Love & Bananas

Cute, it would be better if Ashley Bell would stop trying to be the FOCUS of this documentary and allow the elephants to take center stage.

A very sweet and poignant documentary about rescuing abused Elephants and raising them in a more naturalized sanctuaries like Thailand's Elephant Nature Park and the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. The film does a solid job establishing the conservation status of Asian elephants as they've been pushed into human conflict with increasingly aggressive habitat fragmentation and deforestation (75% of jungles are now gone), with many remaining Asian elephants being conditioned into abusive labor such as logging and trekking. This is where we meet elephant activist Lek Chailert, who denounced her family's elephant trekking business and has rescued and rehabilitated over 200 elephants thanks to her natural sanctuary, Elephant Nature. The film does a good job at educating viewers on elephant's ecological importance as keystone species, as well as their social & emotional intelligence, such as how they mourn their deceased loved ones and share deep emotional bonds that are hard to separate. So hard to separate, that an incredibly cruel practice is commonly used in order to "tame" baby elephants into servitude at trek camps, logging industries, circuses, and even those "wholesome" painting phenomenon. This is fine with the infamous "Crush Box", where baby elephants are separated from their mothers and tied to a cage, where they are kept stationary and regularly beaten with bull hooks for 24 hours straight. And if they still show maternal affection, the whole ordeal is repeated until the baby's fear of abuse overshadows its love for its family. Often leaving lifelong scars and accesses, with further injuries from the intense labor and mental decline from their captive isolation. All in the name of entertainment and cheaper labor. The film is very gripping with its dark subject matter, balanced with its hopeful solution with elephant sanctuaries like Lek's rescuing these abused Elephants and providing them with the proper space, enrichment, and medical care they need to survive since they're often too injured to be truly wild. It's like a sweet retirement home for these tragic pachyderms. My only complaint is that the celebrity host is a little overbearing, preachy, and self-indulgent in the early portion of the film, which I felt was a little unnecessary since the footage and its founder speak for itself. Those parts of the documentary felt like I was watching a cheesy self-important 90s movie. But thankfully these parts are brief as the film rightfully shifts focus onto the sanctuary founder Lek and the elephants. There's a great segment where they highlight the severe psychological and the physical toll on the abused Elephants, showcased by all the stereotypical pacing behavior as the trek elephants are chained and cannot mobilize, exercise, or socialize, all under exhaustion and confusion that is clearly making them stir-crazy, anti-social, and declining in stamina. This is highlighted with just how difficult it is to even transport the retired elephants to the sanctuary. All the negative reinforcement "training" has made them fear the transport trucks and are reluctant to eat during the long road trip. Some elephants even suffer from heat stroke along the way. But thankfully we are greeted with a great contrast with all the freedom granted to these retired elephants at the sanctuary, where they gradually readjust to their new homes and are only treated with positive reinforcement and proper socializing & medical care. Tourism helps support the facility, but it's more observational and practical as visitors get to volunteer by feeding and watching the elephants partake in natural habits, such as dirt baths and daily exercise routines. It's a heartwarming conclusion and gives us hope that this kind of positive rehabilitation will continue to flourish and change things for the better.

This doc is TRUE & DEF eye opening - a must see. Disregard 2 posted reviews claiming horrid boxing & torture / killing of infant elephant is "outdated bc illegal & local police stop it." Many animal welfare laws exist in Thailand but FEW are enforced, even on worst repeat offenders. Elephant rides is BIG BUSINESS- that means $$ trumps laws.

FACT IS WILD elephant family will DIE PROTECTING their young. Thus, it's DEF WRONG TO RIDE AN ELEPHANT - wild or born in captivity. It's UNNATURAL TO RIDE ELEPHANTS IN MODERN TIMES!

The mahouts era in timber industry is LONG GONE in all ASEAN countries. So why train BABY INFANT ELEPHANTS TO CARRY HUMANS?? MONEY- plain & simple.

Fact: No Mother elephant will allow a human NEAR her NEWBORN.

Fact: Thailand allows chaining of elephants ALL the time for tourists to feed/ take pics. Chained ride elephants sway & shift side to side when stressed caused by chaining in 1 spot for many hours/ days, out of public view. This docu shows how the "ride for tourism elephants" are regularly mistreated & all cruelly chained with no water nor food. Chained Mother elephant separated from her baby & witnessing any type training given to her newborn IS SIMPLY CRUEL!

UNDISPUTED FACT cannot train teen age or mature elephant to ride so newborns are trained This docu film shows a lush large Thailand elephant sanctuary & how long tortured enslaved ride elephants remember friends & family from decades ago. This reunion occurs in most elephant sanctuaries. This Docu focuses on female Lek whose received regular death threats, disowned & made homeless by her family bc they're in elephant riding business, & gets no aide from local police / govt that usually sides with tourists cash flow.

The sanctuary Lek works at is NOT owned by her but by a trust created by white conservationist who hired her while she was young & homeless. Lek lived at sanctuary & became an "elephant whisperer". Her love for elephants is clear.

This docu shows lucky few elephants enjoying this sanctuary. Lek displays her remarkable "whisperer" talent that's dangerous bc rescued abused elephants suffer PTS. In sanctuary, elephants are free, not forced to move by painful prodding. Lek uses BANANAS & any fruit elephant favors to gain their trust. In this sanctuary, elephants decide what to do & create new elephant bonds. It's Lots of work but the big reward is elephants return to living as wild as possible, no cages, no chains, no forced tourist rides in severe humid heat without water & shade. Lek also helps convert other family owned elephant ride businesses to switch bc @ time of filming, Thai govt gave $$ to families who switched from ride elephants biz to another business usu more profitable, as long as all elephants are given to verified sanctuary.

Science has proven so much about elephants' intelligence, lifelong family ties, mental trauma & depression when separated from family, their tender skin, how they're literally true "keynote species" & gardeners of their natural habitats, aiding all wildlife by digging wells in droughts with tusks, replanting vital fruit trees/ shrubs, & fertilizing land everywhere they travel.

Do NOT be discouraged by viewing brief brutal reality. ONE MUST WITNESS CRUEL TRUTH TO REMEDY WRONGS. I know ppl who've visited Thailand, this wonderful sanctuary, took lots of pics incl many chained elephants in different Thai places. They did NOT ride any elephant thankfully bc of my info & viewing THIS docu.

This is a sincere film that zooms in on a true ecological and environmental crisis of our time. It'll make you see elephants, and the Thai/Cambodian tourism industry, in a whole new way. I hope it brings new awareness to this issue to discourage tourists from supporting the elephant riding/entertainment centers conducting elephant abuse!

All of the 1-star reviews are from Circus managers and other people who exploit animals for a living. Don't believe the lies.