One Lucky Elephant
Crossover Productions | Release Date: June 8, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
71
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
The A.V. ClubAlison WillmoreJun 9, 2011
One Lucky Elephant would make an affecting pairing with James Marsh's upcoming "Project Nim," another film about an animal treated like a human until its essential wildness made that impossible. Read full review
83
IndieWireEric KohnJun 6, 2011
Unlike recent activist documentaries about animal cruelty like "The Cove," Leeman's narrative doesn't feature any real villains. Balding's bond with Flora leaves him in a perpetual state of uncertainty about which possible new home for his elephant would provide the safest habitat. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJun 6, 2011
The film is an impressive and affecting entry in the growing body of work addressing the effects of keeping wild animals in captivity. Read full review
80
VarietyJohn AndersonJun 6, 2011
A bittersweet story of man, beast and a very real relationship that makes helmer Lisa Leeman's documentary the thinking person's "Dumbo" -- and, coincidentally, one of the better kids' movies. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertAug 17, 2011
Simple enough to delight a child and complex enough to baffle a philosopher. Read full review
75
MovielineStephanie ZacharekJun 8, 2011
How much human love is too much for an elephant? That's the question Lisa Leeman's One Lucky Elephant attempts to answer, without sentimentality but with the right amount of compassion. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJoseph Jon LanthierJun 7, 2011
A uniquely passive reminder of the dangers of showering exotic creatures with anthropomorphic affection. Read full review
70
Boxoffice MagazineJohn P. McCarthyJun 11, 2011
The equally simple and profound take-away from One Lucky Elephant is that the best thing we can do is let Flora be Flora. Read full review
70
NPRMark JenkinsJun 10, 2011
Succeeds as a character study, while gently raising questions about human use and misuse of animals. Read full review
70
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonJun 7, 2011
Admirably, and gently, raises questions about the folly and hubris of a relationship that may only ever be one-sided. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesAug 18, 2011
Michael Webber's documentary "The Elephant in the Living Room" (2010) makes such a powerful case against private ownership of exotic wild animals that this portrait of circus owner David Balding and his beloved elephant Flora seems sentimental by comparison. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisJun 9, 2011
Animal people sometimes say the wackiest things, but here, alas, they never satisfyingly address the ethical questions of what it means to capture and keep wild animals. Happily, while this movie's head may not always be in the right place, its heart is. Read full review
60
Time OutKeith UhlichJun 7, 2011
That One Lucky Elephant ultimately comes down on the side of anthropomorphizing Flora and her kind is extremely disappointing - a little clear-eyed ambivalence would have helped the film feel more focused and less like patchwork. Read full review
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