Water for Elephants

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 04 22 (USA)

UPC: 024543740759

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Sexual Situations]

Summary: A handsome veterinary student falls for a married circus performer in this romantic drama adapted from author Sara Gruen's best-selling novel, and directed by Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend). When Jacob (Robert Pattinson) meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), it's love at first sight -- their shared affections for an extraordinary elephant stirring profound feelings of compassion within both of them. Theirs is a love that could span lifetimes, though the wrath of Marlena's dangerously domineering husband, August (Christoph Waltz), threatens to spell tragedy for all involved. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Drama

Features: Exclusive Robert Pattinson Spotlight
Feature Performer Reese Witherspoon
Secrets of the Big Top
The Traveling Show - Page to Screen
Audio Commentary

Water for Elephants

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 11/01/2011

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 120 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Cammila Albertson

For a movie that's not even close to as spectacular as the big top it depicts, Water for Elephants is still perfectly watchable. Though the central romantic story is pretty standard and formulaic, the setting is pretty interesting; Hollywood churns out plenty of love triangles, but few of them are set against a Depression-era traveling circus backdrop. The movie also benefits from an ensemble of animal performers fleshing out the supporting cast -- though a word of caution to the sensitive: most of them are shown being mercilessly mistreated. We're introduced to the Benzini Brothers circus one dark night in 1931, as young Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) jumps on the company's train. A veterinary student at Cornell University, Jacob was just about to take his final exam when his parents were killed in a car crash, leaving a mountain of debt they'd taken on for his education. Desperate and disillusioned, Jacob soon becomes useful to the company's proprietor, a charming but terrifying man named August (Christoph Waltz), by taking on the care of the menagerie of creatures in the circus -- including the four horses that August's beautiful wife, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), uses for the show's main act. When one of the mares becomes ill, August replaces her with a sweet and uncannily clever elephant named Rosie, whom Jacob is charged with training. However, Jacob also falls in love with Marlena, of course, igniting August's rage, which he unleashes not only on the guilty couple, but on Rosie, whom he prods and beats brutally. At the risk of stating the obvious, Waltz is so ridiculously compelling and eerily menacing, it could be said that he carries the movie -- if not for the fact that the show is completely stolen by Rosie the elephant (whose real name is Tai). The gorgeous pachyderm is even more charismatic than the Oscar-winning villain -- and certainly more so than the heartthrob leading man -- so don't be surprised if her mistreatment, no matter how predictable, feels particularly horrifying. For a creature that weighs several tons to convey happiness, fear, and despair through her vocalizations and body movements is both breathtaking and, in more tragic moments, heartbreaking. For such a huge animal to be so at the mercy of dominance and abuse does seem to lend a bit of subtext to the film, and help it build toward an emotional climax that feels well deserved. ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Cast and Crew: James Newton Howard  Composer (Music Score) 
Richard LaGravenese  Screenwriter 
Gil Netter  Producer 
Erwin Stoff  Producer 
Francis Lawrence  Director 
Andrew R. Tennenbaum  Producer 
Kevin Halloran  Executive Producer 
Reese Witherspoon  Actor 
Robert Pattinson  Actor 
Christoph Waltz  Actor 
Paul Schneider  Actor 
Jim Norton  Actor 
Hal Holbrook  Actor 
Mark Povinelli  Actor 
Mark Povinelli  Actor 
Richard Brake  Actor 
Stephen Monroe Taylor  Actor 
Ken Foree  Actor 
Scott MacDonald  Actor 
James Frain  Actor 
Sam Anderson  Actor 
John Aylward  Actor 
Brad Greenquist  Actor 
Tim Guinee  Actor 
Donna W. Scott  Actor 
E.E. Bell  Actor 
Kyle Jordan  Actor 
Aleksandra Kaniak  Actor 
Ilia Volok  Actor 
Bruce Gray  Actor 
Jim Jansen  Actor 
James Keane  Actor 
Ivo Nandi  Actor 
Karynn Moore  Actor 
Andrew Connolly  Actor 
Doug McDougal  Actor 
Tracy Phillips  Actor 
Rowan O'Hara  Actor 
Tai  Actor 
Uggie  Actor 
Ice  Actor 
Major  Actor 
Sita Acevedo  Actor 
Danny Castle  Actor 
Michael Coronas  Actor 
Aloysia Gavré  Actor 
Chobi Gyorgy  Actor 
David Hunt  Actor 
George Landkas-Coronas  Actor 
Kerren McKeeman  Actor 
Rebecca Ostroff  Actor 
Bianca Sapetto  Actor 
Katia Sereno  Actor 
Vladimir Sizov  Actor 
Russell Stark  Actor 
Sebastien Stella  Actor 
Lee-Anne Telford  Actor 
Dreya Weber  Actor 
Tara Ferguson  Actor 
Shannon Freyer  Actor 
Kelsey McNamee  Actor 
Molly O'Neill  Actor 
Aryiel Hartman  Actor 
Michelle Lavon  Actor 
Mark Barnett  Actor 
Kacie Borrowman  Actor 
Rob Crites  Actor 
Kelly Erickson  Actor 
Derrick Gilday  Actor 
Jonathon Moore  Actor 
Mary Newman  Actor 
Brad Potts  Actor 
Dalmicio Pueblos  Actor 
Gabriel Ramos-Gomez  Actor 
Jackie Zane  Actor 
Aaron Bloom  Actor 
Chris Grabher  Actor 
Eddie Medrano  Actor 
Stephen Simon  Actor 
Jon Weiss  Actor 
Tom Weymouth  Actor 
Wyatt Biessel  Actor 
Chris Blim  Actor 
Duff Dugan  Actor 
Marcus Everett  Actor 
Joe Langer  Actor 
Glen McDougal  Actor 
Stefan Rollins  Actor 
William Scott Morse  Actor 
Evan Silverman  Actor 
Beresford Bennett  Actor 
Johnny Britt  Actor 
Garnett Brown  Actor 
George Harper  Actor 
Bobby Haynes  Actor 
Todd Cochran  Actor 
Mike Davis  Actor 
Keith Friddmont  Actor 
Wynton McCurty  Actor 
Deryl Patterson  Actor 
Kabin Thomas  Actor 
Karl Vincent  Actor 

Country: USA