Whispers: an Elephant’s Tale (film) A baby elephant, Whispers, separated from his mother, searches desperately for her, but finds instead the sassy and fiercely independent Groove, an outcast from her own herd and the last elephant in the world ever to be a substitute mom. Whispers takes hold of her tail and refuses to let go, and the two join to make an unlikely family as they brave the hidden dangers of the dark forest and make their way toward The Great River, a rumored paradise for elephants. Very limited release, opening in Denver on March 10, 2000, and in New York on October 13, 2000. Directed by Dereck Joubert. Voices include Angela Bassett (Groove), Debi Derryberry (Whispers), Anne Archer (Gentle Heart), Joanna Lumley (Half Tusk), Kat Cressida (Princess). 72 min. The film takes its plot entirely from real elephant behavior, with 80 percent being footage of elephants in the wild and 20 percent being footage of trained elephants. The filmmakers made an effort not to fake anything the elephants did, with the exception of giving them human voices. Filmed entirely in and around Chobe National Park in Botswana by Emmy Award-winning naturalist and cinematographer, Dereck Joubert, and his wife, Beverly, who have lived and worked together in the wild for over 20 years. Released on video in 2001.
