''Khan Kluay'' ( th, ก้านกล้วย; ) is a 2006 Thai computer-animated

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

film set in Ayutthaya-era Siam about a Thai elephant who wanders away from his mother and becomes the

war elephant A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elepha ...

for King

Naresuan King Naresuan the Great (( th, สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช, , ) or Sanphet II ( th, สรรเพชญ์ที่ ๒), ( my , နရဲစွမ် (သို့) ဗြနရာဇ်); 1555/1556 – ...

. It is based on the story ''Chao Phraya Prap Hongsawadee '' by Ariya Jintapanichkarn. The film took three years to make, and was released on May 18, 2006 in Thailand. In 2008, the film was released as ''The Blue Elephant'' in the United States on September 2, and as ''Jumbo'' in India in December 25. ''Khan Kluay'' is directed by Kompin Kemgumnird, an animator who had worked on

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

films such as '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' and ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

'' and Blue Sky Studios' ''

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

''. Produced by Kantana Animation, it was the first Thai 3D animated feature film and the first Thai animated feature film released since '' The Adventure of Sudsakorn'', a 1979 cel-animated film by Payut Ngaokrachang. The film's sequel, '' Khan Kluay 2'', is about Khan Kluay's two elephant children, another attack by the Hanthawaddy, and the choice between living with his wife or fighting the Burmese. An animated television series, ''The Adventures of Khan Kluay'', was produced by Kantana Animation Studio and broadcast on

BBTV Channel 7 The Channel 7 or Channel 7 HD, fully known as Bangkok Broadcasting & Television Company Limited Channel 7 ( th, สถานีโทรทัศน์ช่อง 7 เอชดี), is a Thai free-to-air television network that was launched o ...

Plot

Characters

*''Khan Kluay -ก้านกล้วย:'' The title character and the main protagronist, was born in the wild. His mission is to find his father name is "Phupa", who is evidently dead and cremated. After he's King Naresuan's royal

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

his name is "Chaophraya Chaiyanuphap", and after he won of Elephant Battle his name is "Chao Phraya Prab Hongsawadee". *'' King Naresuan the Great (Black Prince) - สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช (พระองค์ดำ):'' The

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Ayutthaya Kingdom, is the first human Khan Kluay befriends. He won Crown Prince Mingyi Swa in Elephant Battle. *''Chaba Kaew - ชบาแก้ว:'' Is a pink elephant with a flower on her left ear. She is Khan Kluay's wife. She lives with humans since she birth. *''Nguang Deang - งวงแดง:'' The main villian and the main antagonist, evil giant

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Elephant. He is Crown Prince Mingyi Swa's royal elephant and the most powerful elephant of Hanthawaddy army. He killed Phupa, Khan Kluay's father. * ''Crown Prince Mingyi Swa'' ''- พระมหาอุปราชามังกะยอชวา:'' The secondary antagonist, crown prince of Toongoo dynasty, son of King Nanda Bayin. In the Elephant Battle he fight with King Naresuan and dies in the battle. *''Phupa - ภูผา:'' The most powerful of war elephants of Ayutthaya army, is father of Khan Kluay, He dies in the war because he fight with Nguang Deang. *''Saeng Da - แสงดา:'' The kind elephant, she is Phupa's wife and Khan Kluay's mother. *''Bun Rueng - บุญเรือง:'' The strong elephant, after he is royal elephant of Prince Ekathotsarot his name is "Chaophraya Prap Traichak". *''Sing Khorn - สิงขร:'' King Mahintrathirat's royal elephant, he is Phupa's friends. *''Nual - นวล:'' The old elephant, she is Phupa's mother and Khan Kluay's grandmother. *''Patchaniang - พัชเนียง:'' Evil elephant of Hanthawaddy army, he's Bun Rueng's enimies. *'' Prince Ekathotsarot (White Prince) - สมเด็จพระเอกาทศรถ (พระองค์ขาว):'' King Naresuan's youngerbrother. *''Letwe Tathmu - ลักไวทำมู:'' The bad general of Hanthawaddy army.

Voice cast

* Anyarit Pitakkul as Khan Kluay (young) * Nawarat Techarathanaprasert as Chaba Kaew (child) * Phoori Hiranyapruk as older Khan Kluay * Warattaya Nilkuha (Jui) as older Chaba Kaew * Pongsak Hiranyapruk as Jitrit, a

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

* Nanthana Bunlong as Saeng-daa * Suthep Po-ngam as

Mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

* Channarong Khuntee-tao as Burmese general * Klos Utthaseri as

Mingyi Swa , image = , caption = , reign = 15 October 1581 – , coronation = , succession = Heir Apparent of Burma , predecessor = Nanda , successor = Minye Kyaws ...

* Juree Ohsiri * Koti Aramboy

US English dub

* Thomas Starkley as Khan Kluay (young) * Jeremy Redleaf as Khan Kluay (old) *

Miranda Cosgrove Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She was the highest-paid child actor in 2012 and was included on ''Forbes'' magazine's " 30 Under 30" list in 2022. She is known for her career on television, parti ...

as Kon Suay * Martin Short as Jai * Amy Carlson as Nuan, Cha, Cow *

Carl Reiner Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades. He was the recipient of many awards and honors, including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, ...

as Tian * Kate Simses as Sang Da *

Troy Baker Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...

as Marong, Young Prince Naresuan, Minchit Sra *

Richard Epcar Richard Epcar is an American voice actor, voice director, and writer who has voiced over 1,200 characters in animation, video games and anime. Some of his major roles include Raiden in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise, The Joker in several proje ...

as King Narusean, Ajan, Officer *

Cindy Robinson Cindy Robinson is an American voice actress who voices in animations and video games. Some of her major roles are Makoto Nanaya and Gii from the ''Blazblue'' series, Betty Boop in commercials, Queen Beryl in ''Sailor Moon'', Chitose Nanbu in '' ...

as Matriarch Elephant, Dela

Hindi voice actors

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

as Jayveer "Jumbo" the elephant/Himself (narrator) ** Ashar Shaikh as Baby Jayveer "Jumbo" *

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the ...

as Sonia ** Vaishnavi Shetty as Baby Sonia *

Rajpal Yadav Rajpal Yadav (born 16 March 1971) is an Indian actor which works in Hindi, Punjabi Marathi, Telugu and one Gujarati and one Bengali and one avadhi, comedian and film maker known for his work in Indian Film industry. His breakthrough came in ...

as Dildar Yadav *

Dimple Kapadia Dimple Kapadia (born 8 June 1957) is an Indian actress predominantly appearing in Hindi films. Born and raised in Mumbai by wealthy parents, she aspired to become an actress from a young age and received her first opportunity through her father ...

as Devi *

Amar Babaria Amar Babaria (born May 10, 1975, from Mumbai) is an Indian actor, director, writer, theater artist, and voice over actor. He is also multilingual, speaking Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, and Urdu. Early life and career Amar Babaria was ...

as Rajkumar Vikramaditya *

Asrani Govardhan Asrani (born 1 January 1940), popularly known simply as Asrani, is an Indian actor and director whose Bollywood career has spanned five decades. He has acted in over 350 Hindi films. Asrani has played the lead roles, character roles ...

as Senapati *

Gulshan Grover Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Bollywood because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films. Early ...

as Bakhtavar

Production

''Khan Kluay'' was directed by Kompin Kemgumnird, an animator who had worked on the

films ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'', '' Atlantis: The Lost Empire'' and''

'', and Blue Sky Studios' ''

''. Produced by Kantana Animation, it was the first Thai 3-D animated feature film and the first animated Thai feature since Payut Ngaokrachang's cel-animated '' The Adventure of Sudsakorn'' (1979). ''Khan Kluay'' took three years to produce.

Releases

''Khan Kluay'' was released in Thailand on May 18, 2006, and the film was shown to an audience of

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

s and their

mahout A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Mahouts were used since antiquity for both civilian and military use. Traditionally, mahouts came from ethnic groups with generations of elephant keeping experience, with a mahout retaining h ...

s in an outdoor screening in Ayutthaya Province on June 6 of that year. It was released in September 2008 on DVD in the United States as ''The Blue Elephant.'' The Indian production Percept Picture Company bought the rights to the film and released a Hindi-language version, ''Jumbo'', on December 25, 2008; Indian actor

voiced the main character, Jumbo.

United States

The film was released in the US on September 2, 2008, by

the Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

and

the Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

as ''The Blue Elephant''. Like other foreign animated films which have been dubbed into English (such as ''

My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story o ...

'' and ''

Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...

''), it was released

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy wa ...

. The film was re-dubbed with celebrity voices, including Martin Short,

and

. Some scenes were deleted for the US version, and character names were changed.

India

The film released in India on December 25, 2008 as ''

Jumbo Jumbo (about December 25, 1860 – September 15, 1885), also known as Jumbo the Elephant and Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush elephant born in Sudan. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and t ...

'' by the Percept Picture Company. It was re-dubbed with a cast which included

and

Festivals and awards

* 2006

Thailand National Film Association Awards The Suphannahong National Film Awards ( th, รางวัลภาพยนตร์แห่งชาติ สุพรรณหงส์, also known as the Thailand National Film Association Awards) is the primary film award of the Thai film ...

Thai Film Awards this year
, ThaiCinema.org, 2007-02-28. **Best picture **Best script **Best score **Best sound recording * 2006 Golden Doll Awards ** Best score ** Best sound recording * 2006

Bangkok Critics Assembly The Bangkok Critics Assembly Awards is a film award based in Thailand. It is given by the Bangkok Critics Assembly ( th, ชมรมวิจารณ์บันเทิง, ), an association of professional film critics, to local feature film pr ...

** Best score * 2006

Starpics Awards The cinema of Thailand dates back to the early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorn's 1897 visit to Bern, Switzerland was recorded by François-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. The film was then brought to Bangkok, where it was exhibited. This sparke ...

** Best score * 2006 Star Entertainment Awards ** Best picture ** Best score * 2006 Animadrid, International Animation Festival,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

** Best Feature Film * 2007 Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children * 2007 Golden Elephant International Children's Film Festival ** Opening film

Sequel and spin-off

A 2009 film sequel, '' Khan Kluay 2'', was a

box-office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

. An animated television series, ''The Adventures of Khan Kluay'', was produced by Kantana Animation Studio and is broadcast on

in Thailand. ''Khan Kluay'' featured in animations broadcast in 2016 as the lead-in to '' Thailand Move Forward'', a government-information program which all television stations in Thailand are required to broadcast at 6 pm.recorded livestream feed
of Nation TV on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

References

External links

*
Review at ThaiCinema.org
{{Khan Kluay 2006 films 2006 computer-animated films 2000s children's animated films Thai animated films Thai children's films Animated films about elephants Thai-language films Fictional elephants Best Picture Suphannahong National Film Award winners Thai national heritage films Sahamongkol Film International films