The Elephant Princess is an Australian children's show created by Jonathan M. Shiff (creator of H₂O: Just Add Water). Only had two seasons consisting of 52 episodes which aired from 2008-2011.
The show follows Alexandra "Alex" Wilson, an ordinary teenage girl... or at least that's what she thinks, until a boy named Kuru and a magical elephant named Anala appear in her garden on the day of her 16th birthday. Kuru informs Alex that she is in fact the heir to the throne of the kingdom of Manjipoor. With Kuru's help, Alex learns to use her newfound magical abilities and stakes her claim to the throne against her scheming cousin, Vashan.
Tropes:
- Alpha Bitch:
- Alex's sister, Zoey, takes the prize.
- In season 2, Veronica takes over the role.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Alex relinquishes the throne for about 3 episodes before taking it back in the season finale.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Alex is so distressed when she gets confirmation that she's actually adopted that she lashes out at her parents, accuses them of lying to her and accidentally wishes them out of existence.
- Benevolent Mage Ruler: What Alex is meant to be in her capacity as future queen of Manjipoor.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Vashan spends all of Season 1 plotting to seize the throne and boasting about his magical prowess, smugly believing he has the whole situation under control... at least until Diva pulls the rug right out from under him and reveals that she has been ten times the powerful wizard and wicked ruler he could ever hope to be the whole time. She then proceeds to entirely drain him of his powers before tossing him into the dungeons.
- Bodyguard Crush: Kuru's feelings towards Alex are hinted at being a little more than strictly professional...
- Canada Does Not Exist: A weird, Australian version. The school the kids go is possibly in Australia, but unlikely. The lack of school uniforms (extremely unusual in Australia) compounded with the unbiquitous use of lockers (which are not as widespread Down Under) and the time spent hanging around them, evokes the schools of basically any North American kids' show ever made, rather than an Aussie place of education.
- Changeling Fantasy: Alex was transported to another dimension as a baby for her own safety, and adopted by a loving family. She finds out her true parentage sixteen years later.
- The Chessmaster: Diva, with Vashan as her Unwitting Pawn.
- Child of Forbidden Love: Alex, whose real father was not the king of Manjipoor.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Alex.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: JB can be this at times.JB: Alex, this decision determines your future. Get it right and he's yours forever, get it wrong and-
Alex: What are you talking about? Just tell me what he would want.
JB: Jewelry. - Dangerous 16th Birthday: From Alex's point of view, finding out that you're actually adopted and the long lost princess of a magical kingdom would certainly count.
- Don't Call Me "Sir": Alex frequently (and angrily) reminds Kuru not to call her "princess" or "your highness".
- The Evil Prince: Vashan is Alex's cousin and (presumably) next in line for the throne of Manjipoor after her. He very much believes that he is the rightful heir, and spends a good portion of the series trying to find ways to undermine Alex or otherwise demonstrate that she is unfit to rule.
- Frothy Mugs of Water: In the second season, Alex and her friends get a gig playing at a club which apparently serves nothing but juice.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Diva is far more clever and powerful than Vashan gives her credit for. She later turns out to have been using him to take over the kingdom the whole time.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Alex isn't always thrilled about finding out she's a princess.
- Lost World: In Alex's world, the kingdom of Manjipoor is home to a long lost civilization that disappeared long ago in unexplained circumstances (read: moved to a parallel dimension to evade persecution).
- Loyal Animal Companion: Anala to Alex.
- Magical Land: Manjipoor is a realm of magic users.
- Muggle Foster Parents: Alex, the daughter of a Sorceress Queen, was adopted as a baby by an ordinary suburban couple.
- Mystical India: Manjipoor has a very heavy Indian aesthetic.
- Obviously Evil: Vashan. Was it the dark clothing, the beard or the long nails that gave it away?
- Overly Long Name: Alex's full, real name is Liliuokalani Parasha Kaled Persephone Amanirenas. The name Liliuokalani is of Hawaiian origin (and was in fact the name of the last Hawaiian queen), Parasha is a Russian name, Kaled resembles a variant of the Arabic name Khalid (which is more commonly given to males), Persephone is the name of the Greek goddess of the Underworld, and Amanirenas was the name of the queen of the Nubian kingdom of Kush.
- Princesses Rule
- Put on a Bus: The only characters from season 1 that appear in season 2 are Alex, Amanda, Kuru, Anala and Diva. Justified at least in part by the fact that Alex has moved to a different city to start university (and also not surprising given that three years elapsed between the seasons in real life).
- Rebellious Princess: Alex. Understandable, given that she wasn't exactly brought up to be royalty.
- The Reveal:
- Omar, the queen's advisor, is Alex's biological father.
- Diva is actually a 600-year-old sorceress who'd been plotting to take over Manjipoor and was using Vashan while he thought he was using her. She also killed the king of Manjipoor.
- Rightful King Returns: The plot involves restoring Alex to her place on the throne.
- Shapeshifting:
- Alex's magic allows her to do this.
- And Diva also uses this to trick Omar into telling her where the royal crown is hidden by taking on Alex's form.
- Ship Tease: Alex and Kuru for all of season 1, including but not limited to an instance of needing True Love's Kiss. This is completely dropped in season 2 and they both end up with different people.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Omar and Queen Nefari. Also teased with Kuru and Alex.
- The Vamp: Diva.
- Wham Shot: In episode 23, Vashan magically messes up Diva's chess game just because and walks out of the room... only for Diva to almost effortlessly rearrange the chessboard by magic, showing she's more than just some assistant.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Diva drains Vashan of his powers once she doesn't need him anymore, though she imprisons him instead of killing him.
