If there’s one thing the streaming landscape guarantees, it’s uncertainty. The constantly shifting nature of streaming titles means that TV shows and movies come and go faster than viewers can keep up with them, and HBO Max isn’t an outlier. The streamer has spent March growing its content offerings with great titles like the new original show DTF St. Louis and several Spider-Man films, but it’s also suffered a few losses. Another title is about to join that list of departures, giving HBO Max subscribers just a week left to stream a must-watch Adult Swim special.
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Adult Swim’s The Elephant is tagged with a March 19th date. The surreal, 23-minute, three-part animation event is a blind collaborative effort between four animation superstars. The Elephant is split into three acts – the first written and produced by Adventure Time’s Pendleton Ward, the second by OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes’ Ian Jones-Quartey and Steven Universe’s Rebecca Sugar, and the third by Over The Garden Wall’s Patrick McHale – and plays out as a journey of self-discovery. The special originally aired back in December and has called HBO Max its streaming home ever since.
Adult Swim’s The Elephant Is an Experimental Masterpiece
If you haven’t yet seen The Elephant, do yourself a favor and squeeze in a watch before it leaves HBO Max in just a matter of days. The production is a perfect, experimental animated masterpiece that brings together some of the best in modern animation for a cohesive yet surreal exploration of identity, reincarnation, and self-discovery. The special is a visual treat, featuring distinct but varied animation styles ranging from urban realism to gentle, storybook aesthetics that surprisingly flow together exceptionally well. The Elephant also goes far beyond a typical cartoon with its thought-provoking narrative, exploration of deep existential themes, and commentary on the animation industry itself.
The special’s ability to deliver an emotional, cohesive experience despite its fragmented, independent creation earned high praise from critics and audiences alike. The Elephant holds a perfect 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.8 on IMDb. The three-part event was described by io9.com’s Isaiah Colbert as a “beautiful anomaly” and left general audiences craving more, one viewer writing, “I highly recommend watching it; please bring on more seasons!” With its pretty short run, The Elephant is an easy and entertaining watch that definitely shouldn’t be missed if you’re an animation fan.
Where to Stream The Elephant After It Leaves HBO Max?
The Elephant is leaving HBO Max, but it thankfully isn’t leaving streaming altogether. The three-part special is also available to stream on both Sling TV and Adult Swim’s website, both of which also host Behind The Elephant, the 21-minute documentary showcasing the making of The Elephant and the creators’ reactions to seeing the collaborative project. It’s also possible that The Elephant will move to another major streaming platform sometime in the future, but the program didn’t appear on the Marc newsletters for any rival service.
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