Whispers - An Elephant's Tale

Starring:Angela Bassett, Joanna Lumley, Anne Archer, Debi Derryberry, Kevin Michael Richardson, Alice Ghostley, Betty White, Kathryn Cressida, Joan Rivers, John Di Maggio, Tone Loc, Jeannie Elias, Jim Black (II), Joseph Molekoa, David Mabukane, Sandor Carter, Pinto Colvig, Clarence Nash
Director: Dereck Joubert, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Hannah
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Whispers is an unusual hybrid, a family film that looks like a documentary, but sounds like a Disney cartoon. No wonder--it's a little of both. Although not quite as moving as Dumbo or The Lion King, the 72-minute feature provides an evocative portrait of elephant life on the plains of Africa. The gentle creatures are voiced by a constellation of talented actors: Groove, for instance, as portrayed by Angela Bassett, is the crotchety elephant who adopts Whispers after he's separated from his mother, Gentle Heart (Anne Archer). Other voices include Absolutely Fabulous' Joanna Lumley and Joan Rivers. The effect is initially disconcerting and not as successfully realized as in Homeward Bound, but the human voices probably do make the story easier for younger viewers to follow. Less corny dialogue might have also contributed to a stronger result, but the fascinating cinematography and Trevor Rabin's lively score are a plus. For ages 6 through 12. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Description

In the tradition of Disney's HOMEWARD BOUND, Disney's heartwarming, thrilling, and majestic WHISPERS: AN ELEPHANT'S TALE is an unforgettable adventure your entire family will love. Whispers, an innocent and adorable baby elephant who's just learning to walk on his own four feet, finds himself separated from his loving mother Gentle Heart. In his desperate search to find her, he meets the cynical loner Groove, an outcast from her own herd who never wanted to be a mother. Together, this unlikely pair braves danger after danger on their incredible journey to find water and Whispers' mother. Set in the wilds of Africa, and starring real animals who express themselves with human voices, WHISPERS: AN ELEPHANT'S TALE captures the stunning beauty of nature in all her glory as its inspiring story of family, love, and loyalty unfolds and grabs your heart.

Customer Reviews:

Elephants & Extras.......2007-06-16

Set in the wilderness of Africa and featuring real animals who express themselves with human voices, Whispers follows the misadventures of an elephant calf named Whispers (Debi Derryberry) who gets separated from his mother (voiced by Anne Archer). In his desperate search to find her, he hooks up with a pessimistic pachyderm with some junk in the trunk. Her name is Groove (Angela Bassett), and in spite of her loner mindset she decides to help the little one in his plight.

I saw this movie when it aired on TV, and I found it pretty boring. However, I think kids will enjoy the story and the locations are quite beautiful. There aren't many extras on the DVD, but it's worth a look if you think you'll enjoy the scenery.

Awesome and very touching movie for all ages.......2006-03-08

This is one of the most awesome and heartwarming movies I've seen, with a great moral to the story. I loved everything about this movie. It is educational, funny, touching, and the music is really cool. This movie is recommended for every boy and girl and also the adults who still "have a heart" and are touched by warm, good stories with a happy ending. We would "cough up water" for this movie. Watch it, better yet - buy a copy, you won't regret it and your children surely won't.

Great Family Movie!!.......2006-03-06

As old as this movie is, I've only ran across it last year while watching t.v. and found it playing. As a lover of both animals and Africa, I truly loved this movie. This is not a cartoon. It is a real movie with real animals filmed in Beautiful Africa! It's a heartwarming tale of a baby elephant named Whispers who becomes seperated from his mother. He desperately tries to find her and runs upon another female adult elephant named Groove. Groove is alone too, for she is an outcast from her herd but she never wanted to have a "baby". They end up teaming up together... for she can not resist loveable Whispers.... in order to find Whisper's mother. Along the way, they run into many surprises. All the animals in this movie express themselves with real human voices. The voice of Whispers is just adorable. A great Walt Disney movie for the whole family. You experience not only a touching story but also the beauty of Africa itself. I found this movie so good, that I bought it. Very much worth the money. Great movie!

Suicidal Cartoons.......2004-10-25

We recently enjoyed watching the elephants walk around and talk to each other. After the feature film, we started watching one of the bonus cartoons that came with the DVD. This cartoon short was called "Clown of the Jungle".

The cartoon starts with a bird smoking a big stogie. After enjoying his cigar, he decides that life is too much to handle and attempts to kill himself.

Twice during the cartoon the character is seen holding a gun to his head.
Twice during the cartoon the character is seen with a noose around his neck.
Finally, since he didn't manage to kill himself using those methods, he decided that drinking poison was the only way to go.

My 2 & 4 year old girls really enjoyed this, next weekend they want to watch Faces of Death or maybe HBO's Autopsy.

On a more serious note, when I was growing up, we would see this all the time, but I think things have changed a bit since then. Of the millions of cartoon clips, I'm a little shocked to see one of this nature on a G Rated Disney DVD.

Enjoy.

My kid likes it but I don't.......2003-07-05

OK, my three year old really likes this movie. There is lots of action and lots of animals, which makes a good show as far as he is concerned. However, I *really* hate the dialog--especially the way the baby elephant interacts with the other elephants. I suppose the scriptwriters wanted to make it hip or something, but it just comes off as obnoxious and smart-assy (pardon my french). I would not allow my child to speak in such a manner to *anyone*, so I don't like him being exposed to such behavior.

The fact that the story includes death doesn't bother me as much as the dialog. There is no gratuitous gore, and hunting--both by humans and other predators--is what life is like for animals in Africa.

There are so many better animal movies out there--The Adventures of Milo and Otis, for example--that don't try to be tragically hip. I'll be glad when my son stops asking for this tape and I never have to see it again!

DVD:

DVD

DVD

DVD

Twice in a Lifetime

Mr Bean - Merry Christmas Mister Bean : Video

Gone, But Not Forgotten (REGION 1) (NTSC)

DVD: Les Miserables - The Dream Cast in Concert (Superbit Co

SimsalaGrimm - Das Beste 8: Der Däumling / Brüderchen und Sc