Destiny has a funny way of guiding people and putting all the pieces together, and “The Magician’s Elephant,” via its well-written character, explains it perfectly. The movie puts the audience in the shoes of Peter, a young kid hailing from the Baltese who has been told that his family died during the war. However, Peter still believes that his little sister is still alive and is advised by a fortune teller to follow the elephant. Peter is hesitant to believe the fortune teller’s words but is forced to believe otherwise when an elephant mysteriously appears in the city out of nowhere. With that being said, here’s a detailed guide to the major characters of “The Magician’s Elephant.”
Spoilers Ahead
Noah Jupe As Peter
Peter (voiced by) was an orphan who was raised by a loyal soldier who knows about fighting, war, loyalty, hardship, and danger and is thus training the boy for the same. Peter was born after the beautiful and magical town of Baltese was thrown into the middle of a never-ending war. The magical town where everything was possible eventually succumbed to the passage of time, and everything changed from people to a magical fountain. Following the war, everyone in Baltistan stopped believing; nothing felt possible or magical. But Peter felt that there is more to the town than somberness and sadness. Peter was told by his guardian that his father died in the war and that his mother and her sister died during birth. However, he firmly believed that his sister was alive and living somewhere. Peter’s faith solidifies even deeper when a magician accidentally brings an elephant into their world, just like the fortune teller told him. Peter is brave teenager, the one who rejects giving up and will travel miles or even carry out the three impossible tasks to get the elephant that would lead him to his sister. The task includes beating the King’s most fearsome soldier, flying in the air, and making the countess laugh, who had forgotten to smile after her brother perished in the bloody war. Peter manages to complete these seemingly impossible task using his courage, wit, hope, and the help of his friends. Peter’s ordeals gave everyone hope, and it soon spreads, making everyone again believe in the impossible and magic.
However, Peter realises that, like him, the elephant must have a family and urges the King and the magician to send him back to where he belongs.
Pixie Davies As Adele
Adele (voiced by ) is Peter’s younger sister, who was separated from her brother during the war. During the war, Vilna (Peter’s guardian) comes across a nurse who has just helped deliver a baby girl. The nurse asked Vilna to take the boy with him, saying she’d follow them to the garrison. Sad to say, mortar bombardment caused both the barracks and the home to explode, leaving both sides certain that the other had perished. Even after losing everything, Adele always hoped for the best, and like Peter, her destiny also required her to follow the elephant. She dreamt of an elephant and forced her guardian to take her back to the city of Baltese, so she could see the elephant and know what the future had in store for her.
Mandy Patinkin As Vilna, The Soldier
Vilna was a grumpy old soldier who always believed the war hadn’t ended and the people of Baltese must always be prepared for it. Maybe that’s why he was often so hard on Peter, training him to sustain himself on stale bread and tiny fish so that he could prepare him for another war. Like many in Baltse, Vilna once had faith in magic and making the impossible possible, but the scars of war and seeing countless of his comrades die before his eyes made him believe the latter. Vilna had decided to lie to Peter that his sister died in stillbirth to spare him the pain. But Vilna couldn’t help but believe in magic and hope after seeing Peter accomplish the three impossible tasks that he, too, believed could not be accomplished. In reality, Vilna’s battle was not with his enemies sporting rifles and sabres but with the cloud of disbelief that enveloped everyone in Baltese.
Brian Tyree Henry As Leo Matienne
Like Peter, Leo was one of the few who still believed in the impossible. Leo was a high-ranking officer in the King’s army and a true believer in “What If?” After learning that the Countess and the ministers plan to put down the elephant, believing it to be a monstrous creature, he uses his quick wit to send a telegram to the King informing him that an elephant has come through a ceiling. Leo, knowing that King is an avid fan of entertainment, won’t be able to deny his request. The King writes back, informing the town of Baltese that he will be arriving soon to see the elephant in action. Leo had a soft spot for Peter and believed that no kid should be subjected to wartime training at this age. Leo and his wife were childless and, in a way, saw Peter as their son, often going out of their way to help him. With very little time on their hands, Leo managed to teach Peter a few sword-fighting techniques, and it was also his idea that Peter uses silk to make a parachute to complete his second challenge.
Benedict Wong As The Magician
The depth and emotion Benedict Wong brings to this character is a sight for sore eyes. The magician had joined the town in order to mesmerise the townspeople with his magic, but after seeing everyone boo and their sheer disbelief in magic, he was left heartbroken. To be honest, the magician wasn’t very adept in magic, but even if it were otherwise, the crowd wouldn’t care. Thus, he decided to cast a powerful spell to restore and revive all of Baltese, but the spell went awry, making a giant elephant drop from the ceiling and hurting the old lady. The magician was jailed for disrupting the peace, and he spent the next few days doubting himself and his magic. What he thought would be mystery and wonderment ended up being a disaster, not knowing that it was his magic that started putting all the pieces together. With everyone’s belief, the magician was once again able to use his magic to send the elephant back to his kind, making the cloud enveloping the city disappear again. The fog and thick cloud overhead that was engulfing the city was a metaphor for despair and the end of magic and belief, but Peter, with his unrelenting efforts, smashed through the shroud, letting the sun shine through and restoring the city’s faith in the power of magic.