A comic battle of wills and an outrageous test of endurance ensues when five Green Berets stationed in Vietnam in 1968, grudgingly undertake the mission of a lifetime — to secretly transport an 8,000 lb. elephant through 200 miles of rough jungle terrain. Chaos and calamity prevail when Captain Sam Cahill (DANNY GLOVER) makes a promise to the Montagnard villagers of Dak Nhe, to replace their prized elephant in time for an upcoming ceremonial ritual. To Sam, it’s a matter of honor to help these people who have supported the American’s efforts. But to Captain T.C. Doyle (RAY LIOTTA), a tough-nosed West Point officer sent to take over Cahill’s command, the mission is nothing more than a jumbo-sized headache.

Together with a mismatched team of would-be heroes, including Harvey “H.A.” Ashford (DOUG E. DOUG), Lawrence Farley (CORIN NEMEC), and David Poole (DENIS LEARY), they set out to locate a suitable beast and make its tricky travel arrangements. However, nothing in their training could prepare these men to handle the comic adventure ahead. Finding Bo-Tat (TAI) the elephant and unobtrusively shipping the curious cargo across land and water is one thing. But they didn’t plan on falling in love with the playful pachyderm. And after all other maneuvers fail, there’s only one option remaining in order to meet the delivery deadline: Bo Tat must make a dramatic parachute jump into the village.