The Elephant in the Living Room

I have been permanently altered by this documentary, one of the best animal and human relations films I have ever seen. Even two months after seeing it at the Sonoma International Film Festival, I keep reflecting on the many beautiful and heart-wrenching stories interwoven in this compelling and unbelievable tale of the lives of exotic animals and the people who buy and own them in the United States. It will open your eyes to the true cost of allowing exotic animals to be imported into our country. And the plight is not only for the animals but for the people who buy, love, and care (or try to care) for them. Compassion, courage, and candor are what make this movie so touching and real. You get more than just a passing glimpse into the lives of people affected by exotic animal ownership. You will come to love a real American hero, Tim Harrison, as he tries to walk the fine line between caring for both the animals and the people affected by the choices they make in becoming exotic animal owners. You will also be moved by the story of Terry, a man in Ohio who was given the gift of a lion cub one fateful day. What is so great about The Elephant in the Living Room is that the director, Michael Webber, clearly followed his heart in creating this film. Instead of a superficial story, he traveled all over the country painstakingly documenting and following the lives of some unique individuals and animals that you will never forget. Lambert the Lion will stay in my heart forever. Thank you for making this film, Michael!

Normally I wouldn't be quite so blunt in my summary, but wow--the people featured in this film who owned these incredibly dangerous 'pets' were crazy!! While I knew there were a lot of sick folks who owned big cats and chimps, I didn't realize the problem was that bad. The documentary folks do two things--travel with people who are trying to get these animals away from irresponsible owners as well as show the owners themselves. While the film is clearly against most folks having these animals as pets, it equivocated a bit from time to time--such as Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation officials saying that they were NOT in favor of banning the owning of these animals and the film portrayed the owners rather decently.

Overall, a very bizarre but important film--important because crocodiles, tigers, chimps and the like are quite probably living near you! In fact, the Dayton, Ohio locale for some of the film was a bit scary, as I used to live between Dayton and Cincinnati--and there are apparently LOTS of insanely dangerous animals in that area.

Also, the film apparently came out just before the biggest and scariest story about insane people with exotics--the man near Zanesville, Ohio who deliberately released his dangerous managerie (which included 18 tigers) and then killed himself!! Wow...

A little surprised this is rated PG considering that it shows the lion being tortured and killed albeit accidentally. And a python being shot intentionally. Just the fact that this is about wild animals who are dangerous I think it should be at least a PG-13 rating. It does focus on the fact that there are a lot of irresponsible owners that cause problems, especially when they release animals they can no longer care for in and around towns and cities where humans live. There was no focus on an elephant in this film that I could see, although I do admit I nodded off for a few minutes here and there. Not because it was so boring but because I was very tired. I'm a documentary fan and I'm an animal fan so I did find this film interesting; however it does focus on Terry and his lions. In the end we are happy that the remaining of the pride will be in a Sanctuary that is huge upgrade from where they were although still nothing like where they would be in the wild. The film briefly shows various stories about other animals which is the chimpanzee and the elephant, but it's so brief and we want more info but the film just meanders along through long drawn out footage of Terry and his languishing lions. There is no happiness in this film. I think it intends to show us that there needs to be some regulation IE being required to show that you have expertise and a place to keep such an animal. There's one review that expounds on the fact that many experts do keep exotic animals safely and with high regard for the animal and in many cases are helping to keep them from being extinct. But in this film we find that for instance huge pythons are released to the point where they have now created a biome where they don't really belong. There is a need to regulate how where and who can keep animals that will kill you if given the chance. For instance I certainly think it should be illegal for a family with small children to keep a snake that could eat them. I know the statistics show us that most snake owners who own dangerous snakes do fall victim to their animal. We've all heard horrific stories about people who have kept exotic animals only to be killed by them. I'm not that familiar with the positive stories and in fact we probably don't hear much about those. I would have liked this film to focus at least a tiny bit more on the brief inserts such as the starving elephant that was removed from someone's home. I found it extremely upsetting the lion was electrocuted although accidental. We call it an accident but it was incompetence and unnecessary. What the film really does show though is how beautiful those lions are.

I can barely express how disgusted I am by what I saw in this documentary. Wild animals deserve to be free. Wild animals should not be bred for captivity, picture taking, or for people who have small appendages to "own". The person who has two lions in a horse trailer deserves to be severely fined and put in jail! The lions are laying in excrement, have no water, and have no food. This is just as bad as having a wild animal in a cement environment. The Lions obviously have no veterinary Care! Otherwise, how would four Cubs magically appear? Wild animals, especially large cats and primates, have no place in private ownership. Republican lawmakers, especially in texas, need to wake up and stop the abuse! Democrats already know that this is a really ignorant practice. I am a wildlife biologist by training and I'm just abhorred by this practice. Stop abusing wildlife!

This film contains absolutely fascinating information.Its a story that hasn't been told and everyone in the U.S. should know about it.I watched the film twice and each time I was mesmerized. Tim is a character who is charismatic, devoted to his mission and sincere. He's a modern American hero and should probably have his own TV show on this subject. Terry is a little tough to watch.I wondered at his naive stance. If the content of this film is true (and I think it is)it should be required viewing at zoos, schools,and pet stores. We have an alarming epidemic in America and nobody is talking about it. Maybe THE ELEPHANT IN THE LIVING ROOM will help uninformed Americans wake up.