Underplayed Gems

The One and Only Ivan (2020)

The One and Only Ivan poster
Directed by
Thea Sharrock
Genre
fantasy film, live-action/animated film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 35m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.3 of 10 from 641 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A silverback gorilla named Ivan lives in a shopping mall with other animals. He makes art and befriends a young elephant, and together they dream of a better life.

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What happens

The One and Only Ivan is a 2020 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Thea Sharrock and written by Mike White based on the 2012 children's book by Katherine 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 Allison Shearmur and Brigham Taylor to produce the film), Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Brooklynn Prince, Chaka Khan, Ron Funches, Phillipa Soo, and 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. The film was dedicated in memory of Allison Shearmur who died of lung cancer on January 19, 2018. The film was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amidst a Disney+ and Hulu content purge as part of a broader cost cutting initiative under Disney CEO Bob Iger. It was, however, re-released on multiple video-on-demand platforms on September 26, 2023. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.