User Reviews

ANOOP AND THE ELEPHANT is very much a familiar Children's Film Foundation film of its era, with all of the trappings that fans of these films will know, love, and recognise. You have the gang of floppy-haired kids in the most dated fashions imaginable; the crude and rough adult characters whose selfishness makes them the villains of the piece; the horseplay and cheesy comedy scenes; and a climactic chase which acts as a thrilling finale for the story.

This tale's about a kid who befriends a young elephant that's due to be shipped off by some greedy villains. He tries to hide it in the vicinity, but soon finds that things aren't so easy. The good things about this one are the circus-themed background, which depicts a long-departed way of life; the hijinks in the campsite bring to mind some of the fun of CARRY ON CAMPING too.

The cast is an interesting one although the worst actor is Anoop himself - he's very wooden, which is why the supporting characters get more screen time. Phil Daniels is here, pre-QUADROPHENIA, and he's fun in his part; Linda Robson is instantly recognisable as the token girl and doesn't seem to have changed at all over the years. TV comedy actors Julian Orchard and Jimmy Edwards do very well as the teacher and farmer respectively. And Herbert Wroe steals the whole picture as the knockabout clown.

This film was made by the Children's Film Foundation for showing in Saturday morning showings for children in Minors clubs. It sticks to the convention of smart children outwitting stupid adults. It has a leading role for that fine comedy actor Julian Orchard who sadly died at the young age of 49.The boy playing Anoop was clearly not an actor like the other children.