LA Times, EW, MTV and more talk the 'Water For Elephants' trailer

Entertainment Weekly:
Robert Pattinson looks like a man in the adaptation of Sara Gruen’s best-seller Water for Elephants, acting opposite Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon (the beautiful performer his character, a veterinary student in charge of caring for a traveling circus’ animals, falls for during the Depression) and Christoph Waltz (Witherspoon’s husband, the troupe’s animal trainer). Director Francis Lawrence seems to be channeling Tim Burton, and it works. The music lures you in, as does the always affecting Hal Holbrook, who plays Pattinson’s aged character recalling the story of “the most famous circus disaster of all time.” The finest compliment you can give a trailer for an adaptation is that it makes you want to read the book. This one does it for me.

People Magazine:
Forget Bella! Robert Pattinson woos Reese Witherspoon in the new trailer for the film adaptation of Sara Gruen's bestselling novel Water for Elephants, which is due in theaters in April 2011. Pattinson plays Jacob, a veterinary student who joins a traveling circus during the Great Depression. He falls for the show's sultry star Marlena (played by Witherspoon), who's involved with the Ringleader, played by Christoph Waltz. "You're a beautiful woman, you deserve a beautiful life," Jacob tells Marlena, but the Ringleader seems determined to keep them apart. Sounds like a love triangle of Twilight proportions!

MTV Movies Blog:
The trailer for "Water for Elephants" has stampeded its way onto the Internet, giving movie fans a beautifully shot look at the adaptation of Sara Gruen's bestselling novel and its beautiful stars, Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. (...) Depression-era setting? Check! Love triangle with beautiful woman, overbearing older lover and baby-faced younger suitor? Check! Climactic disaster providing the backdrop for the resolution of all things? Big-time check!

Movieline:
It really is a likable trailer: The production design and cinematography look great, the actors look great; hell, even that elephant looks pretty sharp. And with Sara Gruen’s much-loved best seller as the source material, it initially seems like an an unstoppable package.

Washington Post:
'Water for Elephants' trailer: Greatest clip on Earth? A sneak peek at "Water for Elephants," the film adaptation of Sara Gruen's book club favorite about a Big Top love triangle and a major circus disaster, is now online. And if the clip is any indication, the movie will at least look gorgeous. Featuring grand, hazy-with-nostalgia visuals and shots of Reese Witherspoon looking every inch the old movie star, it's a feast for the eyes. Of course, a number of people will think said feast is really all about Robert Pattinson, who definitely comes across (appropriately) as less broody and Edward Cullen-ish here.

Wall Street Journal:
Robert Pattinson’s non-”Twilight” resume gets another addition with “Water For Elephants,” a film set in a Depression-era circus and based on the bestselling novel by Sara Gruen. Pattinson plays opposite circus performer Reese Witherspoon, a casting decision that isn’t in the Oscar-winning actress’s favor, judging by the trailer. Pattinson is so baby-faced that he makes the still young and fetching Witherspoon look like she’s robbing the cradle. Oscar winner Christoph Waltz co-stars as Witherspoon’s unbalanced husband August. The film will hit theaters on April 15, 2011.

LA Times:
'Water for Elephants': Can Robert Pattinson perform under the big top? Though Robert Pattinson has slowly begun to carve out his post-"Twilight" acting career, many critics still wonder whether the young star has the acting chops to successfully move past the world of vampires. While it wasn't a flop at the box office, Pattinson's latest non-"Twilight" film, "Remember Me," barely seemed to register with filmgoers. But next year, it seems the actor will finally have a real chance to show audiences what he's got: he'll star opposite Uma Thurman in "Bel Ami" and with Reese Witherspoon in April's "Water for Elephants," for which a trailer was released Thursday. We like the langorous, moody tone, though it's nearly impossible to judge from the trailer if Pattinson has any acting skills beyond that longing gaze thing. It's also mildly difficult to believe the 34-year-old Witherspoon could truly be wooed by a young man a decade her junior, but that's a conceit we think we'd be able to get over.One definite bright spot in the trailer? Hal Holbrook, who plays some wise old circus hand who mentors Pattinson's character. We loved the 85-year-old's performance in "Into the Wild" a few years ago, and it seems his presence here will add weight to the film beyond the romance at its center.


Thanks to Pattinsonstew for this compilation of articles