Khan Kluay
Encyclopedia
Khan Kluay is a 2006 Thai computer-animated
feature film set during Ayutthaya
-era Siam about an elephant who wanders away from his mother and eventually becomes the war elephant
for King Naresuan
. It is based on "Chao Praya Prab Hongsawadee" by Ariya Jintapanichkarn.
It was officially released as Jumbo in India and The Blue Elephant in the United States.
There is a sequel to this movie, known as "Khan Kluay 2" This movie is about Khan Kluay's two elephant children, another attack by the Hongsawadi (Burmese), and struggling whether to live with his wife or fight the Burmese.
for "banana stalk".
As a young elephant, Khan Kluay is taunted by the other elephants because he is fatherless. Naturally, Khan Kluay is curious about his father, and he's told that his father is a war elephant for the king.
Because of this, Khan Kluay wants to find his father. As he was still a young elephant, he wanders off to begin his search. He is soon captured by a Burmese
raiding party. In trying to escape from the Burmese camp, the young elephant is befriended by a Siamese boy prince, Naresuan
, who has been ransomed to the Burmese. Naresuan has the ability to calm Khan Kluay into thinking clearly, and Khan Kluay makes his escape.
A weakened Khan Kluay then comes upon a village where humans and elephants are working together. He is befriended by a young female elephant, Chaba-Kaew, but is then chained up until he is tamed. Khan Kluay soon learns to value the humans who have captured him. Under the training of a wise, old mahout, he becomes bigger and stronger.
A local warlord comes around annually to collect taxes from the village, and his taxes have become greedier and heavier each year. The village rebels, and with the humans and elephants working together, the warlord and his beasts are defeated.
The call then goes out from the king of Siam for elephants. Khan Kluay is taken to the palace. There, he is seen by his mother, who calls out to him. Khan Kluay goes wild in trying to break free from his chains to meet his mother. Naresuan notices this, and remembers that he is Khan Kluay from his boyhood. The king is able to calm Khan Kluay, and from then on Khan Kluay serves as the personal war elephant of the king.
In battle, Khan Kluay meets a giant Burmese war elephant with fiery eyes, who was responsible for the death of Khan Kluay's father, and due to this, Khan Kluay gets a chance to acquit himself in battle for the glory of the Siamese kingdom, and to take his revenge.
In the end, Khan Kluay avenges for his father and kills the Burmese elephant. After that, Khan Kluay is released to the wild to spend the rest of his life with his loved ones, until the Burmese return...
features as The Lion King
, Atlantis: The Lost Empire
, and Tarzan
, and Blue Sky Studios
' Ice Age
.
Produced by Kantana Animation, it was the first Thai 3-D animated feature film to be released, and was also the first animated Thai feature to be released since 1979's The Adventure of Sudsakorn
, a cel-animated film by Payut Ngaokrachang
.
Khan Kluay took three years to make and cost 150 million baht (about $3.9 million USD).
The movie was shown to an audience of Asian elephant
s and their mahout
s in an outdoor screening in Ayutthaya Province
on June 6, 2006.
It was released in September 2008 on DVD in the United States as The Blue Elephant.
Indian production company Percept Picture Company
bought the rights to the film and released a Hindi-language version, Jumbo, on December 25, 2008. Indian actor Akshay Kumar
provided the voice for the main character, Jumbo.
name. Like other foreign animated films like My Neighbor Totoro
, Kiki's Delivery Service
and many others, this was released as a direct to video film. The film was also renamed The Blue Elephant for its American release. The film was also redubbed with celebrity voice overs, including Martin Short
, Miranda Cosgrove
, and Carl Reiner
.
. It was renamed Jumbo, and was redubbed with a voice cast inclusive of Akshay Kumar
, and Rajpal Yadav
.
. It premiered in Malaysian cinemas on March 11, 2010.
.
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
feature film set during Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya kingdom
Ayutthaya was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese , Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the walls of the...
-era Siam about an elephant who wanders away from his mother and eventually becomes the war elephant
War elephant
A war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry....
for King Naresuan
Naresuan
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat or Somdet Phra Sanphet II was the King of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule...
. It is based on "Chao Praya Prab Hongsawadee" by Ariya Jintapanichkarn.
It was officially released as Jumbo in India and The Blue Elephant in the United States.
There is a sequel to this movie, known as "Khan Kluay 2" This movie is about Khan Kluay's two elephant children, another attack by the Hongsawadi (Burmese), and struggling whether to live with his wife or fight the Burmese.
Plot
When Khan Kluay is born, his grandmother notes that his back is "gently sloped like a banana stalk...I suppose that is what I should name you: 'Khan Kluay'". Khan Kluay is ThaiThai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
for "banana stalk".
As a young elephant, Khan Kluay is taunted by the other elephants because he is fatherless. Naturally, Khan Kluay is curious about his father, and he's told that his father is a war elephant for the king.
Because of this, Khan Kluay wants to find his father. As he was still a young elephant, he wanders off to begin his search. He is soon captured by a Burmese
Toungoo Dynasty
The Toungoo Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Burma from the mid-16th century to 1752. Its early kings Tabinshwehti and Bayinnaung succeeded in reunifying the Pagan Empire for the first time since 1287, and in incorporating the Shan States for the first time...
raiding party. In trying to escape from the Burmese camp, the young elephant is befriended by a Siamese boy prince, Naresuan
Naresuan
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat or Somdet Phra Sanphet II was the King of the Ayutthaya kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule...
, who has been ransomed to the Burmese. Naresuan has the ability to calm Khan Kluay into thinking clearly, and Khan Kluay makes his escape.
A weakened Khan Kluay then comes upon a village where humans and elephants are working together. He is befriended by a young female elephant, Chaba-Kaew, but is then chained up until he is tamed. Khan Kluay soon learns to value the humans who have captured him. Under the training of a wise, old mahout, he becomes bigger and stronger.
A local warlord comes around annually to collect taxes from the village, and his taxes have become greedier and heavier each year. The village rebels, and with the humans and elephants working together, the warlord and his beasts are defeated.
The call then goes out from the king of Siam for elephants. Khan Kluay is taken to the palace. There, he is seen by his mother, who calls out to him. Khan Kluay goes wild in trying to break free from his chains to meet his mother. Naresuan notices this, and remembers that he is Khan Kluay from his boyhood. The king is able to calm Khan Kluay, and from then on Khan Kluay serves as the personal war elephant of the king.
In battle, Khan Kluay meets a giant Burmese war elephant with fiery eyes, who was responsible for the death of Khan Kluay's father, and due to this, Khan Kluay gets a chance to acquit himself in battle for the glory of the Siamese kingdom, and to take his revenge.
In the end, Khan Kluay avenges for his father and kills the Burmese elephant. After that, Khan Kluay is released to the wild to spend the rest of his life with his loved ones, until the Burmese return...
Voice cast
- Anyarit Pitakkul as Khan Kluay (child)
- Nawarat Techarathanaprasert Chaba-Kaew (child)
- Phoori Hiranyapruk as Older Khan Kluay
- Warattaya Nilkuha (Jui) as Older Chaba-Kaew
- Pongsak Hiranyapruk as Jitrit, a pigeon
- Nanthana Bunlong as Saeng-daa
- Suthep Po-ngamSuthep Po-ngamSuthep Po-ngam , also known by his stage name Thep Po-ngam, is a Thai comedian, actor, film director and screenwriter. He played the leader of a gang of inept hitmen in Killer Tattoo...
as MahoutMahoutA mahout is a person who drives an elephant. The word mahout comes from the Hindi words mahaut and mahavat. Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the 'family business' when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life.The most... - Channarong Khuntee-tao as leader of the Burmese
- Juree Ohsiri
- Koti Aramboy
- Miranda CosgroveMiranda CosgroveMiranda Taylor Cosgrove is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Her career began at the age of three, where she participated in television commercials. Cosgrove's film debut was in 2003, as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock...
(American Version) - Carl ReinerCarl ReinerCarl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
(American Version) - Martin ShortMartin ShortMartin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
(American Version)
Production
Khan Kluay is directed by Kompin Kemgumnird, an animator who had worked on the DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
features as The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
, Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Written by Tab Murphy, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, and produced by Don Hahn, it is the first science fiction film in the Disney animated features canon and the 41st overall. The film...
, and Tarzan
Tarzan (1999 film)
Tarzan is a 1999 American animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 18, 1999...
, and Blue Sky Studios
Blue Sky Studios
Blue Sky Studios is an American CGI-animation studio which specializes in high-resolution, computer-generated character animation and rendering. It is owned by 20th Century Fox and located in Greenwich, Connecticut...
' Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
.
Produced by Kantana Animation, it was the first Thai 3-D animated feature film to be released, and was also the first animated Thai feature to be released since 1979's The Adventure of Sudsakorn
The Adventure of Sudsakorn
The Adventure of Sudsakorn is a 1979 Thai animated fantasy film. The only cel-animated feature film ever made in Thailand, it was directed by Payut Ngaokrachang. It was released in Thailand on Songkran Day, April 13, 1979...
, a cel-animated film by Payut Ngaokrachang
Payut Ngaokrachang
Payut Ngaokrachang was a Thai cartoonist and animator. He created Thai cinema's first cel-animated feature film, The Adventure of Sudsakorn.-Early life:...
.
Khan Kluay took three years to make and cost 150 million baht (about $3.9 million USD).
Release
Khan Kluay was released in Thai cinemas on May 18, 2006. It was the highest-grossing Thai film of 2006, taking in approximately 91 million baht at the box office.The movie was shown to an audience of Asian elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
s and their mahout
Mahout
A mahout is a person who drives an elephant. The word mahout comes from the Hindi words mahaut and mahavat. Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the 'family business' when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other throughout the elephant's life.The most...
s in an outdoor screening in Ayutthaya Province
Ayutthaya Province
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Ang Thong, Lop Buri, Saraburi, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri....
on June 6, 2006.
It was released in September 2008 on DVD in the United States as The Blue Elephant.
Indian production company Percept Picture Company
Percept Picture Company
Percept Picture Company is an Indian film production and distribution company, established in 2002 and a division of Percept Limited, an entertainment, media and communications company based in Mumbai...
bought the rights to the film and released a Hindi-language version, Jumbo, on December 25, 2008. Indian actor Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
provided the voice for the main character, Jumbo.
Festivals and awards
- 2006 Thailand National Film Association AwardsThailand National Film Association AwardsThe Thailand National Film Association Awards is a Thai film industry ceremony held annually by the Federation of National Film Associations of Thailand...
- Best picture
- Best script
- Best score
- Best sound recording
- 2006 Golden Doll Awards
- Best score
- Best sound recording
- 2006 Bangkok Critics Assembly
- Best score
- 2006 Starpics Awards
- Best score
- 2006 Star Entertainment Awards
- Best picture
- Best score
- 2006 Animadrid, International Animation Festival, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
- Best Feature Film
- 2007 Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children
- 2007 Golden Elephant International Children's Film Festival
- Opening film
American release
The film was released in the US on September 2, 2008, under the Jim Henson Company and The Weinstein CompanyThe Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
name. Like other foreign animated films like My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro
, is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film follows the two young daughters of a professor and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in postwar rural Japan...
, Kiki's Delivery Service
Kiki's Delivery Service
is a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was the fourth theatrically released Studio Ghibli film.The film won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1989...
and many others, this was released as a direct to video film. The film was also renamed The Blue Elephant for its American release. The film was also redubbed with celebrity voice overs, including Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
, Miranda Cosgrove
Miranda Cosgrove
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Her career began at the age of three, where she participated in television commercials. Cosgrove's film debut was in 2003, as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock...
, and Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
.
Indian release
The film released in India on December 25, 2008, under the banner of The Percept Picture CompanyPercept Picture Company
Percept Picture Company is an Indian film production and distribution company, established in 2002 and a division of Percept Limited, an entertainment, media and communications company based in Mumbai...
. It was renamed Jumbo, and was redubbed with a voice cast inclusive of Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
, and Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...
.
Malaysian release
The film's sequel, Khan Kluay II is named as Jumbo Gajah Biru and it is distributed and dubbed by Astro Entertainment Sdn. BhdAstro (Malaysian satellite television)
Astro is the brand name of the Malaysian direct broadcast satellite pay television service. It transmits digital satellite television and radio to households in Malaysia & Brunei...
. It premiered in Malaysian cinemas on March 11, 2010.
Television series
An animated television series, The Adventures of Khan Kluay, has been created by Kantana Animation Studio and is broadcast on BBTV Channel 7BBTV Channel 7
Bangkok National Radio and Television Broadcasting Corporation Channel 7 is a Thailand television channel. The headquarters are located in Bangkok, Thailand. The channel was established in 1967 with the first live broadcast of the Miss Thailand pageant held in the Vajiravudhthanusorn event at...
.