The Elephant In The Living Room

The Elephant In The Living Room (2011)

  • 82% of critics liked it
    (22 reviews)

  • 81% of users liked it
    (534 ratings)

Set against the backdrop of a heated national debate, director Michael Webber takes viewers on a journey deep inside the controversial American subculture of raising the most dangerous animals in the world, as common household pets. This groundbreaking film chronicles the extraordinary lives of two… More

PG,
Directed By
Genres
Documentary, Special Interest
In Theaters
Apr 1, 2011 Limited
WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES

Critic Reviews

  • Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

    An exceptionally compassionate, fair-minded film that clearly states, beyond any rational benefit of the doubt, that raising potentially dangerous animals as pets is destructive to animals and humans alike.

  • V.A. Musetto, New York Post

    Explores the growing trend of treating dangerous animals as just another household pet.

  • Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times

    Spends rather too much time in the troubling company of Terry Brumfield, a barely mobile invalid who houses two full-grown African lions and their four cubs in a trailer in his backyard.

  • Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

    There's a kind of macho element to the movie that contradicts Harrison's interest in humane treatment with filming the suffering of animals and hoisting a couple of them for the camera.

  • Mark Holcomb, Village Voice

    Love is messy, unfathomable, and occasionally lethal, as this low-budget, benignly prosaic exposé of the trade in non-domesticated animals proves.

Read all 19 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Sarah P


    It wasn't that well made, but it did uncover a really disturbing occurrence involving wild animals. Really sad to see how people can destroy the animals lives as well as their own by selfishly keeping them as pets.

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