The Magician’s Elephant – Picture. Netflix
Netflix has continued ramping up its animated content output in recent years, which looks to continue in 2023 with the upcoming animated feature film The Magician’s Elephant. We’re keeping track of everything you need to know about The Magician’s Elephant, including the plot, cast, trailer, and release date, which is set for March 17th, 2023.
The Magician’s Elephant is an upcoming computer-animated Netflix Original family film directed by Wendy Rogers and written by Martin Hynes who adapted the story from Kate DiCamillo’s 2009 novel of the same name.
Animal Logic and Netflix Animation are the production companies working on the project, produced by executive producers Julia Pistor and Jennifer Teter.
The Magician’s Elephant novel (left) and director Wendy Rogers (right)
When is The Magician’s Elephant coming to Netflix?
USA Today was the first to report that the movie would be released sometime in March 2023.
Then, later in January 2023, Netflix unveiled some of its movie slate for 2023. Among the additions was The Magician’s Elephant, due to be released on March 17th, 2023.
The date announcement came alongside a new first look for the movie:
Picture: Netflix
The release date window for The Magician’s Elephant was first revealed by Iuri Lioi, the art director behind the movie, who revealed on his Instagram in November 2022 that the movie had its premiere.
Lioi had the following to say about the project;
This was one of those projects that you are lucky to be a part of! I could not have dreamed of a better team to make a film with (during a pandemic or not)! So much to be grateful for! Thank you Wendy Rogers and Julia Pistor for your incredible/graceful/inspiring leadership! Thank you Max Boas for bringing me on board, and for being so trusting and generous with me! Thank you Jennifer Teter, Johnna Todesco, Junior Bastien, Alex Alemani, Andrew McTighe, and everyone on the production team for being the best partners and making the production of a film seem so freaking easy and seamless! Thank you Brittany Meyers for creating our beautiful characters, and thank you all the amazing talented artists who were part of our art department and created such a beautiful world! And thank you Amber Naismith, Greg Jowle, Felicity Coonan, and everyone at Animal Logic for the incredible partnership, and for bringing the vision to life in such a masterful way! So many incredible and talented people I had the privilege of working alongside. I’m really proud of what we have created together and can’t wait for the rest of the world to see it!
What is the plot of The Magician’s Elephant?
The plot of The Magician’s Elephant has been sourced from IMDb:
Follows Peter, who is searching for his long-lost sister. When he crosses paths with a fortune teller in the market square, he want to know, is his sister still alive? To get the answer, he must find a mysterious elephant and the magician who will conjure it, setting Peter off on a journey to complete three seemingly impossible tasks that will change the face of his town.
Who are the cast members of The Magician’s Elephant?
Noah Jupe will play the voice of Peter. Horror fans will know Peter from his role as Marcus Benner in the A Quiet Place movies. Jupe has previously starred in a Netflix Original film, The Titan, where he played the role of Lucas.
Benedict Wong plays the voice of The Magician. Wong has starred in a total of three Netflix Originals, Annihilation, Marco Polo as Kublai Khan and as the voice of The General in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. He has also been cast in the upcoming adaptation of The Three-Body Problem.
Benedict Wong (left)
Pixie Davies plays the voice of Adel. Davies has yet to star in a Netflix Original, but the young actress has starred in Mary Poppins Returns as Annabel Banks, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children as Bronwyn Bruntley.
The following cast members have also been confirmed for voice roles in The Magician’s Elephant:
- Sian Clifford (Fleabag)
- Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
- Aasif Mandvi (Million Dollar Arm)
- Mandy Patinkin (Homeland)
- Miranda Richardson (Fate: Winx Saga)
- Cree Summer (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
- Lorraine Toussaint (Selma)
- Natasia Demetriou (What We Do in the Shadows)
- Dawn French (Vicar of Dibley)
What is the production status of The Magician’s Elephant?
Official Production Status: Post-Production (Last Updated: 11/01/2023)
The Magician’s Elephant is a long time in the making. Starting in 2012, it took several years and several rewrites before Netflix picked up the project in January 2000.
Filming reportedly began in February 2021 and came to an end by June 25th, 2021. However, with an exceptionally long post-production status, it’s incredibly hard to know exactly how far the movie is away from completion.
Are you going to be watching The Magician’s Elephant when it lands on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below.
