Sophie

2:40 p.m. I am watching "Sophie and Sheba" 2010 right now on Ch. 11. It is about a girl who fights to get her elephant back. Her parents own a tiny zoo, and they have to sell her elephant to pay for her ballet training. It is a nice little film. It was made in and near Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I find it really interesting that many of the family films and shows are made by the Toronto film community (and the Hallmark romances are made in Vancouver - smile.) I find that interesting. I wonder if there is something special in the air in Toronto?

Most of the BYU-tv shows and films were made in Toronto - "Wind at My Back," "Holly Hobbie," "Malory Towers" and several films - including our Utah produced, but made in Toronto by Toronto actors "Christmas Jars." Amber Marshall star of "Heartland" is from Toronto.

It is surprising that this film hasn't been more well-received. It is well-presented and filled with authentic people (obviously many of those who appear in the film were professional circus performers).

The direction was natural and low-key, which allowed the performance of Brittany Bristow (Sophie, the main character) to captivate the audience... our pre-teen daughter liked it a lot. The story was believable and also compelling

Was it as fast-paced and heart-thumping as the big-feature films put out by the likes of Disney, Pixar and other major studios? No, but the plot moved along and it made sense. The fact that it was set n a "real" place made it all the more refreshing.

Of course, it was also nice to see John Rhys-Davies as well... All the more reason to get your hands on this film.

Give your children--and yourself--a treat.

Brittany Bristow is a wonderful actress (following in the proud tradition of Murphy and Snow), at least for this type of film. She can dance quite well too, and we don't get to see nearly enough of that. As Sophie she has an adorable personality when that is appropriate, and a strong determination and intelligence. Or what Winston calls being a manipulative "minx". And someone, probably not her since the face isn't visible, is quite an acrobat.

Erica Durance gives her usual good performance. I like her best perky but she shows she is capable of more. She doesn't really show her full range here, but that's okay.

John Rhys-Davies makes a wonderful villain. He's totally convincing when he seems to care about the various people in this film, and I'm not quite certain they should be so suspicious of his intentions. Sure, Winston has a greedy side, but he genuinely shows he is good when he has to.

And of course Sheba is quite talented. I don't know the elephant's real name or how many there were, or even if some of the "acting" was animatronic or CGI, but Sheba is talented.

This being a circus, we get to see lots of talented performers. Most of them are only on screen for ten seconds or so, but they are very good. There is one little person whose name I don't remember who has plenty of dialogue and seems to do a good job with it.

I wasn't happy with most of the music, but this is what young people like. It wasn't really all that bad. Sophie's best dancing, though, was not to classical music, but something like "Once Upon a Time in Mexico"--still good.

This is a family film, but not necessarily for younger or more sensitive children. There are a few moments of terror and mild violence, as might be expected with wild animals, and with people with the wrong attitude. Nevertheless, Sophie's claim of abuse is an exaggeration. It's easy to see how Magnus could have abused Sheba, as frustrated as he got, but on screen he never reaches that point. After seeing "Cold Mountain" the same day I saw this, I say what little violence this has is absolutely harmless.

It's not perfect. This is one of those formula films, even including the line "That went well", and while it's not overly preachy, the film does seem to take the position that animals don't belong in circuses.

It's definitely worth seeing.

Although cliché positively surprised me, a cute and simple artifice, the little elephant, the girl and the circus world, to speak of freedom, forgiveness, homecoming, respect for animals, with great sensitivity, captivating...