Posted in: Disney, Movies | Tagged: disney, movies, Review, the one and only ivan

The One and Only Ivan Review: A Frighteningly Relevant Family Film

The One and Only Ivan is a frighteningly relevant family film that just misses greatness but should find a decent audience with family's stuck at home.

Director: Thea Sharrock

Summary: A gorilla named Ivan tries to piece together his past with the help of an elephant named Stella as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.

The One and Only Ivan another victim of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The movie that was shot two years ago was supposed to be a big theatrical release and is instead heading straight to Disney+ because of theater closures. It's a movie about being locked in a cage and not having the ability to go outside and explore the world, which is something that has become extremely relevant in the modern-day. There was no way of knowing just how relevant this movie would be, but we're several months into quarantine and social distancing a film about a gorilla looking to help a baby elephant and his friend escape a circus act in a mall feels all too real. The movie is made with a combination of CGI animals brought to life famous voice actors and motion-capture technology and a fantastic live-action cast as well. There is a moment at the beginning of the movie if you know nothing about it when you wonder if this is going to come down on the side of circuses, but it becomes very apparent that it does not.

The based on a true story here is interesting as Ivan was a real gorilla that really did paint and managed to get his freedom at a zoo. The idea of adapting that into a book and then a movie about talking animals very much makes sense, and the film we get on screen is fun to watch even if it doesn't do anything spectacular. It has a brisk runtime that doesn't overstay its welcome, but these sorts of movies are made more for streaming than they are for the big screen. There is nothing wrong with the film, but with the release schedule getting more and more packed as more studios try to have the next billion-dollar movie, there just isn't room for small productions. This is a movie that feels like it could have a good home on streaming as parents could use this story about animals to help kids, even more so younger kids, deal with the quarantine and the ongoing environmental crisis.

The voice cast does an excellent job of bringing all of the characters to life, and Bryan Cranston really shines as a man who clearly loves animals even as he uses them for his own gain. There is a nuance to Mack that we don't usually see in movies about animals in captivity that are going for the "animals shouldn't be kept in cages" angle. Usually, the human characters are so over the top and evil that it's almost cartoonish, but Mack isn't an evil person. The worst thing we see him doing is pushing a bit too hard when it comes to training. He loves Ivan and has raised him since he was a baby, and Mack never hurts the animals in his care. It's something we don't usually see in these types of movies, and it speaks to a level of maturity for a film that is mostly aimed at kids.

The One and Only Ivan is a cute little movie that will absolutely give parents and kids a good time while we all continue to social distance and stay home. The themes of isolation and feeling locked in a cage are more relevant than ever, and it's nice to see a movie that is anti-circus approach the topic with a level of nuance and care that we rarely see in this genre.

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