‘The Magician’s Elephant’ Review: How Hard Is to Believe in Magic?

For centuries, the concept of magic has accompanied humanity through its development. What was once thought impossible ended up becoming a reality, and it will happen again as science keeps performing amazing feats that we can only imagine at this point in time. Netflix‘s animation presents The Magician’s Elephant, a new animated film that proposes that believing makes things exist and that we can only achieve the impossible if we believe we can.

The Magician’s Elephant is a film directed by Wendy Rogers, and it serves as an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Kate DiCamillo. The film stars Noah Jupe, Benedict Wong, Pixie Davies, Mandy Patinkin, Miranda Richardson, Aasif Mandvi, and Brian Tyree Henry. The film tells the story of Peter, a young orphan who lives with his guardian, an old soldier preparing him for the harsh life. However, after visiting a fortune-teller, Peter believes his sister is still alive and that the key to finding her rests in an Elephant that has found its way into the city.

Netflix’s animation has been having some troubles. Just a couple of years ago, the news that the entire division was being shut down came as a very bad development. However, it is right now that Netflix has a nominated animated film for this year’s Oscars with The Sea Beast. This year they have another heavy hitter with The Magician’s Elephant, a film that might not have the same level of animation polish as The Sea Beast but that is equally charming and beautiful in its own way.

The film is being animated by Animal Logic, an animation and visual effects company that has worked on countless movies and is now doing some pretty great work here. The visuals are pretty unique, and the diversity of the many characters makes the city where the story takes place feel alive and unique. The city itself is just wonderful to look at, and a couple of very important magical sequences sell the fact that this is a story about magic and the power of imagination.

Again, you will not find the same level of polish or detail as in Sea Beast or any of the Pixar films. But it doesn’t really matter because the film makes good use of its art design to stand out from the crowd. Some of the animations on the characters might look a bit stiff, but sometimes the movie feels and looks like it was a Laika production. So maybe this type of animation was done intentionally to recreate those movies’ stop-motion flow. The movie has its own sense of movement, and it looks great.

The voice cast is also quite impressive, and it is filled with amazing actors that bring these characters to life. Noah Jupe takes on the main role, and his voice brings a lot of emotion and passion to Peter, who feels completely designed to be the main character of an adventure such as this. At points, it could be said that Peter is just too perfect, too much of a good boy, and that he is just too lucky to feel real. It is all true, but the movie’s point is that people like Peter are only possible if we allow them to be.

The story takes the shape of an old fairy tale, which is, of course, called by the movie itself. However, this is a positive. Fairy tales could be considered tacky or outdated in today’s day and age, but those become the reason why the movie feels so unique. As the story progresses, you feel like Peter’s story could find its place alongside some of the most well-known fairy tales. The movie and the story feel old-fashioned but in a good way. You know how the movie will end, but you are here for it.

Mark Mothersbaugh’s score fits amazingly well. The music brings that sense of magic and elevates the intensity and emotion of many of the most important scenes in the movie. Mothersbaugh is having a very ecliptic year, as it is his nature, scoring this movie and the infamous meme film Cocaine Bear. It only speaks to his talent that he can move between two such different films and still do the job well. Scores are sometimes taken for granted, but there is nothing better than a great film scene accompanied by some good music.

If there is something that people might find to be a weakness in the film, it might be that it feels too familiar. To me, this is a strength; there is nothing really wrong with knowing how a story will develop. However, it seems that many audience members are always looking for the best new thing, and this isn’t it. It is just the same good thing you love, and you can love it again. A couple of characters feel too cartoony in their motivations, and they really contrast with the rest of the cast, which feels more real.

In the end, The Magician’s Elephant is another fantastic example of how Netflix can be the place to be for many animated productions that don’t fit in the Pixar and Disney format. These two production companies have taken up too much space in the genre, and other studios have just as much talent to tell stories in this medium. Netflix and many other streaming services should realize this. It makes me happy that with Sea Beast and now The Magician’s Elephant, it seems Netflix could be that place.

SCORE: 8/10