The COVID-19 pandemic has led Disney to release their mid-budget films directly to the consumer on Disney+. As theaters are starting to reopen across the world, Disney has had tremendous success on their streaming service with the release of films such as Hamilton and Black is King. In a few weeks, the studio will experiment a “Premier Access” option with the remake of Mulan, but only time will tell if the $30 upcharge to the consumer will prove successful. Now, Disney has released another theatrical film directly on Disney+; an adaptation of K.A. Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan, directed by Thea Sharrock.
Sam Rockwell voices Ivan, a silverback gorilla who headlines a shopping mall circus with a diverse group of animals led by its owner, Mack (Bryan Cranston). When baby elephant Ruby (Brooklynn Prince) makes Ivan reminisce about his past in the wild as a free animal, he hatches a plan to free Ruby and the other circus animals so they can all have a life of their own. Through his drawing skills, Ivan sends a message to free the animals to Mack and the circus’ audience. As a family film, The One and Only Ivan is a merely harmless one, as it contains a very sweet and heartfelt message, but doesn’t really do anything or add value to the Disney+ library.
The film contains a star-studded supporting cast of A-listers including Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Angelina Jolie, Phillipa Soo, Chaka Khan, Ron Funches, and Mike White. Rockwell and DeVito, as Bob the dog, carry the entire film. Their chemistry is extremely enjoyable to watch and many sequences involving their antics are very funny, particularly when they hatch a plan to steal the key from the mall’s security guard. It’s a classic style of slapstick comedy, yet the comedic timing is spot-on and works like a charm. DeVito brings a form of liveliness that is sorely missing from the rest of the voice cast. In fact, he’s the only actor that feels like he’s actually having fun. His comedic lines are the only ones that work because DeVito understands how impactful timing is to the audience. Rockwell’s performance is much more emotional; he is able to bring life to a poorly rendered CGI gorilla and make Ivan seem real. The facial expressions of anguish we see on Ivan’s face, as he paints a forest, perfectly complement the soft vocal performance Rockwell brings to Ivan; a conflicted gorilla whose life of comfort in the circus, as a headliner, is shambled after the lead elephant Stella (Jolie)’s dying wish is for Ivan to free Ruby and bring her to the wild.
It’s a shame that most of the supporting cast is incredibly underused — most of them are only there to tell unfunny jokes and add nothing to the story, particularly wasting Soo’s talent to voice a parrot who basically repeats the same lines over and over again with no shred of personality like every other animal. Minus DeVito, the only supporting animal that has personality and a compelling arc is Prince’s Ruby, but that arc is solely motivated by Stella’s death. Jolie’s talent is also wasted, as she’s only there to tell a story on how “not all humans are bad” and dies right after to give emotional leverage to Ivan. All of the other actors aren’t in the movie enough to make an impact, even Cranston’s performance is quite dull. Not even his silly British accent makes his screen time memorable.
We spend most of the movie with Prince, DeVito, and Rockwell inside the cages of the circus. Much like another Disney+ movie, Artemis Fowl, the film is set in one location and doesn’t do anything to make it lively, or at the very least, visually palpable to watch. There should be some dynamism with the supporting animals to brighten the place up or to, at least, make it somewhat entertaining to watch for children, but there’s none of that. We’re stuck listening to conversations between the three animals as they slowly hatch a plan to freedom and ultimately decide to bring the other, disposable, animals along with them. Once they manage to escape the mall, you’d think maybe the story will pick up and The One and Only Ivan can shift from family drama to adventure film, but since most of the forest is now turned into a suburb, Mack quickly catches them and brings them back to the circus. Its structure feels very repetitive, and not-so-creative, with shoddy-looking CGI animals. The only ones that look somewhat convincing are Ivan, Bob, and Snickers (Mirren), the two dogs. The other animals’ CGI is badly rendered (the elephant designs are clearly taken from Tim Burton’s Dumbo) and many effects-heavy sequences aren’t as compelling as the film makes them out to be.
A flashback involving Ivan’s childhood in the wild takes the mature route as it addresses the inhumane act of poaching but it isn’t as powerful as it should be due to mediocre CGI and terrible digital cinematography. There isn’t a real shift in tone from the bright days of Ivan in the wild with his sister to the family in danger, as the look of the set stays exactly the same with no feeling of dread once the unseen poachers arrive to destabilize Ivan’s bubble. None of the CGI sequences are compelling to watch, as everything involving the animals feel artificial.
The One and Only Ivan contains a great message on animal freedom, as they also have a soul and an environment to explore and shouldn’t be treated as objects of amusement, yet it, unfortunately, isn’t the central focus of the film. With many uneven shifts in tone, underused characters, and a lack of creativity involving CGI and drab sets (even the circus feels artificial), the film’s message doesn’t really have any form of impact with the overall story. Yes, Rockwell and DeVito are highly entertaining and carry most of the entire film, but it isn’t enough to seek it out. When a recap of the real-life story of Ivan feels more interesting than the movie, you know there’s some problem. If only there was a deeper exploration of Ivan’s wish to set the animals free. Instead, the film deals with too much exposition and not enough character exploration. It’s another wasted opportunity from Disney to make a creative film out of previously-known IP, because the book it’s based on is very sweet and its real-life story is inspirational. Fingers crossed for Mulan.
