The Journey of the Elephant Soliman

We go back to the year 1550. Our story begins in far away India, to be exact: in the port of Calicut, where the youngest son of the most respected spice trader of the Indian west coast lives. His name is Amal. The boy is convinced that Calicut with its colourful streets full of noisy people and lovely smells must be the most wonderful place in the world. So here he leads the happy and unspectacular life of an ordinary 12 year old boy with his parents and his older brothers and sisters. One day, Amal is sent on an important errand to the harbour by his father, to deliver the anticipated spices to some Portuguese businessmen on their ship. On his way, he crosses paths with the old wash-street elephant SOLIMAN, who had recently splashed him with water from head to toe. In the hope for some fun and revenge, he pulls at the elephant's tail as hard as he can. Soliman takes a leap out of sheer fright and stirs up the entire harbour quarter. This results in the entire Portuguese ship's crew noticing this acrobatic elephant. Amal has no idea that this small but resounding gesture sets off his and the elephant's journey to distant and unfamiliar Europe. Now on the other side of the globe, King Philipp of Portugal has decided that he wants an Indian elephant brought to Europe to show his unchallenged power before the people. His deceitful henchman CORTEZ makes use of the fiasco in Calicut and kidnaps Soliman and with him Amal. The Austrian princess Katrina, who is visting Portugal with her family, feels no desire for an arranged marriage with nasty Portuguese heir Miguel and decides to flee from her father, Archduke Maximilian. She not only takes along her snobby pug Franz, but also Soliman and his alleged leader Amal as her travelling companions. The two on the other hand sense their chance to return to India post-haste, which turns out to be an illusion, as they are tracked by the king, the Archduke and their troops. Amal, Katrina, Soliman and Franz run into pirates, star in a play for the common people, prevent a forced marriage and learn a lot about Europe and their people. In the end, this we can reveal, all ends well.