''The Impossible Elephant'' is a 2001 Canadian

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by Martin Wood and written by

Robert C. Cooper Robert C. Cooper is a Canadian writer and producer best known for his work in the ''Stargate'' franchise. He was formerly an executive producer of ''Stargate SG-1'', ''Stargate Atlantis'' and ''Stargate Universe''. He also co-created both ''Star ...

. The film premiered at the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children on April 20, 2001 and was later released on home media by the distributor

Peace Arch Entertainment Peace Arch Entertainment ("PAE") (formerly known as Medco from 1981 until 1985 and Vidatron Entertainment from 1985 until 1999) was a Canadian motion picture and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with offices in Los ...

Synopsis

A boy named Daniel, whose mother has recently passed away, wishes upon a

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

for an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

. His wish comes true when one appears in his clubhouse, much to the disapproval of his father. When they bring it to a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

, they find out that the elephant is sick and will be shipped to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

to be taken care of. When attempting to help his adopted pet escape, with the help of his friend Gilbert, they realize the elephant possesses the ability to fly.

Cast

Mark Rendall Mark Rendall (born October 21, 1988) is a Canadian film, television and voice actor whose roles include the lead in the 2004 film, '' Childstar'' and Mick in season 1 of the Canadian television drama series ''ReGenesis''. He played Bastian Bux i ...

as Daniel Harris *

Alex Doduk Alexander Doduk (born December 21, 1989) is an American voice actor and former child actor who is well known for his roles in the films: Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001), Scary Godmother (2003), The Impossible Elephant (2001) and in the Animated s ...

as Gilbert (Trout) *

Nicholas Lea Nicholas Lea (born Nicholas Christopher Herbert; June 22, 1962) is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek on ''The X-Files'' and of Tom Foss on ''Kyle XY''. Life and career Lea was born in New Westminster, British Columbia. ...

as Steven Harris *

Mia Sara Mia Sarapochiello (born June 19, 1967), known professionally as Mia Sara, is a retired American actress. She made her film debut as Princess Lili in the fantasy film ''Legend'' (1985), and had her breakthrough starring as Sloane Peterson in the ...

as Molly Connor *Jordan Becker as "Butterbutt" *Dwayne Brenna as Principal Duncan *Sheldon Bergstrom as Jack

Production

The production design was done by Kathleen Climie, and the movie was filmed in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North ...

. The soundtrack was created by Michael Richard Plowman.

Reception

Ken Eisner of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film a "more-than-serviceable kidpic that makes good use of real and mechanical pachyderms to whip up a boy's-own tale of a magical

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

loose in the ‘burbs."

Awards

The film won the Best Feature Film award at the Toronto Sprockets International Film Festival for Children in 2001, while director Wood and screenwriter Cooper were nominated at the Gemini Awards for "Best Direction in a Children's or Youth Program or Series" and "Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series" respectively.

References

External links

* * * 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s children's fantasy films 2001 comedy films 2001 films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Martin Wood Canadian adventure comedy films {{2000s-Canada-film-stub