Critics don’t usually pay much mind to Disney, unless it releases a blockbuster that pulls in the crowds at the box office.

This is why a little made-for-TV film about elephants normally wouldn’t register on their radar – unless you decide to get Meghan, Duchess of Sussex to do the voiceover.

Elephant is Meghan’s first independent move since leaving official royal duties, so a great deal was riding on it.

The Duke and Duchess had barely said goodbye on Instagram, or settled into their new life, before the reviews started rolling in.

It looks like it hasn’t gone as well as she might have hoped.

NewsAU rounded up some of the more colourful responses to the film.

Set to be released on Disney+ on April 3, a majority of film critics based in the United Kingdom rated Elephant three out of five stars, calling out the Duchess of Sussex’s voice acting as overdramatised.

The Times of London said that the Duchess traded “pomp and circumstance for schmaltz and cheesiness”. Variety called it “rather dry”, while Empire declared Meghan “overeager to please”.

Of course, no review round-up is complete without a word from The Guardian:

There are some fascinating scenes and set-pieces: especially a little calf having to be rescued from one pool’s churned-up mud, and the elephants getting water by tearing the bark from the Baobab trees.

But again and again, Meghan is given outrageously unverifiable things to say, such as: “Gaia remembers these birds leading her mother to the water….” And Shani later supposedly “…looks back on all the lessons she learned from Gaia.”

You expect that this film, like an episode of The Office or Parks and Recreation, is suddenly going to include a shot of Gaia telling an off-camera interviewer: “Mmm, yeah, I totally remember my mom being led by those birds over to this water…”

The Guardian tends to focus on the film as a whole, and rightly points out that Meghan didn’t actually write the script. Then there’s The Telegraph, which deviated from the rather unpleasant reviews altogether, calling Meghan a “fine fit” and pointing out the obvious – the film was made for children.

That, I think, is the takeaway here. Meghan wasn’t making a play for an Oscar.

Oh, and there’s also this:

It’s understood Meghan accepted the voiceover gig in return for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, a non-profit organisation in Botswana that aims to protect the species from poaching.

Anyone taking the time to have a go at her in this context needs to think long and hard about why they care.

[sources:newsau&guardian]