We’ve been looking forward to this. We read the book The One and Only Ivan last summer and fell in love with the story. We were excited to hear that it was going to be a movie. While we were looking forward to seeing it in the theater, I guess it coming to Disney+ is the next best thing.
Disney’s THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN is now available on Disney+!
An adaptation of the award-winning book about one very special gorilla, Disney’s THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN is an unforgettable tale about the beauty of friendship, the power of visualization and the significance of the place one calls home. Ivan is a 400-pound silverback gorilla who shares a communal habitat in a suburban shopping mall with Stella the elephant, Bob the dog, and various other animals. He has few memories of the jungle where he was captured, but when a baby elephant named Ruby arrives, it touches something deep within him. Ruby is recently separated from her family in the wild, which causes him to question his life, where he comes from and where he ultimately wants to be. The heartwarming adventure, which comes to the screen in an impressive hybrid of live-action and CGI, is based on Katherine Applegate’s bestselling book, which won numerous awards upon its publication in 2013, including the Newberry Medal.
The film stars: Sam Rockwell as the voice of Ivan; Angelina Jolie as the voice of Stella; Danny DeVito as the voice of Bob the dog; Helen Mirren as the voice of Snickers the poodle; Brooklynn Prince as the voice of Ruby; Ramon Rodriquez as the mall employee George; Ariana Greenblatt as George’s daughter Julia; Chaka Khan as the voice of Henrietta the chicken; Mike White as the voice of Frankie the seal; Ron Funches as the voice of Murphy the rabbit; Phillipa Soo as the voice of Thelma the parrot; and Bryan Cranston as Mack, the mall’s owner. THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN is directed by Thea Sharrock from a screenplay by Mike White based on Applegate’s book and is produced by the late Allison Shearmur, Angelina Jolie and Brigham Taylor. Sue Baden-Powell and Thea Sharrock serve as executive producers.
Watch it with the kids and then download this educational activity packet!
More about Ivan:
The book (and subsequently the movie) does have some truth to it! There really was a gorilla named Ivan who did actually live in a mall for 27 years. He was eventually transferred to Zoo Atlanta where he lived out the last years of his life much better than the first few decades. You can read more about the real Ivan HERE. Disney released the movie to Disney+ on the 8th anniversary of his death (he died August 21, 2012) – whether that was intentional or not, I don’t know, but I found it neat.
Katharine Applegate released a sequel to the Ivan book this year called The One and Only Bob, about the beloved dog, Bob, in the story of Ivan.
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