Customer Reviews

Elephant Tales

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A French- Australian film of African baby elephants on an 'Incredible Journey' that looses steam and interest quickly for all ages.

It begins with bouncy music and a stunning, bird's eye panorama. Two adorable, little pachyderms, Zef and Tutu, loose their families to poachers. They then embark on a search for the great Rainbow, hoping to find loved ones. Along the way they are helped by various other actor animals including Chump the Chimp, Stretch the Giraffe, and Cub. They face perils and adventures and climax with a 'battle' with The Badness and eventually, finally, discover their destiny.

The story is narrated by a pair of cheetahs, and there's a running conversation from the animals heard as human voices in the background. I don't want to bash this well-meaning, predictable movie too much, but after the first 20-30 minutes and the initial allure of the well photographed animals, the kids(ages 2 and 5) were moving on to other activities.

Mario Andreacchio directed and has plenty of experience workng with four legged stars, and is quite capable with the genre, but the story is flat, the message too much and cutes only go so far. For you '24' fans, he also directed Keifer Sutherland in a little known flick about Paul Gauguin called 'Paradise Found'. Again with lots of gorgeous scenery.

Overall, for your pre-schoolers, skip the early poacher part: they show the elephant herd shootings as lights in the night sky. Elementary schoolers might watch the whole film without yawning, but it's not memorable. Teenagers- forget it. And for us adults, it's a snoozer. Rent it, if you wish, at a Cheapo-Box.

My Son loves animals and Elephants are his favorite. This is an excellent video about animals and elephants and has a nice story too.

It was a cold and snowy day today and a Sunday on top of it - so all three of us (hubby, kid and I) stayed in. After coloring and crafts, I decided to let my daughter watch some television and this popped up as a recommended title on a movie rental site I subscribe to. Well, "Elephant Tales" has gorgeous cinematography of the African plains and the majestic creatures that inhabit it. Apart from that, the story itself is rather uninspired. Two young pachyderms, Zef and Tutu enjoy an idyllic existence until one night when their mother and some of their herd fall victim to poachers (thank goodness, this is not portrayed graphically). So Zef and Tutu go in search of the great rainbow where they think they will be reunited with their family. Along the way, Zef and Tutu meet other animals such as chimps, lion cubs, etc.

The story is told through a combination of live action featuring real wildlife and also voice over narration, with forgettable songs interspersed in between. The effect is quite natural, but at about 95 minutes, the movie is too long and plodding. My 5-year-old daughter's attention began to wander after about 45 minutes - keeping it to about an hour would have been better as there really isn't all that much to the plot. I think this is worth a rental, but would not recommend it as a purchase. There are other, more engaging productions out there such as:
Two Brothers (Full Screen Edition)
Shiloh (Keepcase)
Born Free
Living Free
Black Beauty

By Nazar

I've seen fifteen animal movies and believe me Elephant Tales is the worst. If you want a good movie then elephant tales is not the movie for you. It's about tutu and his brother following this rainbow to find their mom because tutu like to her.

When I watched that movie, I was a bored person like a zombie. The worst part of elephant tales is when their sister pretends to hate her brother Tutu. I was so bored that I fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Then I fell off the couch with drool on my shirt.

Did you know that elephant tales is so horrible and terrible that I would rather go to school naked than watch this movie? If you like animals, especially elephant, then you might like this movie. You can find it at Blockbuster if you're interested.