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Water for Elephants

Play trailer Poster for Water for Elephants PG-13 2011 2h 1m Drama Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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60% Tomatometer 193 Reviews 70% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), a veterinary student, is close to graduating when a terrible tragedy forces him to leave school. With nowhere else to go, he hops on a passing train and finds it belongs to a traveling circus. Jacob takes a job as an animal caretaker and meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant named Rosie leads to love, but August (Christoph Waltz), Marlena's cruel husband, stands in their way.
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Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants

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Critics Consensus

It's a tale tastefully told and beautifully filmed, but Water for Elephants suffers from a pronounced lack of chemistry between its leads.

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Critics Reviews

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Leah Rozen TheWrap 10/07/2011
Supporting characters are too hastily sketched in, serving only to further the unsmooth course of true love. Go to Full Review Jim Schembri The Age (Australia) 06/16/2011
2.5/5
There's no doubting the luscious detail and feel for the period, but the love triangle that inevitable kicks in is a little too rote, even for those in a forgiving mood. Go to Full Review David Stratton At the Movies (Australia) 05/12/2011
4/5
I think it's maybe the best circus movie since The Greatest Show on Earth. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 07/31/2023
3/4
With a bit more style and realism, the film could have been something truly great; however, in this case, good is just good enough. Go to Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) 10/11/2022
Withered and boorish. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson 03/08/2022
2/5
In this film, LaGravenese squeezes the melodrama so well that you may feel like you just had your mouth washed out with soap. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ansley H @Haydenchristensonlover Dec 8 SOOO. I have recently read this book, and absolutely adored it. I could not put it down. It was unlike any story line I have ever read, and every aspect of the plot was immensely engaging. So, as one does, I decided to watch the movie, of course going into it knowing it will never live up the book, but always worth watching. From the second I began the movie, I could tell the actors were not going to play the well written characters like they should be. The movie was dull. Of course I can't expect every page to be played out, but nothing about this movie is worth watching. Honestly, if I hadn't read the book, I would be so confused the entirety of it. Robert Pattinson was not meant for this role, and it should've been played with a dramatic demeanor, not a boring and quiet one. This movie is undeniably terrible, disappointed to say the least. See more Steve W. @sjwasserman Dec 7 Excellent movie. Characters are real. See more Deepika V Nov 26 Loved this movie. Waltz reminded me of a villainous Humphrey Bogart here. And the acting by Robert Pattinson was very good (this movie was three years after Twilight, so him being in a serious role was interesting to see). I loved Reese Witherspoon's charisma and the 1930s inspired outfits that brought life to the role. The chemistry could have used more work and there been more scenes with them. See more thiago s @Thiagostone Nov 6 Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Yvonne T May 9 Unbearable stopped after 1h and would like that hour back. Flat uninspired bad acting boring and no chemistry. Turned off when elephant came into the picture hard to watch. See more Davidoff @davidoff Mar 4 this movie is way rougher than i remember. period drama my ass. just an excuse and a side story to make a twilight movie at the end of the day, but this has elephants. Anyway poor dialogue, half of the concepts dont have any ground the other half dont cover any of the arcs started. See more Read all reviews
Water for Elephants

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Cast & Crew

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Francis Lawrence

Director

Reese Witherspoon

Marlena

Robert Pattinson

Jacob

Christoph Waltz

August

Paul Schneider

Charlie

Jim Norton

Camel

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Water for Elephants

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Movie Info

Synopsis Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), a veterinary student, is close to graduating when a terrible tragedy forces him to leave school. With nowhere else to go, he hops on a passing train and finds it belongs to a traveling circus. Jacob takes a job as an animal caretaker and meets Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a beautiful circus performer. Their shared compassion for a special elephant named Rosie leads to love, but August (Christoph Waltz), Marlena's cruel husband, stands in their way.
Director
Francis Lawrence
Producer
Gil Netter, Erwin Stoff, Andrew R. Tennenbaum
Screenwriter
Richard LaGravenese, Sara Gruen
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Flashpoint, Gil Netter, 3 Arts Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Sexual Content|Moments of Intense Violence)
Genre
Drama, Romance
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 22, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$58.7M
Runtime
2h 1m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, Datasat
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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