Elephant Tales (ATOM Study Guide)

Elephant Tales is a live-action family adventure film starring two young elephants, a chimpanzee, a giraffe and a lion cub journeying across the epic African landscape on a joint quest to stop the 'badness' and find a new family.

A joint Australian–French production, it was written by Mario Andreacchio, Denis Whitburn and John Wild, directed by Mario Andreacchio (Paradise Found [2003], Napoleon [1995], The Real Macaw [1998]), and produced by Georges Campana and Mario Andreacchio.

Mario Andreacchio first conceived the story for Elephant Tales whilst sitting under the shade of an Acacia tree in the midday sun watching orphaned elephants play together in Kenya. Years later, having successfully filmed Napoleon, the story of a puppy in outback Australia, he set out to fulfil his dream and make a film about elephants.

The film was made using a unique approach. The general story outline was written first and then the scenes were filmed by allowing the animals to interact naturally. This meant that the animals themselves actually wrote the detail of each scene. The scene and the film were then rewritten around the animal behaviour. Mario Andreacchio explains that 'you have to trust that the animal will be intrinsically interesting in itself. Give them freedom and liberty to be themselves and for them to express their natural characters.' The result is an animal film with a tight storyline where the animals behave naturally rather than performing tricks and mindlessly obeying commands.

Elephant Tales is a moving and magical tale of two elephant brothers. Zef and Tutu live a wonderful, carefree life with the whole of Africa for a backyard. They are mischievous, fun-loving and well cared for, until one night hunters decimate their herd. Faced with the loss of their family, Tutu and Zef set off across the African plain in search of a future. As they travel, they meet other orphaned animals and together they face many challenges. With a strong wildlife conservation message at its core, Elephant Tales explores themes of courage, adventure, family and friendship in the spectacular and exotic landscapes of southern Africa.