The One and Only Ivan (film)

The One and Only Ivan
Official release poster
Directed by	Thea Sharrock
Screenplay by	Mike White
Based on	The One and Only Ivan by K. A. Applegate
Produced by	Angelina Jolie Allison Shearmur Brigham Taylor
Starring	Sam Rockwell Angelina Jolie Danny DeVito Helen Mirren Ramón Rodríguez Ariana Greenblatt Bryan Cranston
Cinematography	Florian Ballhaus
Edited by	Barney Pilling
Music by	Craig Armstrong
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures[1] Jolie Pas Productions[1]
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date	August 21, 2020 (2020-08-21) (United States)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The One and Only Ivan is a 2020 American fantasy drama film directed by Thea Sharrock from a screenplay written by Mike White based on the 2012 children's novel of the same name by K. A. Applegate. Inspired by the true story of Ivan the gorilla, the film stars the voices of Sam Rockwell as Ivan alongside Angelina Jolie (who helped to produce the film), Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Brooklynn Prince, Chaka Khan, Ron Funches, Phillipa Soo, and Mike White with the human characters portrayed by Ramón Rodríguez, Ariana Greenblatt, and Bryan Cranston.

The project was first announced in 2014, and went into production two years later. The cast was assembled between October 2017 and May 2018, with filming taking place in Florida in summer 2018. Originally intended to have a theatrical release, The One and Only Ivan was made available to stream on Disney+ from August 21, 2020, and received mixed reviews from critics. The film received nominations from both BAFTA and the Academy Awards for its visual effects, but lost both to Tenet.^[2][3]

Plot[]

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In 1973, Ivan, a silverback western lowland gorilla, lives in the enclosure at Big Top Mall. He performs for Mack, the owner, alongside other performers; a wise and nurturing African elephant named Stella, Mack’s spoiled pet poodle named Snickers, a spunky baseball-playing chicken named Henrietta, a toy fire truck-riding rabbit named Murphy, a paranoid sea lion named Frankie and a loquacious parrot named Thelma. Ivan's main friend is a stray mutt named Bob who secretly lives in his enclosure unless Mack has the security guard Castello drive him out. Mack's janitorial employee George brings his daughter Julia who frequently interacts with Ivan. One day, Julia leaves her old crayons with Ivan who suddenly begins taking an interest in drawing with them. Julia is apparently the only one who can decipher his drawings and what they mean.

The Big Top Mall begins losing business much to Mack's concern, but becomes excited when he purchases a baby elephant named Ruby from a bankrupt circus who begins to draw in a crowd and is placed in Stella's enclosure. Ivan is initially hesitant over accepting Ruby, especially when she begins to pry into his personal life. When Stella suddenly becomes weaker and unable to perform, Ivan gives Ruby encouragement to embrace the crowd on her own. Afterwards, Ruby asks Ivan to tell her a story and Ivan reveals how Mack and his wife Helen adopted him when he was just a baby. As Ivan got bigger, Mack became forgiving of his animalistic behavior, but Helen left them out of frustration. Mack eventually purchased the mall and turned it into a circus. Stella asks Ivan to look after Ruby and make sure she is free before passing away.

Mack begins to train Ruby for the circus, which displeases Ivan and he decides to find a way to free her. Ivan's drawings are discovered by Mack and decides to make it the next big act, but despite the publicity in the news, Ivan refuses to cooperate.

At night, Ivan and Bob trick Castello and free themselves and Ruby. At Ruby's urging, Henrietta, Murphy, Frankie, and Thelma are also released and the animals flee the Big Top Mall to escape to the forest on the other side of the highway while Snickers remains behind. Murphy's toy fire truck is destroyed by an oncoming car with Murphy rescued by Ivan. To their disappointment, the "forest" is just an intersection and they are surrounded by more city. Alerted by Castello, Mack manages to bring the animals back while stating to Ivan that he is putting Ruby at risk and tries to keep their escape a secret.

While Murphy's toy fire truck was replaced, Ruby asks Ivan to tell her another story. At Bob's urging, Ivan finally explains how he used to live in the jungle with other gorillas. Ivan, then known as Mud, loved to make drawings in the mud and play with his sister Tag who loved playing tag. Ivan was separated by his family when poachers came and he had not seen any other gorillas since.

As George is informed by Mack to keep this incident from reaching the press while mentioning that he fired Castello, Julia sympathetically gives Ivan some finger paints. This enables Ivan to paint a mural.

The next day, visitors come in along with the reporter Candace Taylor who has heard about the possible escape and decide to film the show. Ivan's mural, a recreation of a forest and lake, is seen by the crowd who responds positively to it. Julia believes that Ivan wants to be free and informs Candace.

Soon, protesters arrive demanding the release of the animals. Mack finally gives in and decides to shut down the mall. As Henrietta, Murphy, Thelma, and Frankie are taken away, Mack has one final moment with Ivan, thanking him for his time while allowing Bob to have one final time with Ivan.

Ivan is then taken to a big gorilla enclosure at the Zoo Atlanta by Dr. Maya Wilson where he is reunited with his kind. To his astonishment, it is situated right next to the elephant enclosure where Ruby is with her kind. Ivan assures Stella's spirit that Ruby is safe under his watch.

During the credits, photos and footage of the real Ivan is shown along with a summary of his life. In a mid-credits scene, Ivan is greeted by Bob who has been adopted by Julia and George who come visit the enclosure along with Mack to check in on Ivan.

Cast[]

• Bryan Cranston as Mack, the owner and ringmaster of the Big Top Mall.
• Ramón Rodríguez as George, Julia's father and a janitor at the Big Top Mall.
• Ariana Greenblatt as Julia, George's daughter who encourages Ivan to draw.
• Owain Arthur as Castello, a security guard at the Big Top Mall who Mack often orders to keep Bob out.
• Hannah Bourne as Helen, Mack's ex-wife who left when Ivan got older.
• Eleanor Matsuura as Candace Taylor, a news reporter who covers Ivan's finger-painting.
• Indira Varma as Dr. Maya Wilson, a zoologist.

Mike White cameos as a passing driver who witnesses the animals escaping into the intersection.

Voices[]

• Sam Rockwell as Ivan, a western lowland gorilla that was rescued at a young age by Mack.
• Angelina Jolie as Stella, a wise African bush elephant that is Ivan's friend.
• Danny DeVito as Bob, a stray dog that is Ivan's friend and often sneaks into the Big Top Mall much to the annoyance of Mack.
• Helen Mirren as Snickers, a spoiled white poodle owned by Mack that often performs with Stella.
• Brooklynn Prince as Ruby, a baby African bush elephant that Mack obtains from a bankrupt circus.
• Chaka Khan as Henrietta, a spunky polish chicken who plays baseball.
• Ron Funches as Murphy, a white European rabbit who wears a red bow tie and drives a toy fire truck.
• Phillipa Soo as Thelma, a loquacious blue-and-yellow macaw.
• Mike White as Frankie, a paranoid California sea lion that balances a ball.

Production[]

On April 9, 2014, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures was set to adapt the book with Allison Shearmur producing.^[4] On May 6, 2016, it was announced that Mike Newell would direct, with a screenplay by Mike White.^[5] On March 24, 2017, Thea Sharrock entered negotiations to direct the film after Newell left the project.^[6] On October 16, 2017, it was reported that Jolie had joined the film as both a producer and the voice of an elephant named Stella.^[7] On November 15, 2017, Prince was cast to voice Ruby, the baby elephant.^[8]

On January 9, 2018, Ariana Greenblatt joined the cast in a live action role.^[9] Producer Shearmur died on January 19, 2018. She retains her producer credit on the film.^[10] On February 23, 2018, Rockwell was cast to voice the titular Ivan, Cranston was set to play a circus owner, and Brigham Taylor joined as a producer.^[11][12] On March 13, 2018, Rodriguez signed on to another live action role, that of the father of Greenblatt's character.^[13] On May 1, 2018, it was announced that DeVito and Mirren would voice characters in the film, while Indira Varma and Eleanor Matsuura were added in live action roles.^[14]

Principal photography began on May 1, 2018 in Lakeland, Florida, with locations for the film including the Southgate Shopping Center and Resurrection Catholic Church.^[15][16] Filming also took place in other parts of Polk County the following month, spending $134,365 in the city.^[17]

The visual effects for the film were done by Moving Picture Company (MPC) and Method Studios.

Release[]

The film was originally scheduled for a theatrical release on August 14, 2020 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.^[18] However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, the film's theatrical release was cancelled and it was exclusively released on Disney+ on August 21, 2020.^[19] In November, Variety reported the film was the 27th-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.^[20]

Reception[]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 117 reviews with an average rating of 6.20/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "An uncertain approach to the story's darker themes undermines its emotional stakes, but The One and Only Ivan offers heartwarming entertainment for younger viewers."^[21] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[22]

Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it a positive review, and wrote "There are times the family-friendly slapstick comedy and heavy messaging about the heartbreak of animals in tight, dark, cold captivity don’t exactly mesh. But the visuals are truly impressive and the story has an uplifting arc, and oh do these actors have fun hamming it up."^[23] Owen Gleiberman of Variety noted "The story takes no outsize turns, no big surprise twists. Perhaps the only surprise is how touching it is"^[24] Sandie Angulo Chen of Common Sense Media rated the movie 4 out of 5 stars, and noted that "there's actually less mention of violence on the screen than on the page" and praised the film for its "themes of loyalty, teamwork, empathy, and perseverance."^[25]

Accolades[]

References[]

External links[]

• The One and Only Ivan at IMDb 
• The One and Only Ivan on Disney+