Water for Elephants (2011)

Set in the 1930s, a former veterinary student takes a job in a travelling circus and falls in love with the ringmaster's wife.

Director:

Francis Lawrence

Writers:

Richard LaGravenese (screenplay), Sara Gruen (novel)

Stars:

Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz

3 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Reese Witherspoon	...	Marlena
Robert Pattinson	...	Jacob
Christoph Waltz	...	August
Paul Schneider	...	Charlie
Jim Norton	...	Camel
Hal Holbrook	...	Old Jacob
Mark Povinelli	...	Kinko / Walter
Richard Brake	...	Grady
Stephen Monroe Taylor	...	Wade
Ken Foree	...	Earl
Scott MacDonald	...	Blackie
James Frain	...	Rosie's Caretaker
Sam Anderson	...	Mr. Hyde
John Aylward	...	Mr. Erwin
Brad Greenquist	...	Mr. Robinson

Storyline

After his parents' death, Jacob Jankowski is left penniless and homeless. Events lead him to joining the circus as their vet, working under their unstable boss August whose violent tendencies give everyone reason to be cautious around him, including his beautiful and quiet wife Marlena, whom August is very possessive of and who Jacob finds himself soon falling in love with.

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Plot Keywords:

animal abuse | circus | train | elephant | circus vargas | 

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Taglines:

Life is the most spectacular show on earth.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for moments of intense violence and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Polish

Release Date:

22 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Water for Elephants

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,842,353, 24 April 2011

Gross USA:

$58,709,717

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$117,094,902

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, 3 Arts Entertainment, Flashpoint Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White (home movie sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sara Gruen wrote the novel "Water for Elephants" as part of National Novel Writing Month.

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Goofs

The night Jacob and Marlena run away, when Marlena rushes in Jacob's compartment, she wears a black satin robe over her dress which can also be seen when they are standing over the edge of the train ready to jump. However, when they jump and start walking away from the trails, Marlena wears only her dress. The satin robe reappears when they get in the hotel room.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Russ: [in the rain] Uh, Excuse me sir. Can we help you? Can we help you with something?
Old Jacob: Did I miss the Spec?
Charlie: Uh, yeah, I'm afraid so. The show was this afternoon.
Old Jacob: Oh.
Charlie: Did you come with the folks from Green Haven? Why don't we get out of the rain, and we'll call them for you.
Old Jacob: No, no! I came on my own.
Russ: It's okay. We're gonna call the home. We're gonna have them come pick you up.
Old Jacob: I'm telling you, I didn't come with the home! Why don't you take those rings out of your head, and maybe you ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

In 'The producers wish to thank' section of the credits, the Circus World Museum is listed as being in Barbaroo, WI. The actual town is Baraboo, WI.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: J. Edgar (2011)

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Soundtracks

Barnum & Bailey's Favorite March
Written by Karl King (as Karl L. King)

User Reviews

Perfect.

Although the title of this review pretty much sums it up, in order to post a review i must include 10 lines of text. So here goes. This movie starts out with a similar feel to Titanic like many have said. It takes you back 70+ years and takes you through and incredible journey of passion, adventure, and just life in general. For every up there is a down, for every laugh a cry. You find yourself full of emotion at so many points in this movie it's hard to not get chills at times. The ending is well written well acted out and well, like the rest of the movie is just perfect. How this is only @ a 6.3 rating currently is beyond me, hopefully more people will take the time to post this movie was a solid 8.5 in my opinion and is a must see.