The One and Only Ivan: A noble hero

The One and Only Ivan (2020) • View trailer 

3.5 stars. Rated PG, for mild dramatic intensity

By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 9.4.20 

Break out the Kleenex; you’ll be snuffling before this gentle little fable concludes its first act.

 

Which is not to say that The One and Only Ivan, debuting on Disney+, is an unrelenting tear-jerker; far from it. But by replicating the “gimmick” from Katherine Applegate’s Newbery Medal-winning 2012 children’s novel — in which the title character, a silverback gorilla, narrates his own story — scripter Mike White puts us squarely into this intelligent creature’s heart and soul.

 

Under the watchful eye of Bob, a stray dog and best bud, Ivan reluctantly
agrees to baby elephant Ruby's request that he tell her a story.

I’ve not been a fan of the increasingly convincing CGI talking animals in recent Disney films — particularly when they burst into song — because their speaking ability destroys the otherwise astonishing accuracy with which such critters are created. But it works here, because it is essential that we understand what motivates this saga’s star: what he imagines and yearns for, and how he reacts to the environment, people and other animals in his orbit.

 

Right from the start, it’s easy to embrace the fact that we’re sharing Ivan’s thoughts … which was, of course, the point of Applegate’s book. Considerable credit also goes to Sam Rockwell, who voices Ivan so sensitively; and director Thea Sharrock, who plays us like a fiddle. Let us not forget that Sharrock helmed 2016’s Me Before You, which had folks sobbing in the aisles.

 

Needless to say, this film — as was the case with Applegate’s book — also is a quietly powerful statement in our ongoing reassessment of wild animals in captivity. Indeed, the fact that this story is set in a circus, of sorts, feels uncomfortable. But it’s a period piece, faithful to the 1980s setting; more to the point, Sharrock and White don’t preach. 

 

Viewers have no trouble drawing the proper conclusions.

 

Events take place at the Exit 8 Big Top Shopping Mall and Video Arcade, which for years has boasted a “little top” circus. (Filming took place in Lakeland, Fla., although the script deliberately avoids specificity; this could be any indoor mall, in any city or state.) Ivan, the 400-lb. star, is joined by Stella (voiced by Angelina Jolie), an aging African elephant, and a small assortment of other critters.

 

The tiny circus was founded years earlier by Mack (Bryan Cranston), as a means to accommodate and earn a living with Ivan, who was rescued as a baby but quickly outgrew his initial suburban home. The two have long shared a special relationship.

 

In the tradition of such stories, Ivan, Stella and the other animals converse avidly with each other, but never with humans. It’s a testament to both Cranston and CGI wizardry, that we recognize the Mack/Ivan bond via silent expressions, forehead touches and other tiny — but powerful — shared gestures.

 

Times are tough: Once a thriving attraction, the circus has fallen out of favor, and dwindling attendance barely keeps the operation alive. This greatly distresses young Julia (Ariana Greenblatt), daughter of animal keeper George (Ramon Rodriguez); she’s a budding artist who loves to draw while sitting by Ivan’s cage. She impulsively gives him crayons and paper one day, which resurrects Ivan’s long-dormant interest in art (a detail eventually explained in the third act).

 

Capitalizing on Ivan’s artistic flair revives public interest in the circus, but it isn’t enough. Mack further hedges his bets by purchasing an adorable baby elephant named Ruby (Brooklynn Prince), who immediately endears herself to the others, and is taken under Stella’s wing (er … trunk).

 

But Ruby’s presence upsets the environmental dynamic that the others have been forced to embrace. Stella, old enough to remember her life in the wild, chafes at the notion that Ruby might grow up never knowing what it means to be free. The veteran elephant extracts a promise from Ivan: that he’ll do whatever he can, to grant Ruby a happier, entirely different life in the wild.

 

A tall order, even for a creature as intelligent and sensitive as Ivan.

 

Aside from Stella, Ivan’s best critter friend is Bob (Danny DeVito), a scrappy stray dog who calls the mall his home, and spends each night sleeping on Ivan’s chest. Bob is the bane of Mack’s life, who — despite best efforts — can’t get rid of the mutt. Good thing, too, because DeVito’s droll voice work gives Bob a delightful personality, and provides an ongoing — and quite welcome — bit of snark.

 

Bob’s scruffy, independent appearance and spirit make him the “Tramp,” contrasting  Snickers (Helen Mirren), a posh, impeccably groomed white poodle — the “Lady” — who rides atop Stella’s back during the show, and sleeps comfortably on a fancy pillow in Mack’s office.

 

Ivan, Stella, Bob, Ruby and Snickers were the sole critters in Applegate’s book, but — in true Disney fashion — this film adaptation adds several more “colorful” characters. (They simply can’t help themselves.) Ergo, we also have Frankie (voiced by scripter White), a neurotic seal forever fretting about balancing a ball on his nose; Henrietta (Chaka Khan), an exotic, quirky chicken with a flair for no-nonsense candor; Thelma (Phillipa Soo), an observant macaw; and Murphy (Ron Funches), a white rabbit who (sigh) drives a little red fire truck and squirts circus patrons with a hose.

 

None adds anything of consequence to the story; they serve mostly as comic relief, and to fill time between key plot developments. We should be grateful that Sharrock and White integrate them reasonably well, and resist overdoing their slapstick antics.

 

Cranston, whose Mack is visibly more benevolent than his book counterpart, brings just the right amount of human pathos to this saga; he personifies Stella’s insistence that “not all humans are bad.” Cranston’s frequently furrowed brow — and occasionally aggrieved tone — convey warring emotions: an entrepreneur’s determination to keep his show alive, versus a reluctant awareness that All Things Must Pass.

 

Greenblatt’s Julia is adorable: sweet, instinctively sensitive, and just precocious enough, without becoming cloying (in the manner of far too many young Disney heroines). Rodriguez is similarly strong as her compassionate father (although a plot point that references his ailing wife — Julia’s mother — definitely is an impending crisis too many).

 

The persuasive degree to which Cranston and all the other human stars interact with these critters — who obviously weren’t on the stage, in real life — is astonishing.

 

Occasional hiccups notwithstanding, Sharrock and White build their film to a sweet and satisfying conclusion … at which point a montage of text and photos briefly details the saga of the actual Ivan — inspiration for Applegate’s book — who (yes, really) spent 27 years of his life in a 14-by-14-foot concrete enclosure at the B&I shopping center in Tacoma, Wash. 

 

Which, if you’ve resisted succumbing to sobs thus far, should finish the job.

Oh, and don’t depart too quickly; a lengthy bonus scene, midway through the end credits, adds a nice final touch.