Customer Reviews

The Impossible Elephant

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

 

 

The Impossible Elephant premiered at The Sprockets Children Film Festival in Toronto in 2001, where it won the YTV Silver Sprocket, as the audience's favorite feature film. The film never showed in theaters in the US, but it was later screened in Europe and eventually was picked up by Showtime a few years later.

Directed by Martin Wood and penned by Robert C. Cooper, both of Stargate fame, Impossible Elephant is a charming film which explores Daniel's desire for a pet, and the unlikely fulfillment of that wish. For Daniel it's about believing in the impossible, and for his father Steven, it's about re-learning the need to believe and to look forward, not backwards.

Nicholas Lea and Mia Sara, the adult leads, have a comfortable chemistry on screen, but the younger cast members are the real stars. The well developed characters shine in the manic race to save Lumpy, while they learn lessons about life, change and growing up.

Though IE is ostensibly a children's film, adults will enjoy it as well.

I thought this was great for the whole family. This movie is not rated, and usually, I base many of my choices on the rating. For those of you who do the same: The language overall was good. I think they used the word "sucks" a few times. There was a quick reference to "the naked channel", but it was very quick and not focused on. The main character asks what it is, and the supporting character says "it's a lot like the nature channel only more gross", and that was that. There is a bully that they call "Butterbutt", but one little girl says that isn't nice to call him that so they make an effort to show that this is unacceptable. These are very minor, and the theme of the movie is very touching and shows that wishes still come true for those who believe.

This a remarkable elephant. He is taken to school for show and tell and he plays basketball with the boy who wished for it. He wants it as a pet, but his father
says NO, but later changes his mind. The boy Daniel and some friends go to the zoo to get lumpy the elephant which was placed there at first. To get the elephant out of the zoo, he and some friends get on lumpy's back and the elephant flies. Very good!

The movie starts out telling us about Daniel's dead mother. It moves into "pet day" at the school. Daniel doesn't have a pet, but he does have a bully. The bully comes equipped with his own Godzilla music as he stomps in Daniel's direction. Daniel makes a wish on a star and in spite of his dad claiming it doesn't work, an elephant appears in his yard. It is one of those movie elephants that don't eat much or require a shovel. Daniel makes friends with Gilbert, the class geek as they both hide from the bully. The unreasonable dad decides they can't keep a baby elephant and donates it to the zoo.

There is also Molly, dad's friend who is a mother figure to Daniel who is also a lawyer. She doesn't spend the night and do hanky-panky like in other kid movies. Gilbert takes Daniel to his underground secret "fort" which has cable TV. He gets the "Naked Channel" which he claims is like the Animal Channel, except with humans and it is "gross." This is perhaps the most questionable child aspect about the movie, that and hitting the bully with a large branch across the back. As it turns out the elephant is a savant and can fly. The elephant flies in front of the moon, reminiscent of ET. The movie has a happy ending as one would expect.

Okay for a kid's movie, but there are better.