Trailer: Netflix Reveals the Secrets of ‘The Magician’s Elephant’

Kate DiCamillo’s double Newberry Award-winning story The Magician’s Elephant is getting an enchanting animated feature treatment on Netflix next month, brought to life by the CG conjurers of Animal Logic. The streamer today revealed the official trailer for the family flick directed by VFX veteran Wendy Rogers (Puss in Boots, Flushed Away, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian).

“It is my honor to introduce you to The Magician’s Elephant, a joyful animated reimagining of Kate DiCamillo’s prize-winning novel,” Rogers shared. “Our film follows optimistic young Peter on a quest to find his sister — an adventure that involves achieving three impossible tasks and an unexpected elephant encounter.”

When young Peter sets out to find his sister, his optimistic spirit guides him through an unexpected encounter with an elephant and three seemingly impossible tasks, also giving hope to his entire town along the way.

Watch the trailer below:

The Magician’s Elephant is produced by Julia Pistor (Dora and the Lost City of Gold, The Spiderwick Chronicles) and written by Martin Hynes (Toy Story 4).

The voice cast features Noah Jupe as Peter, Sian Clifford, Pixie Davies, Natasia Demetriou, Dawn French, Brian Tyree Henry, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Aasif Mandvi, Mandy Patinkin, Miranda Richardson and Benedict Wong as The Magician.

“Combining Martin Hynes’ comedic and thoughtful script with the well-respected experience of producer Julia Pistor, The Magician’s Elephant was a wonderful privilege to create as my directorial debut,” said Rogers. “I am forever grateful for our brilliant crew at Netflix and Animal Logic that collectively designed and crafted a beautiful, surreal yet tangible world in which our compellingly layered and diverse cast of characters flourishes. I could not have asked for a more emotionally fulfilling story to tell in partnership with such talented filmmakers and voice actors.

“I hope you will enjoy the cinematic journey into our fabled world, and be inspired by Peter’s grit, determination and belief that anything is possible: his spirit has strong resonance for our present day, a time in which we must not only believe that the world can be different, but that we must take action to make positive change!”

You can read all about the making of the movie in the next issue of Animation Magazine (No. 329) in early March.