The One and Only Ivan Review

"The One and Only Ivan" is a Disney Plus movie that most people have probably looked over due to it 

being a film with realistic CGI talking animals. The cast features Bryan Cranston as Mack the adopted 

father and keeper of the one and only Ivan who is a special silverback gorilla with a unique artistic 

talent voiced by Sam Rockwell. Among the cast is Angelina Jolie who plays a key supporting 

character, Stella the wise old elephant. The movie starts off by showing off each individual animal at 

the circus including Ivan. Unfortunately, it looks like over the years people have lost interest in the 

circus causing Mack to get a new animal for the circus. This is when the baby elephant Ruby is brought

 into the circus, who instantly steals the thunder from Ivan who use to be the main headliner of the 

circus show. Naturally Stella is the one that takes care of Ruby in her first few weeks but not long after 

Stella passes away but not before getting Ivan to promise her to bring Ruby to the wilds. The rest of the 

movie is about Ivan transforming from a jealous Gorilla to a father figure for Ruby and attempting to 

find ways to not only help the circus but eventually set Ruby free into the wilds. That is the main plot 

of the movie, but along the way, we get to learn about Ivan's relationship with Mack and his tragic 

backstory. The other animals at the circus play minor roles but the main focus is on Ivan and Ruby 

supported by Bob the dog. 

The One And Only Ivan Disney+ Trailer Shows Sam Rockwell As A Particularly Great Ape - GameSpot

This movie really makes you feel sorry for animals stuck in captivity especially those in circuses. In

terms of human characters, Mack is the most important alongside a girl named Julia who spends her 

time talking to Ivan and giving him art supplies to draw and paint. Honestly, the movie made Mack out 

as very greedy, but when we are given more insight into his and Mack's history it becomes very 

confusing to why he is depicted as so since we know he cares about his animals. Besides that, I thought

 Bryan Cranston played his role fine but the film really didn't do Mack as a character justice. At the end

 of the day, he lost everything but I guess since this film is based on real events, I can't really complain 

about how Mack is as a character. Seeing Ivan grow to be a very father-like figure to Ruby was very 

nice and his dynamic with Bob were the best parts of the movie. The animals in terms of visuals looked 

life-like despite being completely CGI, I really felt like they were real animals being filmed. I thought

 that overall the movie was pleasant and got you to feel for captive animals in real life. I would give 

this movie a 7 out of 10, a pleasant film that has decent dialogue and story for a family movie. With 

how little there is on Disney Plus in terms of new original content, you can do a lot worst than "The 

One and Only Ivan." 

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