by Gill Pringle
A dynamic producer, director, writer and leading lady, Angelina Jolie isn’t used to playing second fiddle to anyone – and yet she was willing to take on the small role, voicing an elderly elephant, to bring more attention to the plight of animals in captivity.
Joining a star-studded cast in Disney’s adaptation of Katherine Applegate’s award-winning book about a special gorilla, The One and Only Ivan is a heart-warming story about friendship and home, themes which resonate with the Oscar-winning actress.
Sam Rockwell voices Ivan, a 400-pound silverback gorilla who lives in a small suburban shopping mall circus with Stella the elephant (Jolie), Bob the dog (Danny DeVito), Snickers the poodle (Helen Mirren) and various other animals.
Ivan has few memories of the jungle where he was captured, but when a baby elephant named Ruby (Brooklynn Prince) arrives, it touches something deep within him. Ruby is recently separated from her family in the wild, which causes him to question his own life, where he comes from and where he ultimately wants to be.
Applegate’s 2013 best-seller was inspired by a true story about a real-life gorilla that lived for almost 27 years in a shopping mall in Tacoma, Washington, before being moved to a sanctuary. Featured in a New York Times article, the author says she still remembers the original headline, “It read ‘a gorilla sulks in a Tacoma mall as his future is debated.’ And I was astounded that A, there was a gorilla in a mall and B, that he’d been there for 27 years.”
Lending her clout as a producer in addition to her voice role, Jolie tells FilmInk, “one of my children read the book and loved it and we talked about why it was special and why it meant so much to them. And so, I started to pursue where is it, where is it being made, what’s happening. I thought it was very, very important and wanted to get involved. I like the messages in it.”
Directed by Thea Sharrock from a screenplay by Mike White, Jolie recalls, “I looked at early drafts and it was interesting and one of the things Mike did that I think was very special was I had seen it start to go down a road where it really started to become a light, fun, kids action, a simpler story, it was easier for somebody to come in and just try and pick a few threads and make it quite simple and add some action here and to really make it what it really is intended to be.
“But for Disney and Mike and everybody involved really, to understand that it’s hard, it’s not a light film, it deals with heavy issues. But is charming and fun and full of life. But it’s deceptive in the packaging.
“And I am excited that this young generation, as well as us older people, will appreciate it for many reasons. I know this young generation is really very aware of what is happening in the world to our natural habitats, to these animals, what’s happening in Congo; what is happening with the gorillas and the elephants. And they are angry and want to really be clear about what kind of treatment is appropriate and what kind of captivity is appropriate, and being against poaching. So, I think Ivan’s character represents them and it’s strong for them today to see that their actions can make change,” says the humanitarian and mother-of-six.
In portraying Stella, an older African elephant who has been in the circus for years and never free, she uses her voice to convey a calming, comforting presence to all the animals and, most of all, Ivan.
“Stella knows she won’t be around forever, and she’s trying to think of what needs to be understood for the next generation. She watches a new, young elephant come in, Ruby, and hopes the little elephant will have a life very different from hers.”
The One and Only Ivan utilises a hybrid of live-action and CGI, with Bryan Cranston playing the kindly but oblivious circus master who just wants to fill seats and hasn’t given much thought to his animals’ welfare.
“I think Ivan works in both book and movie form because we humans have always transplanted our emotions onto animals. We think and feel that they think and feel as we do. It’s actually a very sweet rather naive trait of human beings. It’s also very compassionate that we extend ourselves and empathise with characters. If animals are in a place of despair or danger, we feel that, and we want to help that condition, so it wasn’t hard to get behind the sensibility of this story.
“There is a sense that they’re longing for something more, something different in their lives. And it comes to fruition in the story, and it’s really sweet,” he says.
Cranston is in good spirits when we chat despite a recent bout with COVID-19 during which he experienced mild symptoms. “I count my blessings and urge everyone to keep wearing the damn mask,” says the Breaking Bad actor who confesses to becoming an avid baker of sourdough bread during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Jolie discusses her own lockdown life. “Oh God. I feel like I am really boring, I spend a lot of time studying foreign policy. But I think my creativity is with my kids. Because I am making up stories before bed or just being silly with them. I think really, I am doing nothing but watching each of them become uniquely who they are and talking to them or helping them develop. It’s not as much me as, my mom was always like that, she loved seeing other people’s creativity.”
If Jolie and Rockwell are at the movie’s emotional core, then Helen Mirren’s poodle is unabashedly self-centred and frivolous.
“I play a rather beautiful white poodle called Snickers with a gorgeous hairdo, who is pampered and very much loved. She’s a pet and lives the life of luxury, or the life of old Riley, as we say in England,” says the actress looking just as beautiful as Snickers wearing a white silk dress as we chat over zoom.
In a career spanning six decades, Mirren remains curious about cinema’s evolution, one of many reasons she accepted the role. “With something like this, it’s not so much the character, it’s the other actors that you’re going to be working with. In this case they’re obviously all wonderful, in particular, Danny DeVito. But also, it was the curiosity about doing this kind of film where the technology has been developing over the last 10 or 15 years and now is reaching a very high point of success. It’s fascinating to be a part of that process.
“I loved Walt Disney’s movies as a child and as an adult as well because they always have something in them for adults. They have this wonderful dichotomy. They mesmerise children, but they always have something in them that an adult can associate with and think about.”
Other cast includes Ramon Rodriquez as mall employee George; Ariana Greenblatt as George’s daughter Julia; Chaka Khan as the voice of Henrietta the chicken; Ron Funches as the voice of Murphy the rabbit and Phillipa Soo as the voice of Thelma the parrot.
Marking her film directorial debut with Me Before You, Thea Sharrock is a renowned theatre director, drawn to this story by the simplicity of its message.
“The story of Ivan is really a story about friendship. And it’s about attachment. At its heart, it’s about learning that it’s never too late to find out who you really are.”
Admittedly, her own kids might have exerted a little influence. “I read and loved the book. I’ve got kids the right age for the book and it’s not often as a parent that you read a new book that you enjoy as much as they do.
“I realised there are certain profound messages that are shaped in such a way that adults and children can enjoy them equally, just in a different way. The thing that I’ve never let go of is the fact that it’s inspired by a true story. And I think ultimately, at the heart, that’s what makes this story and this book and this film so unique and special.”
The One and Only Ivan debuts exclusively on Disney+ in Australia and New Zealand on August 21, 2020
