The One and Only Ivan
Detailed parental analysis
The One and Only Ivan is a family film with a bittersweet atmosphere, blending light humour and moments of genuine emotion. The story follows Ivan, a gorilla who has lived for years in a shopping mall, who begins to question his caged existence when an exhausted baby elephant joins the group of performing animals. The film targets school-age children and beyond, with an emotional sensitivity that can touch adults as much as young viewers.
Social Themes
Animal captivity and the exploitation of animals for entertainment purposes form the thematic heart of the film. The message is clear and repeated: animals belong in their natural habitat, not in shopping mall enclosures. The film does not merely evoke this subject in the background; it makes it the driving force of the main narrative arc. This is a strong pedagogical angle, one that can open a serious conversation about animal welfare, zoos, circuses, and the ways human societies use animals. The nuance brought by the character of Mack, the owner, avoids simplistic moralising: he genuinely loves his animals whilst exploiting them, which makes the reflection more honest than a simple tale of villain versus hero.
Violence
The film contains a poaching scene evoked in flashback: Ivan's father is killed by hunters, the gunshot is heard but the death occurs off-screen. The scene is brief but emotionally charged, and may surprise younger children. Furthermore, a baby elephant is shown exhausted and overworked, which constitutes a form of gentle but real violence on screen. These elements are narratively justified and serve the film's purpose, but they merit being anticipated for sensitive children.
Underlying Values
The film values freedom, loyalty to one's own and the ability to keep a promise even at considerable cost. Redemption holds an important structural place: Mack, an imperfect figure of authority, is shown capable of evolving and acknowledging his wrongs, which offers a rare model of adult responsibility within the genre. Conversely, the narrative tends to present freedom as a simple and immediate solution, without exploring the real complexities of reintegrating captive animals into a natural or protected environment.
Parental and Family Portrayals
Animal parental figures, notably Stella the elephant in a role of substitute mother, are represented with warmth and depth. Her death, peaceful and foreshadowed, constitutes the emotionally heaviest moment of the film. It is treated gently but without shying away from the reality of grief, which can be a useful first encounter for a child, provided the parent is available to discuss it.
Discrimination
Julia, the young human girl in the film, is endowed with an almost supernatural ability to understand and translate the emotions of animals, without this aptitude being truly explained or earned. This treatment places her in the role of a magical mediator rather than a constructed character, which may warrant a passing remark: children, and girls in particular, are not naturally more intuitive or empathetic than adults, and this representation, whilst harmless, rests on a gentle stereotype.
Strengths
The film succeeds in rendering digital animals emotionally credible, which is no small feat in maintaining the attention and empathy of a young audience over its duration. Mack's redemption arc is written with more subtlety than the genre typically demands, avoiding the caricature of the villain to propose a flawed but loving adult. The film also draws strength from its grounding in a true story, that of the real Ivan, a gorilla who lived in an American shopping mall for twenty-seven years before being transferred to a zoo, which lends it a discreet but genuine documentary resonance. The pacing is indeed slow at times, and the screenplay does not seek to surprise, but this restraint serves the emotion more than it harms it.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from age 7 or 8 onwards, with parental accompaniment for sensitive children below 8 years old, notably because of the death of an endearing character and the poaching flashback. Two angles of discussion are worth pursuing after viewing: ask the child what they think about the lives of animals in zoos or circuses, and whether being well fed and safe is enough to make captivity acceptable; and return to the character of Mack to discuss the difference between having good intentions and doing what is right.
Synopsis
A gorilla named Ivan who’s living in a suburban shopping mall tries to piece together his past, with the help of other animals, as they hatch a plan to escape from captivity.
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2020
- Runtime
- 1h 35m
- Countries
- United States of America
- Original language
- EN
- Directed by
- Thea Sharrock
- Main cast
- Bryan Cranston, Sam Rockwell, Brooklynn Prince, Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito, Ariana Greenblatt, Helen Mirren, Phillipa Soo, Mike White, Ron Funches
- Studios
- Allison Shearmur Productions, Digital Makeup Group, Jolie Pas Productions, Walt Disney Pictures
Content barometer
- Violence2/5Moderate
- Fear2/5A few scenes
- Sexuality0/5None
- Language0/5None
- Narrative complexity3/5Complex
- Adult themes0/5None
Values conveyed
- Friendship
- Acceptance of difference
- Perseverance
- Compassion
- Loyalty
- empathy
- freedom
- courage