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Apple acquired a documentary and an animated film for its streaming service

Apple acquired a documentary and an animated film for its streaming service

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The Elephant Queen premiered this weekend at TIFF

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Image: Deeble & Stone

Apple has made a pair of new acquisitions as it prepares for its forthcoming video streaming service: a documentary about a elephant matriarch that leads her herd to a new home, and an animated film set in Ireland, according to Deadline.

Directed by filmmakers Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble and narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), The Elephant Queen made its premiere this weekend at the Toronto International Film Festival. The story follows an elephant named Athena who leads her herd to a new watering hole during a drought, risking their youngest calves as they do so.

Wolfwalkers, directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, follows a young woman and her father as they arrive in Ireland to hunt down the last pack of wolves in the country, only to try and save them once she saves a native girl. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Apple was in discussions to pick up the film.

Apple’s streaming service is expected to launch sometime in March 2019. In the past year, the company has invested nearly $1 billion to acquire and develop original content for its forthcoming streaming service, including a reboot of Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories, a space show from Battlestar Galactica’s Ron Moore, and an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series.