus begins a series of improbable tasks for him to accomplish this goal.
The Magicians Elephant Review
Peter is an orphan who’s being raised by Vilna Lutz, an old soldier who rescued him after the death of his parents during a war. Peter is being taught to be a soldier because that is all that his guardian knows. He has told Peter that his baby sister died long with their parents, but Peter can remember holding her in his arms and continues to believe that his sister is alive somewhere. Peter is sent daily to buy food for Vilna and himself..
One day in the market he sees a strange tint inside there is a fortune teller and she tells Peter that, for the one coin he has for food, she will answer one question. She encourages Peter to ask wisely, and after a few missteps, Peter asks how he can find his sister. Her reply is cryptic. “Follow the elephant.”
There are no elephants in Baltese, so this appears to be an impossible task. Lutz has Peter do extra marching, which disturbs their downstairs neighbors, Leo and Gloria Matienne. But then a magician accidentally makes an elephant appear…and suddenly Peter begins to believe that this is indeed the key to finding his sister.
The artwork in the film is similar to that you might find in a picture book, lending to its charm. The voice work is well done. The film has a few notable actors doing voices. Mandy Patinkin voices Vilna Lutz, and Brian Tyree Henry voices Leo Matienne. Benedict Wong voices the magician, and Miranda Richardson Madam LaVaughn.
We found the film to be well done and believe it would make a great family film. There is no objectionable content at all, although the warnings above may be sensitive for some viewers. It is fairly fast-paced (the film runs for 1 hour and 39 minutes) and should hold the attention of most younger viewers.
Differences Between the Film and Book
I viewed the film without being familiar with the book. It appears that there are several differences between the two, and this may leave those who love the book less than satisfied with the film.
While the basic plot is the same for both, the details of how Peter accomplishes the task are not identical. The film does not directly name some of the minor characters from the book, and it appears their stories are less well-fleshed out. Several of the negative reviews of the film focus on the discrepancies between the film and the book.
Continue reading for more of our The Magicians Elephant Review:
The Magician’s Elephant Discussion Guide
Themes to Discuss: Family, hope/belief, forgiveness, bravery
In the movie, Peter is faced with a series of “impossible” challenges. In meeting these challenges, he shows us hope and faith, while demonstrating the importance of family.
- How would you respond to the challenges Peter faced? There is no right answer – Peter’s responses will probably challenge most of us.
- Vilna Lutz hid the truth from Peter because he feared it would cause him pain. The result was the opposite – it caused Peter more anguish. Have you ever been tempted to hide the truth because you thought it would hurt someone?
- Who formed the family at the end of the film? Why were they family?
Gloria Matienne tells Peter about Leo and “what if”?
- What are the “what if’s” she tells Peter about? When we try new things, do they always work out the way we thought they would?
- How do the “what if’s” impact Peter flying?
We see two examples of forgiveness. Peter forgives Vilna Lutz, and Madam LaVaughn forgives the magician.
- How were they able to forgive?
- How important is forgiveness in our world today?
Final Thoughts
“Belief is a great and invisible thing. It comes over us like sleep. We struggle along the edges, fighting it for reasons we cannot name, until, as with sleep, we lose ourselves. We stop…and we are restored.”
This is a thought that resonates with all of the world’s great religions. We hope we can help you communicate how great belief is through this guide. Happy viewing!
Thanks for reading The Magicians Elephant Review. Check out our related content here:
Other Kate DiCamillo Books
–The Tiger Rising
–Flora and Ulysses
–The Beatryce Prophecy
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