The One and Only Ivan

A film about animals living in a shopping mall. Ivan is a gorilla. He has lived since he was small in a performance space inside a mall and goes on stage several times a day. With him are an old elephant, a stray dog and a few other animals. The shows no longer draw a crowd and the place is at risk of closing. Then a baby elephant is brought in, and Ivan does not want her to live the same life. The only instrument he has is drawing. The story comes from a real one. A gorilla named Ivan lived for many years in an American shopping mall; public pressure moved him to a zoo, where he painted. Katherine Applegate wrote a children's novel from that case and the film is adapted from it. The animals were made in computer animation and combined with live action. Sam Rockwell voices Ivan and Angelina Jolie the elephant; Bryan Cranston plays the mall's owner. A suitable choice for anyone who likes family films and animal stories. For a viewer expecting hard criticism, the film softens the question of captivity for children and arrives at a reassuring ending.