Using exquisite corpse, ‘The Elephant’ tells a captivating story about reincarnation

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Animation can create anything imaginable, but often it focuses on realistic stories. A lot of animation for adults simply recreates what you’d see in live-action films and TV – everyday people in normal situations. And that’s perfectly okay; shows like “King of the Hill” and “Bob’s Burgers” prove that can be great. However, the possibilities are endless, which is why it’s exciting that Adult Swim, known for shows like one featuring a meatball, shake, and fries as the heroes, continues to push creative boundaries.

Premiering Friday on the network and Saturday on HBO Max, “The Elephant” is a unique animated project inspired by the surrealist game exquisite corpse. In this game, artists each contribute to a drawing – one does the head, another the body, and so on – without seeing what the others have done. This project brings together four talented animators – Pendleton Ward (“Adventure Time”), Ian Jones-Quartey (“OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes”), Rebecca Sugar (“Steven Universe”), and Patrick McHale (“Over the Garden Wall”) – to create something completely new, even to themselves. Each animator worked independently on a section, and the full creation wasn’t revealed until all the parts were combined. The idea originated with Jack Pendarvis and Kent Osborne, both veterans of “Adventure Time,” who also oversaw the project and share writing credit with the animators.

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The game ‘exquisite corpse’ also inspired the creation of characters in the show. It often results in strange, but funny, creatures, which is why the main character – let’s call her The Character – has such unusual features: a cactus for an arm and a giant pink foot where a leg should be. Different acts feature her with even more bizarre traits – robot arms, fishnet stockings, and a ‘music button’ that makes the city party when disco plays, or even a TV for a body. Despite these changes, we see her as the same person throughout the show, exploring themes of identity, death, and rebirth. She’s constantly evolving, yet always remains the central figure, and is generally presented as female. This approach is similar to shows like ‘Adventure Time,’ where even the villains are often protagonists in their own right.

The series is divided into three parts, each with a distinct style. Ward handles the first section, showcasing his signature blend of the strange and casual, reminiscent of his work on shows like “Adventure Time” and “Midnight Gospel.” Married duo Jones-Quartey and Sugar collaborated on the second, surprisingly moving away from their usual aesthetic with a sharp, New Wave approach. McHale concludes the story with Act 3. His section features a character desperate to escape the cycle of reincarnation, who eventually finds himself in a realistic, snowy New York City, conversing with a solitary inventor. McHale also briefly includes an image of an elephant – a clever nod to the parable of the blind men and their differing interpretations of the animal.

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Each animator, or team of animators, brings their unique perspective and the game’s overall feel into how they tell the story. Ward’s character literally comes to life on screen and questions their own identity, saying, “What am I? I’m not sure.” Later, Sugar and Jones-Quartey’s character reflects on existence, feeling stretched between the past and the future, and acknowledging that everything has a beginning and an end, making their present moment just a temporary middle. McHale, by crafting the ending, effectively ties everything together. Despite the fragmented creation process and the changes throughout each section, the final product feels surprisingly unified and deliberate. Ultimately, transformation is at the heart of animation.

I loved “The Elephant” so much that if I’d seen it earlier, it definitely would have been on my list of top animated shows for 2025, alongside four others (including three from Adult Swim). It’s a show you’ll want to rewatch, and the behind-the-scenes look, “Behind the Elephant,” is also worth watching – maybe even twice!

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2025-12-19 14:01