Daniel (Mark Rendall) is a middle schooler who is being bullied for his "uncool" stature. On pet show-and-tell day, for example, he has nothing to exhibit, unlike the boy who brings in a poisonous snake with altered, benign glands...no longer harmful. When he asks his dad, Steven (Nicholas Lea) if he can have a pet, Dad says no, even though his close female friend, Molly (Mia Sara) thinks it might be a good idea. In any case, Daniel sees a falling star and makes a wish for a truly posh pet. Whoa! During the wee hours of the morning, Daniel discovers that an ELEPHANT, in a large box, has landed on his lawn. Not only that, this elephant, which he names Lumpy, is talented to the point of kicking balls and picking up objects. Naturally, Dad says there is no way to keep such a hefty animal BUT he does permit Daniel to show the pachyderm at school before it goes to the local zoo. Doesn't make much difference, one of the big bullies is still after our Dan. Curiously, Lumpy doesn't thrive at the zoo, mostly because he misses Daniel. So, the lad decides to arrange a jailbreak for the beloved creature, with the help of a new friend. Will the young man succeed and will he be able to keep the mighty big friend? This started off so well, dealing with not only the weighty topics of death of a parent, bullying, new relationships but with an absolutely darling little elephant. This viewer's expectations were that eventually the circus would come back to pick up their "lost" star that somehow ended up in a child's lawn. But, no, instead, it goes for fantasy, an elephant that came from a wish, can fly, and the tale travels in a new, unwelcome (my opinion) direction. Nevertheless, the film still qualifies as "nice" material for a family watch, especially one with animal lovers and/or boys in the audience. The cast and all of the production values are of good quality, yes. So, if your loved ones are being "impossibly good", get this little film as a reward.

The Impossible Elephant premiered at The Sprockets Children Film Festival in Toronto in 2001, where it won the YTV Silver Sprocket, as the audience's favorite feature film. The film never showed in theaters in the US, but it was later screened in Europe and eventually was picked up by Showtime a few years later.Directed by Martin Wood and penned by Robert C. Cooper, both of Stargate fame, Impossible Elephant is a charming film which explores Daniel's desire for a pet, and the unlikely fulfillment of that wish. For Daniel it's about believing in the impossible, and for his father Steven, it's about re-learning the need to believe and to look forward, not backwards.Nicholas Lea and Mia Sara, the adult leads, have a comfortable chemistry on screen, but the younger cast members are the real stars. The well developed characters shine in the manic race to save Lumpy, while they learn lessons about life, change and growing up.Though IE is ostensibly a children's film, adults will enjoy it as well.

From the funny start to the heartwarming end, this movie breaks every stereo-type kid movie rule. The lead actors Nicholas Lea and Mia Sara are great and convincing in thier roles, and refreshingly so is the boy! There is some great wildlife in the movie and thats always nice too see, so all in all if you want a watchable heartwarming get-away movie then watch this...The Impossible Elephant (aka The Incredible Elephant in Europe). 10 out of 10!

This film went under the name of The Incredible Elephant when I watched it. Which turned out to be a little clearer in how the elephant was meant to be. The picture has an elephant in it, but not all the time. If you ask me, the elephant coverage was too much.With two quality adult stars having a 'friends who care and a bit more' relationship, I would rather have watched this story than the one about the elephant. Further to this point the relationship between the boy and his father was reduced in exposure to put in more chasing elephant and some odd bully character plot. Whilst this would bring the movie into the kids corner, from my point of view there was some high quality drama missed out on.This all results in an average movie failing to really excite the viewer. Maybe kids will like the child's perspective, and so the film will hit its mark there.