Whispers: An Elephant's Tale

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Whispers: An Elephant's Tale ★★½ 2000 (G)

Odd anthropomorphic film made up entirely of nature footage is similar in some respects to “The Adventures of Milo & Otis.” As with that film, here we have animals photographed in the wilds of Africa, with various actors supplying voices for the animals. The film opens with the birth of Whispers (Derryberry), an elephant. While his herd is roaming, he gets lost and can't find his mother Gentle Heart (Archer). Wandering through the bush, he meets another elephant named Groove (Bassett). Groove isn't very fond of Whispers at first, but she ultimately decides to help him find his mom. Along the way, they meet a variety of interesting animals and encounter some evil poachers. An entertaining film, but it also feels very artificial. The end result is a film with some amazing photography, but a story which comes across as hollow. 72m/C DVD. D: Dereck Joubert; W: Dereck Joubert, Jordan Moffet, Holly Goldberg Sloan; C: Dereck Joubert; M: Trevor Rabin; V: Debi Derryberry, Anne Archer, Angela Bassett, Joanna Lumley, Kevin M. Richardson, Alice Ghostley, Betty White, Kathryn Cressida, Joan Rivers.