It’s whimsical. It’s fun. It’s charming. It’s heartwarming. It’s delightfully enchanting. It’s magical. Director WENDY ROGERS, producer JULIA PISTOR and author KATE DiCAMILLO talk the animated magic of THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT in this exclusive interview.
From the moment the novel THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT by Kate DiCamillo was released in 2009, it became a children’s classic. This is the tale of young Peter who lost his mother and sister in the war and has been raised by retired soldier VIlna Lutz. With no money and having very little else, and with Lutz still living out battle plans on the small kitchen table and forcing Peter to undergo daily military drills, Peter dreams of better days ahead. He also dreams that his little sister is still alive. One evening when sent by Lutz to buy fish for dinner, Peter comes upon a fortuneteller in the market square. Desperate to know if his sister is alive, he spends his coin on a reading, but is less than pleased with the fortuneteller’s answer – “An elephant! An elephant will lead you there!” Knowing there are no elephants in Baltese, it becomes a matter of seeing is believing, and believe Peter does, especially when a magician comes to town, an elephant appears, and Peter must achieve three impossible tasks to find the answer to his question.
A story perfect for adaptation into an animated film, that’s exactly what producer Julia Pistor thought, as did Wendy Rogers who makes her directorial debut with THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT. With a script by Martin Hynes adapting Kate DiCamillo’s novel, and voice casting that includes, among others, Noah Jupe (Peter), Mandy Patinkin (Vilna), Natasia Demetriou (Fortune Teller / Narrator), Miranda Richardson (Madam LeVaughn), Benedict Wong (The Magician), Aasif Mandvi (The King), and Brian Tyree Henry (Leo Matienne), THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT transports you into a world of animated wonder that encourages bravery and determination and belief in one’s self as well as in others. Some wonderful lessons to be learned!
(As a side note, if you haven’t read Kate DiCamillo’s book, do yourself a favor and add it to your home library, especially if you have young children or are just a big kid at heart.)
Chatting with WENDY ROGERS, JULIA PISTOR, and KATE DiCAMILLO, we opened up their collective trunk of magic in this exclusive interview discussing all aspects of THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT and what it took to finally bring this story to life on the screen, starting with timing and animation technology.
Diving deeper into the production elements, we look at:
- the use of color and the importance of contrast between candy-colored hues and greys and the metaphor and beauty that emerges (and a cloud dream sequence that is pure magic);
- the architectural and historical cacophony of stunning production design;
- tonal shift and the structural development created with the editing of Robert Fisher, Jr.;
- the work of animation gurus Animal Logic and the importance of facial expressiveness;
- creating emotional animation with the elephant;
- themes and characters;
- story adaptation and added cinematic elements;
- the three impossible tasks Wendy, Julia, and Kate face in their work;
- collaboration;
- and more!
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 03/03/2023
THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT is now streaming on Netflix!
