Netflix announces new animated film in production “The Magician’s Elephant”
Netflix have today announced their latest animated feature film in production – The Magician’s Elephant. Marking the directorial debut of Wendy Rogers, whose prior work in VFX spans an impressive array of projects including Shrek, Flushed Away, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Puss in Boots – the film is adapted from the Newbery Award double winner Kate DiCamillo’s novel of the same name by screenwriter Martin Hynes (Toy Story 4) with Mark Sperber (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) serving as Head of Story.
Produced by Julia Pistor (Jimmy Neutron, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), the film’s voice cast is set to include Sian Clifford, Pixie Davies, Natasia Demetriou, Dawn French, Brian Tyree Henry, Noah Jupe, Aasif Mandvi, Mandy Patinkin, Miranda Richardson, Cree Summer, Lorraine Toussaint and Benedict Wong.
When Peter (Jupe), who is searching for his long-lost sister named Adel (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 (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 – Visual development art by Max Boas with character design by Brittany Myers. Cr: NETFLIX / ©2020
With Computer Imagery by Animal Logic, the film’s key crew includes Production Designer Max Boas (Abominable), Art Director Luri Lioi (How to Train Your Dragon trilogy), Editor Robert Fisher Jr. (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Pre Vis Lead Gary H. Lee (Kung Fu Panda) and Line Producer Jennifer Teter (Sherlock Gnomes).
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.
-Wendy Rogers, Director
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,”
-Julia Pistor, producer