Netflix Announces “The Magician’s Elephant”

Netflix Announces “The Magician’s Elephant”

December 15th, 2020

Jerry Beck

Netflix announced today a new animated feature film currently in production, The Magician’s Elephant, based on two-time Newbery Award winner Kate DiCamillo’s novel of the same title. The film marks the directorial debut of renowned visual effects veteran Wendy Rogers (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Puss in Boots) and is produced by Julia Pistor. The voice cast includes Sian Clifford, Pixie Davies, Natasia Demetriou, Dawn French, Brian Tyree Henry, Noah Jupe, Aasif Mandvi, Mandy Patinkin, Miranda Richardson, Cree Summer, Lorraine Toussaint, Benedict Wong.

The Magician’s Elephant joins Netflix’s fast growing original slate of animated features which includes Academy Award nominated Klaus, Kris Pearn’s The Willoughbys, Oscar winner Glen Keane’s Over the Moon; as well as the Fall 2021 comedy Back to the Outback directed by Clare Knight and Harry Cripps, Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Adventure, Chris Williams’ The Sea Beast, Henry Selick’s Wendell & Wild, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and an Aardman sequel to Chicken Run.

“When I first read Kate DiCamillo’s book, I knew that I had to make The Magician’s Elephant into a film. It’s as inspiring as it is entertaining, and has such a wonderful blend of adventure, heart, magic and off-center humor. The film has such a unique visual style that transports the audience away to another world, one that Wendy and I wanted to ensure reflects the world as it really is – full of different cultures and beliefs,” said producer Julia Pistor.

Director Wendy Rogers said, “Peter’s story planted itself in my heart when I first read the book – I felt very connected to him, and was totally captivated by the world and the characters. The power of hope, the belief that anything is possible, and the ability to ask “what if?” are all themes that are woven into the fabric of this film, and resonate now more than ever.” .

Synopsis: When Peter (voiced by Noah Jupe), who is searching for his long-lost sister named Adel (voiced by Pixie Davies), crosses paths with a fortune teller in the market square, there is only one question on his mind: is his sister still alive? The answer, that he must find a mysterious elephant and the magician (voiced by Benedict Wong) who will conjure it, sets Peter off on a harrowing journey to complete three seemingly impossible tasks that will change the face of his town forever. The Magician’s Elephant is based on Two-time Newbery Award winning author Kate DiCamillo’s classic novel.

Directed by: Wendy Rogers (VFX supervisor on Flushed Away, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
Produced by: Julia Pistor (Jimmy Neutron, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Based on the Book By: Two-time Newbery Award winning author Kate DiCamillo
Written by: Martin Hynes (Toy Story 4)
Production Design: Max Boas (Abominable)
Art Director: Iuri Lioi (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy)
Edited by: Robert Fisher Jr. (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Pre Vis Lead: Gary H. Lee (Kung Fu Panda)
Head of Story: Mark Sperber (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2)
Line Producer: Jennifer Teter (Sherlock Gnomes)
Computer Imagery By: Animal Logic
Cast: Sian Clifford, Pixie Davies, Natasia Demetriou, Dawn French, Brian Tyree Henry, Noah Jupe, Aasif Mandvi, Mandy Patinkin, Miranda Richardson, Cree Summer, Lorraine Toussaint, Benedict Wong

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.