Water for Elephants (film)
Encyclopedia
Water for Elephants is a 2011 American romantic drama film based on Sara Gruen
's novel of the same name
, directed by Francis Lawrence
, from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese
. It stars Reese Witherspoon
, Robert Pattinson
and Christoph Waltz
.
The film was released in the United States and Canada on April 22, 2011, and received mixed to positive reviews from film critics; it garnered a "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
based upon aggregated reviews, and a rating of "mixed or average reviews" at Metacritic
.
, where a 23-year-old Polish American
Jacob (Robert Pattinson
) is a Cornell student. During his final exam, he is informed that his parents have been killed in a car crash. His father (Ilia Volok
) has left huge debts, and the bank forecloses on Jacob's home. Feeling there is no point in returning to school and having no home, he jumps onto a passing train where he meets Camel (Jim Norton
).
In the morning, Jacob discovers that he jumped on the Benzini Brothers Circus train. He sees a beautiful woman, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon
) and meets August (Christoph Waltz
), the circus owner, head animal trainer, and Marlena's husband. Jacob reveals he studied veterinary science and has noticed a problem with Silver, the starring horse of the show. August agrees to hire him as a vet for the circus animals, because he shares some devastating news about Silver. Soon after, Jacob begins to catch the drift of how things go about in the Benzini Brothers Circus.
, Piru
, Fillmore
in California
; Chattanooga, Tennessee
; Kensington
and Chickamauga
in Georgia
. The filming wrapped up on August 4, 2010. This is the second time Witherspoon and Pattinson have costarred together as they had filmed a deleted scene from 2004's Vanity Fair
in which he was her estranged son. Reshoots for the film were scheduled for mid January 2011.
The stampede scenes were digitally composed.
reports that 61% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 177 reviews, with an average score of 6.1 out of 10. The critical consensus is: "It's a tale tastefully told and beautifully filmed, but Water for Elephants suffers from a pronounced lack of chemistry between its leads." Among Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 46%, based on a sample of 35 reviews. Metacritic
, which assigns a weighted mean
rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 52% based on 35 reviews.
Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
gave the film three stars out of four, stating: "This is good sound family entertainment, a safe PG-13 but not a dumb one, and it's a refreshing interlude before we hurtle into the summer blockbuster season." Todd McCarthy
of The Hollywood Reporter
gave the film a positive review. He stated: "The Reese Witherspoon-Robert Pattinson film will please fans of Sara Gruen’s best seller, but it lacks the vital spark that would have made the drama truly compelling on the screen."
Kenneth Turan
of the Los Angeles Times
gave the film a positive review, stating that "despite the stars' lack of romantic chemistry, there's much to enjoy in this cinematic retelling of Sara Gruen's big top bestseller, starting with the spectacular circus setting."
Richard Corliss
of Time
magazine stated: "The proceedings get so slow and saccharine that viewers will relishes the film's moments of redeeming idiocy. In one of them, Marlena whispers to Jacob, "Bring Rosie to my tent and don't tell anyone" — as if the roustabouts wouldn't notice a 12-ft.-tall, 10,000-lb. creature striding down the midway. Granted, they'd also take a look at his handler, the divoon Robert Pattinson; but Rosie has a pretty strong odor too, and that's what will stick to you after seeing Water for Elephants." James Berardinelli
, film critic for ReelViews, praised the film, but not its cast, giving it two and a half stars out of four, he wrote: "There's an old-fashioned vibe to Water for Elephants; it's the kind of movie Hollywood once turned out with regularity but rarely does anymore."
Some critics, however, praised the film's cast. Mick LaSalle
of the San Francisco Chronicle
stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and that Witherspoon, while an odd fit for the role, was "actress enough to make it work." He continued: "the affectionate but turbulent dynamic among [Christoph] Waltz, Pattinson and Witherspoon is endlessly watchable." Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
also said that Pattinson and Witherspoon "smoldered" under the "golden gaze of Rodrigo Prieto's camera."
on November 1, 2011. As of Nov. 6, it has been on Direct TV Cinema. The release will be produced in two physical packages: a 1-disc DVD and 2-disc Blu-ray/Digital Copy combo pack.
(AHA) which had monitors on the set and gave the film their “No Animals Were Harmed” in the making certification. However, a controversy emerged surrounding the treatment of the animals prior to the film. A 2005 video released by Animal Defenders International
(ADI) shows that prior to the film being in the works, Tai the elephant was abused by her trainers, Have Trunk Will Travel. The filmed abuse caused the studio and many animal activists including the AHA to speak out against the harm of animals and any indication that Tai was harmed while on the set. ADI contacted AHA, urging them to re-evaluate how they assess the use of animals in films and the statements being made which effectively endorse the use of performing animals.
A Facebook
campaign to boycott the film was formed since the outbreak of the news, but it has not stopped the film from being successful worldwide. Some have questioned the ADI's motives and how the film even came to be, due to the late release of the footage. ADI confirmed that the film was part of a wider investigation and only released to correct misinformation being spread by Tai's trainers that she was trained only through use of positive reinforcement and treats. ADI's footage refutes this.
Sara Gruen
Sara Gruen is a Canada-born dual citizen author. Her books deal greatly with animals and she is a supporter of numerous charitable organizations that support animals and wildlife.-Early life and education:...
's novel of the same name
Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants is a historical novel by Sara Gruen. Gruen originally wrote the novel as part of National Novel Writing Month.- Plot :...
, directed by Francis Lawrence
Francis Lawrence
Francis Lawrence is an American music video and film director.-Life and career:Lawrence was born in Vienna, Austria. His father is a physicist who taught at California State University, Northridge and his mother is V.P. Technology at a PR agency. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of three...
, from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese
Richard LaGravenese is an American screenwriter and occasional film director. He is best known as the writer of The Fisher King.-Personal life:...
. It stars Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
, Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
and Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and...
.
The film was released in the United States and Canada on April 22, 2011, and received mixed to positive reviews from film critics; it garnered a "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based upon aggregated reviews, and a rating of "mixed or average reviews" at Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Plot
Flashback to the prohibition era, during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, where a 23-year-old Polish American
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
Jacob (Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
) is a Cornell student. During his final exam, he is informed that his parents have been killed in a car crash. His father (Ilia Volok
Ilia Volok
Ilia Volok or Ilia Volokh is a notable Russian-born television and movie actor. Volok appeared in more than ninety films and TV shows.-Life and career:Volok was born in Kiev where he graduated from a high school and became a professional athlete...
) has left huge debts, and the bank forecloses on Jacob's home. Feeling there is no point in returning to school and having no home, he jumps onto a passing train where he meets Camel (Jim Norton
Jim Norton (actor)
Jim Norton is an Irish character actor.-Performances:Jim Norton has been acting for over forty years in theatre, television, and movies, and frequently plays clergymen, most notably Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted, as well as in The Sweeney , Peak Practice , Sunset Heights , A Love Divided...
).
In the morning, Jacob discovers that he jumped on the Benzini Brothers Circus train. He sees a beautiful woman, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
) and meets August (Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and...
), the circus owner, head animal trainer, and Marlena's husband. Jacob reveals he studied veterinary science and has noticed a problem with Silver, the starring horse of the show. August agrees to hire him as a vet for the circus animals, because he shares some devastating news about Silver. Soon after, Jacob begins to catch the drift of how things go about in the Benzini Brothers Circus.
Cast
- Reese WitherspoonReese WitherspoonLaura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower...
as Marlena Rosenbluth - Robert PattinsonRobert PattinsonRobert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
as Jacob Jankowski - Christoph WaltzChristoph WaltzChristoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He received international acclaim for his portrayal of SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and...
as August Rosenbluth - TaiTaiTai may refer to:*Tai peoples*Tai languages*Tai , a Chinese surname*Mount Tai, in Shandong, China*Lake Tai, on the border of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, China...
as Rosie, the elephant - James FrainJames FrainJames Dominic Frain is an English stage and screen actor. He is possibly best known for his role in the Showtime series The Tudors in which he appeared as Thomas Cromwell from 2007 to 2009, and for his role as vampire Franklin Mott in season three of the HBO drama True Blood, as well as his role...
as Rosie's caretaker - Hal HolbrookHal HolbrookHarold Rowe "Hal" Holbrook, Jr. is an American actor. His television roles include Abraham Lincoln in the 1976 TV series Lincoln, Hays Stowe on The Bold Ones: The Senator and Capt. Lloyd Bucher on Pueblo. He is also known for his role in the 2007 film Into the Wild, for which he was nominated for...
as Older Jacob Jankowski - Paul SchneiderPaul Schneider (actor)Paul Andrew Schneider is an American film actor.-Early life and career:Schneider was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts...
as Charlie O'Brien - Ken ForeeKen ForeeKentotis Alvin "Ken" Foree is an American actor probably most famous as the hero Peter in Dawn of the Dead and Kenan & Kel as Roger, Kenan's dad.- Early life and career :Foree was born in Indianapolis, Indiana...
as Earl - Tim GuineeTim GuineeTimothy S. "Tim" Guinee is an American stage, television, and feature film actor.-Life and career:Guinee, who has two brothers and two sisters, was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Illinois and Texas....
as Diamond Joe - Mark PovinelliMark PovinelliMark Povinelli is an American stage, television, and movie actor who also does occasional stunt work. He stands 3’ 9½” and weighs 75 pounds as a consequence of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita , a skeletal dysplasia caused by a mutation in the COL2A1 gene.-Life and career:Povinelli was...
as Kinko/Walter - Scott MacDonaldScott MacDonald (actor)Scott MacDonald is an American actor. He is best known for his recurring roles as Captain Manning on short-lived series Threshold, Burley from HBO series Carnivàle, and as Commander Dolim from Star Trek: Enterprise, and as the title character from 1996 horror film Jack Frost.He grew up in Libby,...
as Blackie - Jim NortonJim Norton (actor)Jim Norton is an Irish character actor.-Performances:Jim Norton has been acting for over forty years in theatre, television, and movies, and frequently plays clergymen, most notably Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted, as well as in The Sweeney , Peak Practice , Sunset Heights , A Love Divided...
as Camel - Richard BrakeRichard BrakeRichard Brake is a Welsh/American actor.-Early life:Brake was born in Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, Wales and brought up in the United States...
as Grad
Filming
On a budget of $38 million, filming began on May 20, 2010 in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Piru
Piru, California
Piru is a small unincorporated census-designated town located in eastern Ventura County, California, in the Santa Clara River Valley near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, about seven miles east of Fillmore and about west of Interstate 5. The population was 2,063 at the 2010 census, up from...
, Fillmore
Fillmore, California
Fillmore is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The population was 15,002 at the 2010 census, up from 13,643 at the 2000 census.- History :...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
; Kensington
Kensington, Georgia
Kensington, Georgia is a community in Walker County, Georgia northwest of LaFayette. It is the location of three properties or districts that are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places:*Lane House...
and Chickamauga
Chickamauga, Georgia
Chickamauga is a city in Walker County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,245 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The filming wrapped up on August 4, 2010. This is the second time Witherspoon and Pattinson have costarred together as they had filmed a deleted scene from 2004's Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (2004 film)
Vanity Fair is a 2004 British-American costume drama film directed by Mira Nair and adapted from William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name...
in which he was her estranged son. Reshoots for the film were scheduled for mid January 2011.
The stampede scenes were digitally composed.
Critical response
Water for Elephants has received generally positive reviews. Review aggregate Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 61% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 177 reviews, with an average score of 6.1 out of 10. The critical consensus is: "It's a tale tastefully told and beautifully filmed, but Water for Elephants suffers from a pronounced lack of chemistry between its leads." Among Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 46%, based on a sample of 35 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a weighted mean
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, the film has a rating score of 52% based on 35 reviews.
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
gave the film three stars out of four, stating: "This is good sound family entertainment, a safe PG-13 but not a dumb one, and it's a refreshing interlude before we hurtle into the summer blockbuster season." Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy is an American film critic. He wrote for Variety for 31 years as its chief film critic before being fired in 2010. He is currently a critic for The Hollywood Reporter....
of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
gave the film a positive review. He stated: "The Reese Witherspoon-Robert Pattinson film will please fans of Sara Gruen’s best seller, but it lacks the vital spark that would have made the drama truly compelling on the screen."
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave the film a positive review, stating that "despite the stars' lack of romantic chemistry, there's much to enjoy in this cinematic retelling of Sara Gruen's big top bestseller, starting with the spectacular circus setting."
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
Richard Nelson Corliss is a writer for Time magazine who focuses on movies, with the occasional article on music or sports. Corliss is the former editor-in-chief of Film Comment...
of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine stated: "The proceedings get so slow and saccharine that viewers will relishes the film's moments of redeeming idiocy. In one of them, Marlena whispers to Jacob, "Bring Rosie to my tent and don't tell anyone" — as if the roustabouts wouldn't notice a 12-ft.-tall, 10,000-lb. creature striding down the midway. Granted, they'd also take a look at his handler, the divoon Robert Pattinson; but Rosie has a pretty strong odor too, and that's what will stick to you after seeing Water for Elephants." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
, film critic for ReelViews, praised the film, but not its cast, giving it two and a half stars out of four, he wrote: "There's an old-fashioned vibe to Water for Elephants; it's the kind of movie Hollywood once turned out with regularity but rarely does anymore."
Some critics, however, praised the film's cast. Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle is an American Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] Mick LaSalle is an [[United States|American]] [[film reviewer] and the author of two books on pre-[[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] Hollywood...
of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and that Witherspoon, while an odd fit for the role, was "actress enough to make it work." He continued: "the affectionate but turbulent dynamic among [Christoph] Waltz, Pattinson and Witherspoon is endlessly watchable." Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
also said that Pattinson and Witherspoon "smoldered" under the "golden gaze of Rodrigo Prieto's camera."
Box office
Water for Elephants was released in theaters on April 22, 2011. In the United States and Canada, Water for Elephants was released theatrically in 2,817 conventional theaters. The film grossed $6,924,487 during its opening day on April 22, 2011, with midnight screenings in 2,817 locations. Overall the film made $16,842,353 and debuted at #3 on its opening weekend. On its second weekend, it dropped to #4 and grossed $9,342,413 - $3,313 per theater. By its third weekend it dropped down to #6 and made $6,069,603 - $2,322 per theater. As of September 27, 2011 its final gross is $58,709,717 in the United States and $58,385,185 overseas, for a total of $117,094,902.Accolades
| Group | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| NewNowNext Awards NewNowNext Awards The first NewNowNext-Awards were held in 2008 by the gay and lesbian-themed network Logo.- 2008 :The nominees were announced by Cazwell and Amanda Lepore. Hosts were Candis Cayne and Colman Domingo... |
Next Must See Movie | ||
| 2011 Teen Choice Awards 2011 Teen Choice Awards The 2011 Teen Choice Awards hosted by Kaley Cuoco aired live on August 7, 2011 at 8/7c on Fox. This was the first time that the ceremonies were aired live since the 2007 show... |
Choice Movie – Drama | ||
| Choice Movie Actor – Drama | Robert Pattinson Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... |
||
| Choice Movie Actress – Drama | Reese Witherspoon Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon , better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and film producer. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the film The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower... |
||
| 38th People's Choice Awards 38th People's Choice Awards The 38th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2011, will be held on January 11, 2012 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and were broadcast live on CBS at 9:00 pm ET.On November 8, the nominees were announced... |
Favorite Drama Movie | ||
| Favorite Book Adaption | |||
| Favorite Movie Actor | Robert Pattinson | ||
| Favorite Movie Actress | Reese Witherspoon |
Home media
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on November 1, 2011. As of Nov. 6, it has been on Direct TV Cinema. The release will be produced in two physical packages: a 1-disc DVD and 2-disc Blu-ray/Digital Copy combo pack.
Controversy
The film's producers have said that the animals were not harmed in the filming, supported by the American Humane AssociationAmerican Humane Association
The American Humane Association is an organization founded in 1877 dedicated to the welfare of animals and children.The AHA's Film and Television Unit has monitored the welfare of animals during the production of films and television programs since 1940. They are the source of the familiar...
(AHA) which had monitors on the set and gave the film their “No Animals Were Harmed” in the making certification. However, a controversy emerged surrounding the treatment of the animals prior to the film. A 2005 video released by Animal Defenders International
Animal Defenders International
With offices in London and Los Angeles, Animal Defenders International is a major international campaigning group, lobbying to protect animals on issues such as animals in entertainment and their use in experiments; worldwide traffic in endangered species; factory farming; pollution and...
(ADI) shows that prior to the film being in the works, Tai the elephant was abused by her trainers, Have Trunk Will Travel. The filmed abuse caused the studio and many animal activists including the AHA to speak out against the harm of animals and any indication that Tai was harmed while on the set. ADI contacted AHA, urging them to re-evaluate how they assess the use of animals in films and the statements being made which effectively endorse the use of performing animals.
A Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
campaign to boycott the film was formed since the outbreak of the news, but it has not stopped the film from being successful worldwide. Some have questioned the ADI's motives and how the film even came to be, due to the late release of the footage. ADI confirmed that the film was part of a wider investigation and only released to correct misinformation being spread by Tai's trainers that she was trained only through use of positive reinforcement and treats. ADI's footage refutes this.