Adult Swim’s The Elephant Is a Bold Animation Experiment

A blind collaboration from animation legends that proves creative risk still matters

In a year when originality feels increasingly under pressure in Hollywood, The Elephant stands out as a quiet but meaningful act of creative resistance. Industry job cuts, fears around artificial intelligence, and corporate mega mergers have made personal, high-risk storytelling harder to sustain. That context makes Adult Swim’s The Elephant especially timely. Inspired by the Exquisite Corpse parlor game, the animated special embraces creative uncertainty by design. Three teams created three separate acts in complete isolation, with no shared outlines or coordination. Pendleton Ward leads the first act, Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones Quartey shape the second, and Patrick McHale brings the story to its conclusion. Surprise was not a side effect. It was the foundation.

Pendleton Ward described the process as “liberating” and “free-flowing art experimentation.” He noted that the teams “weren’t allowed to discuss anything about The Elephant” during production, often commiserating over the phone in “very vague terms” to avoid spilling details.

Despite its fragmented process, The Elephant feels remarkably cohesive. Ward’s segment is surreal and vividly colored, recalling the spirit of Adventure Time. Sugar and Jones Quartey inject free associative storytelling with an ’80s punk edge. McHale’s final act is quieter and emotionally resonant, set during the holidays and unfolding like an existential Christmas special. What unites these distinct styles is a shared curiosity about humanity and the experience of navigating a world that often feels unfamiliar and fractured.

Michael Ouweleen, president of Adult Swim, has framed The Elephant as a genuine gift to the audience, one that reflects not just innovation but deep respect for the creators involved. He sees the project as a way for these longtime friends and collaborators to keep their creative partnership alive, allowing it to grow and evolve in unexpected ways. In that sense, The Elephant is as much about process and trust as it is about the story that ultimately unfolds.

Released by Adult Swim and Max, companies shaped by the same industry forces, this project subtly resists. The Elephant carries a bittersweet edge. Best viewed alongside Behind the Elephant, the nearly equal-length documentary about its making, the 23-minute special is a reminder that in an era hostile to originality, creative risk is not a flaw. It is the point.