We’re very excited to announce the launch of our new website and our new film title, “When Elephants Were Young.”
So why are we changing the title? Well, there are many reasons for this change.
Films are often released under a different title than their working production title. Although “Elephants Never Forget” has been the moniker during our five-year journey of making this film – and will remain a beloved title for many of us – we believe the new title better reflects our special elephant story.
“When Elephants Were Young” inspires the imagination, and has a nostalgic yet hopeful tone that resonates with the story of our two main characters, Wok and Nong Mai. While the expression “elephants never forget” is a very familiar, well-known phrase that denotes one of the best-known qualities that we admire in elephants, it’s a phrase that is commonly used in other elephant-related works. We wanted the title to reflect not only our unique story of a young elephant, and a young man, but also the notion of a different time – perhaps a better time in our history. What might the world have been like when elephants were young as a species? Imagine when the planet was perhaps a more peaceful place, a time when humankind was also young – before its careless expansion into wild spaces, its destruction of species, and the natural world.
“When Elephants Were Young” conjures questions about this other time in our past – a time of innocence when the Earth, our human civilization, and our relationship with elephants, animals, and nature may have been more interconnected, more sacred. Perhaps it is a time that we can return to once again, a time of dreaming, of hope and potential … a time when elephants were young.
We will be rolling out the new title across our social media channels in the coming weeks. We will also be announcing other exciting news about the incredible people who have contributed their talents, music, and artistry to the film. Please join us in helping to spread the word about “When Elephants Were Young” as we prepare to premier it to the world in Fall 2015. Let us know what you think of the new title! We couldn’t have come this far without your support. We thank you for all you do for the elephants.
“…[Elephants] have drifted down to us on the ocean of time, and their strangeness and beauty bring to our imaginations a dream and a picture of that unknown world, immeasurably far removed, where man was not…”
-W. H. Hudson