The One and Only Ivan
DISNEY+With a full slate of upcoming films, Disney, alongside most studios had to make hard choices regarding their upcoming theatrical release schedule with the closure of the traditional theatrical release due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. One of the early changes to the schedule was the release of Thea Sharrock's The One and Only Ivan being pushed from theaters to Disney+. The film follows a gorilla named Ivan (Sam Rockwell), a lead performer in a struggling mall's animal circus who has to deal with not only his spotlight as headliner being usurped by new baby elephant,Ruby (Brooklynn Prince), but also his status in captivity. With the clichéd filled plot and quick move to Disney+ following in suit to the mess of a film which was Artemis Fowl, it was easy to assume that The One and Only Ivan would be an equally disappointing cinematic outing. However, while the film is far from perfect, it does have a surprisingly nuanced conversation found within it and has some clear redeemable elements.
One of these clear positives is the visuals. With the film being originally planned as a theatrical outing from Disney, it comes as no surprise that the CGI work within the film is quite impressive. Where the emotional performances found in the new Planet of the Apes trilogy might be far beyond what is present within this film, there’s still a decent amount of emotional effectiveness found in the CGI animal models. It also helps that the voice performances within the film are competent across the board. While there isn't a single performance that is truly memorable, there also isn't one that stands out as particularly ‘cringey’ — which is far from normal when it comes to talking CGI animal films (as seen in dumpster fires such as Dolittle from earlier this year).
What is even more impressive than the character CGI is the shockingly fantastic uses of visual storytelling. With compelling shot compositions and use of production design, the visuals within The One and Only Ivan hold a surprising weight allowing them to feel inspired and of a true craft — especially when compared to many of the bland visuals traditionally featured in Disney projects. There are legitimately beautiful scenes that embrace a quiet subtleness which allows the power of the visuals to speak for themselves. A massive amount of credit is deserved, not just for cinematographer Florian Ballhaus, but also for editor Barney Pilling whose visual collaboration added a needed depth and emotional punch to the film.
This especially stands out in contrast to the screenplay from Mike White which, despite being bold and dancing with nuance, clearly lacks the craft to be something truly special. The topic of animals deserving freedom over captivity is nothing new but The One and Only Ivan takes the unique stance of refusing to villainize those keeping the animals in captivity. The humans not only have a real bond with the animals but treat them well. However, the film makes it clear that this is not a solution for the fundamental flaws and restrictions of captivity. With this said, the actual flaws of captivity are not introduced to the characters until halfway through the film, immediately cutting the weight of these emotions in half and the actual catalyst for the characters confronting the topic is extremely weak. Where the choice to make the human characters compelling and not morally corrupt does lead to some nuance, it also leads to a confusing narrative and emotional arc that fails to fully capitalize on the more complex ideas the film is trying to explore. When mixed with the clichéd narrative and overall slow start, the film, despite its good ideas, ends up dropping the ball drastically in its execution.
The One and Only Ivan is far above and beyond the bottom tier Disney content as of recent (like Dumbo and Artemis Fowl) but also fails to be something truly special. As a casual film to watch on Disney+, The One and Only Ivan is perfectly passable if not a bit impressive at points, even if the end result of the film isn't anything spectacular or special within the context of 2020 cinema as a whole.
