The Elephant Queen

Athena, a 50-year-old mother elephant, is matriarch of a herd of adult females and male and female juveniles, which includes mother Mala, older daughter Milli, and newborn Mimi. The elephants live in a bucolic area referred to as The Kingdom, with dotted waterholes. The waterholes are also home to bullfrogs, chameleons, dung beetles, killifish, and terrapins. In The Elephant Queen, the animals are characters with personalities who live in symbiotic harmony. A drought forces the herd to leave their environment and travel far away to a savanna. But they must eat and drink plenty to endure {{convert|200|mi}} until the next waterhole. Matriarch Athena has the hard decision to wait for Mimi to get stronger for the long trip, or to voyage on towards her and her family’s safety.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/elephant-queen-1248337|title='The Elephant Queen': Film Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=16 October 2019 |access-date=17 October 2019}}

English actor Chiwetel Ejiofor narrates{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-10-17/elephant-queen-documentary-review-africa|title=Review: 'The Elephant Queen' documentary delivers drama and emotion on African savanna|date=17 October 2019|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=17 October 2019}} the journey of the elephant family.{{Cite web|url=https://etcanada.com/news/519390/watch-appletvs-the-elephant-queen-trailer-the-ultimate-family-film/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017185904/https://etcanada.com/news/519390/watch-appletvs-the-elephant-queen-trailer-the-ultimate-family-film/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 October 2019|title=Watch AppleTV+'s 'The Elephant Queen' Trailer, The Ultimate Family Film|last=Mann|first=Randi|date=7 October 2019|website=ET Canada|access-date=17 October 2019}}

Directors Deeble and Stone stated that they never filmed elephants before as main subjects.{{Cite web|url=https://www.afi.com/news/the-afi-docs-interview-the-elephant-queen-with-directors-mark-deeble-and-victoria-stone/|title=The AFI DOCS Interview: THE ELEPHANT QUEEN With Directors Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone {{!}} American Film Institute|access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017194030/https://www.afi.com/news/the-afi-docs-interview-the-elephant-queen-with-directors-mark-deeble-and-victoria-stone/|archive-date=17 October 2019|url-status=live}} In 2009, a drought hit Amboseli National Park, Kenya, which "opened their eyes" to tell the elephants' story. While talking about their immersive experience of capturing African elephants' life, the duo said:{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/video/the-elephant-queen-filmmakers-sundance-interview/|title='The Elephant Queen' Filmmakers on Long Search For "The Ideal Elephant" – Sundance Studio|last=N'Duka|first=Amanda|date=28 January 2019|publisher=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017193411/https://deadline.com/video/the-elephant-queen-filmmakers-sundance-interview/|archive-date=17 October 2019|url-status=live}}

{{blockquote|We were looking for a charismatic female elephant matriarch because it's very much a female leadership story, and we were looking for the ideal elephant for a long time.|sign=Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble|source=Deadline Hollywood}}

The duo followed the elephant Athena and her herd for over four years in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/10/elephant-queen-intimate-story-about-most-majestic-animals-africa|title=The Elephant Queen: An Intimate Story About The Most Majestic Animals In Africa|website=nationalparkstraveler.org|access-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020114351/https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/10/elephant-queen-intimate-story-about-most-majestic-animals-africa|archive-date=20 October 2019|url-status=live}}

On 8 September 2018, The Elephant Queen premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=https://realscreen.com/2018/09/07/tiff-18-exclusive-clip-the-elephant-queen/|title=TIFF '18 Exclusive clip: "The Elephant Queen"|last=Alcinii|first=Daniele|date=7 September 2018|website=RealScreen|access-date=2 September 2020}} The film would later screen at the BFI London Film Festival,{{Cite web|url=https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=elephantqueen&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=|title=The Elephant Queen|website=BFI London Film Festival|url-status=dead|access-date=2 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030211911/https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=elephantqueen&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=|archive-date=30 October 2018}} Sundance Film Festival,{{Cite web|url=https://www.theutahreview.com/sundance-2019-the-elephant-queen-achieves-gold-standard-in-wildlife-documentary-genre/|title=Sundance 2019: The Elephant Queen achieves gold standard in wildlife documentary genre {{!}} The Utah Review|last=Roka|first=Les|date=28 January 2019 |access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725124112/https://www.theutahreview.com/sundance-2019-the-elephant-queen-achieves-gold-standard-in-wildlife-documentary-genre/|archive-date=25 July 2019|url-status=live}} Montclair Film Festival{{cite web|url=https://montclairfilm.org/events/the-elephant-queen|title=The Elephant Queen {{!}} Montclair Film|website=montclairfilm.org|access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709104744/https://montclairfilm.org/events/the-elephant-queen/|archive-date=9 July 2019|url-status=live}} and Sydney Film Festival.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sff.org.au/program/browse/the-elephant-queen|title=The Elephant Queen|website=Sydney Film Festival|access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925093858/https://www.sff.org.au/program/browse/the-elephant-queen|archive-date=25 September 2019|url-status=live}} The Elephant Queen opened in theatres on 18 October 2019 as a pilot to a deal between A24 and Apple, where A24 would distribute films through a limited release in US theaters before becoming Apple TV+ exclusives.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apple-theatrical-dates-anthony-mackie-hala-elephant-queen-1203352195/|title=Apple Sets Theatrical Release Dates for Original Films 'The Banker,' 'Hala' and 'The Elephant Queen' (EXCLUSIVE)|last=Donnelly|first=Matt|date=27 September 2019|website=Variety|access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930203745/https://variety.com/2019/film/news/apple-theatrical-dates-anthony-mackie-hala-elephant-queen-1203352195/|archive-date=30 September 2019|url-status=live}} That same day, they released The Lighthouse, hence priority at A24 shifted to that film, and a small release was made for The Elephant Queen with little to no marketing.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}} The film was made available for streaming on Apple TV+ on 1 November 2019. It later also had its one-time linear premiere in its country of production, on Citizen TV in parts of sub-Saharan Africa on 12 April 2020. Thusly, rendering it non-exclusive in those countries.

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's critical consensus reads, "Informative, compassionate, and beautifully filmed, The Elephant Queen should satisfy nature documentary lovers of all ages."{{Citation|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_elephant_queen|title=The Elephant Queen (2018)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date|df=dmy}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016051054/https://rottentomatoes.com/m/the_elephant_queen|archive-date=16 October 2019|url-status=live}} Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".{{Citation|title=The Elephant Queen|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-elephant-queen|access-date=2019-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109132447/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-elephant-queen|archive-date=9 November 2019|url-status=live}}

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "delivers a powerful reminder that the magnificent subjects of this documentary [...] are faced with serious dangers both natural and man-made". Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media wrote, "Gorgeously shot, fabulously narrated, and surprisingly poignant, this documentary is an inspiring tribute to the power of motherhood and community on the African savanna".{{Cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/the-elephant-queen|title=The Elephant Queen – Movie Review|date=15 October 2019|website=Common Sense Media|access-date=17 October 2019}} Scott Tobias of Variety magazine wrote, "There's a gap between the story Stone and Deeble want to tell about love and family, and the much grimmer story nature itself is telling, in unsentimental terms. In the end, it's hard to reconcile the two".{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-elephant-queen-toronto-film-review-1202937398/|title=Toronto Film Review: 'The Elephant Queen'|last=Tobias|first=Scott|date=12 September 2018|website=Variety|access-date=17 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016065339/https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-elephant-queen-toronto-film-review-1202937398/|archive-date=16 October 2019|url-status=live}} Chelsea Phillips-Carr of Point of View wrote, "The documentary is without a doubt charming, but it is also too innocuous for its subject matter".{{Cite web|url=http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/tiff-review-the-elephant-queen|title=TIFF Review: 'The Elephant Queen'|website=Point of View|date=14 September 2018 |access-date=17 October 2019}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Official website|https://tv.apple.com/gb/movie/the-elephant-queen/umc.cmc.1ybrwww83rknjtwiuuemjfbvq|The Elephant Queen}} – official site
• [http://theelephantqueen.com The Elephant Queen] – promo site
• {{IMDb title|id=tt6722976}}

{{Apple TV+}}

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Category:2018 films

Category:2018 documentary films

Category:Films scored by Alex Heffes

Category:Documentary films about water and the environment

Category:Tsavo National Park

Category:Apple TV+ original films

Category:Documentary films about elephants

Category:2010s English-language films

Category:English-language documentary films