‘The Magician’s Elephant’ Ending, Explained: What Happens To Peter And Adele In The End?

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Wendy Rogers’ animated movie, “The Magician’s Elephant” flaunts a well-written storyline that is simple yet profound. With the underlying message perfectly describing life after war, where the citizens have been left bereft of joy and other emotions as they lost a lot over the recent years, the movie is set to touch some heartstrings and also deliver a heartfelt narrative. The elephant is metaphorically a ray of light and hope that helps the townsfolk feel again, pick themselves up, and begin to live anew. The animated movie is family-friendly and highly recommended.

Spoilers Ahead


‘The Magician’s Elephant’ Plotline: What Is The Film About?

The movie revolves around a town named Baltese, where war had left the town almost in ruins, and the place had ultimately lost its happiness, its light, its warmth, and the mere magic of people enjoying themselves. Amidst the dreary situation, Peter, an orphan, clings to hope and brings about a change in his town as he sets off to find his Sister Adele, whom he had lost when they were young. In spite of being brought up by a harsh soldier, Peter had yet to give in to the harshness as he dared to hope and dream for a better tomorrow. Enter the magician and the elephant, who really turned the tides around and gave Peter a push toward his dreams. As he achieved his own dream, he also helped others harbor hope for themselves for the very first time, thus clearing the gloomy clouds cast upon the sky and making way for a brighter and better tomorrow.


How Did The Elephant Arrive At The Town Of Baltese?

The town of Baltese had lost its hope in magic and warmth after the war, which is why nobody had any time to waste fantasizing about wild and exotic animals; there were only domesticated animals reared for produce. The very first mention of the elephant is when Peter, a young orphan raised by a soldier toughened by his time at the warfront, Vilna Lutz, approaches a fortune teller out of curiosity. Vilna had sent Peter on an errand to buy old bread and a small fish as he trained Peter for another inevitable war so as to increase his chances of survival. Vilna saved Peter from the warfront after his whole family had been wiped out. He brought him up in harsh conditions so that Peter wouldn’t lose his life and stay alive in even the worst conditions caused by war.

Vilna’s only guilt had been that he could not save Peter’s sister, Adele, and thus he had lied to him about her dying at birth. He could not bring himself to tell Peter that it was his decision to take him away and entrust Adele to Sister Marie. But, a bomb later wiped out the house housing Sister Marie and Adele, which is why Vilna thought they had died then. Therefore, Peter lived with this as the truth and never sought out Adele. As he arrived at the town square to buy his daily dinner, Peter, intrigued by the Fortune Teller’s tent as well as how well she seemed to know him, decided to spend his only coin designated for food on a question that changed his life. The Fortune Teller mentioned that his sister Adele was alive and that if he wanted to find her, he would have to follow the elephant.

The story of following an elephant seemed just that—a story. However, impossibility gave way to likelihood when the opening act of a terrible magician at the opera summoned an elephant. Albeit, it was a fluke, as the magician simply desired to bring back the lost hope, warmth, and magic of Baltese. Both the elephant and the magician were locked up as the weight of the elephant had crushed the legs of a noblewoman. However, the arrival of the elephant brought joy and hope to two individuals: one was Peter, who sought his sister, and the other was surprisingly his sister Adele, who had dreamed of an elephant leading her to her brother earlier that day. Adele had been safely raised by her nurse, Sister Marie, who had traveled to the army camp on the words of Vilna only to find it destroyed due to another bomb. Sister Marie had taken Adele away from the city to take care of her on the outskirts, away from any harm. Sister Marie also had the same guilt as Vilna, where she was constantly reminded of how she had let Peter go and that she should have saved them both. She loved Adele and thus gave in to her wishes when she asked to visit the elephant, as Adele saw her as a sign of hope.


What Were The Impossible Tasks Set By The Emperor?

Peter decided to save the locked-up elephant in order to find his little sister, and his downstairs neighbor, Leo Matiennel, decided to help him. Leo then notified the King of the arrival of an elephant in the town of Baltese to intrigue him into visiting the town when he saw that the Countess was not bending to his request for the elephant to be released. The arrival of the King signified a shift in power, and due to his love for dramatics and flair, the King decided on three impossible tasks for Peter to complete so as to own the elephant. His first task was to defeat Romain De Smedt, who was a one-man killing machine, but Peter won him over by returning Romain’s lost book that had been stolen by Vilna so as to push him to become the soldier he was so he would survive.

The second task had been for Peter to fly, and this is where the efforts of Leo and his wife Gloria came through. They designed a parachute for him, and Peter used it to glide through the air, successfully mimicking the art of flight, which he used to win over the King as well. Declared the winner of yet another round, Peter was set up for another impossible task, which was to make the Countess, who had been known for her stoicism after she lost her brother to war, laugh. He had been rather unsuccessful with his joke, although the Countess tried a fake laugh to help him out; the King just wanted her to enjoy the moment and thus decided that would not fly by. However, the plot armor decided that it wanted Peter to win and thus made the elephant sneeze all over the King. Seeing the most powerful man in the kingdom covered in snot, the Countess burst out laughing, which genuinely made the King smile as well. He declared Peter the winner.


What Happens To Peter And Adele In The End?

Peter, after two of those tasks, had already changed his mind about using the elephant to find Adele; rather, he had come around to helping the elephant find its own family. Peter regularly took care of the elephant and thus had a bond with her. So, when the King announced that Peter had lost the privilege to own the elephant, Peter was very upset, as he now simply wanted the elephant to return to her natural habitat, as she surely did not belong in the city. This is why the plot armor had taken matters into its own hands and thought fit to let Peter win after all. The elephant symbolized the lost trust, light, and hope that the town of Baltese had. The Countess finally laughed for the first time since she had lost her brother and locked her emotions down, which meant the return of her emotions. The magician had been terrible at his own art due to the fact that the people of the town chose not to believe in their own emotions as well as in hope and magic. Also, the complaining attitude and the judgmental look of the noblewoman, a mighty Karen right there, had made matters worse for now, as the town had locked up the magician, who had failed his final trick to return the warmth that once was in the town of Baltese. The magician, now equipped with the belief and trust of the townsfolk, was now able to channel the spirit of magic and was able to send the elephant back to her natural habitat.

Meanwhile, Adele had unknowingly met her brother Peter, who had been troubled with the task of making the Countess laugh. Their interaction had been brief but spoke of familiarity. They met again when Adele came around to ask Peter why he had let the elephant go, as he was meant to follow her to find his destiny. With the disappearance of the elephant came light and hope that cleared out the dark, gloomy clouds, lifting the curse of the town and letting the light shine through. Meanwhile, Vilna found the courage to finally get out of his house and walk around with his cane instead of the wheelchair. As he reached the town, clearly proud and impressed, he came across Sister Marie, whom he had thought had lost her life along with baby Adele. Sister Marie couldn’t believe her eyes when she realized that Peter and Vilna had been alive all this time. Thus, sparking a reunion, it marked the town’s overcoming a long war where they had forgotten how to feel and thus ridding Baltese of its gloomy clouds for good. The story ends on a warm note, with the sounds of joy and laughter echoing through every street of the town as Peter enjoys a meal with his newfound family.


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Alokananda Sen
Alokananda Sen
Alokananda Sen holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She has a keen interest in graphic designing, reading, and photography. Her insatiable appetite for cinema and pop culture enticed her to work as a content writer. She is currently pursuing a Post Graduate Diploma focused in Animation & VFX to explore a new dimension in her career.

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