The One and Only Ivan | |
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Directed by | Thea Sharrock |
Screenplay by | Mike White |
Based on | The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate |
Produced by | |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Florian Ballhaus |
Edited by | Barney Pilling |
Music by | Craig Armstrong |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The One and Only Ivan is a 2020 American biographical fantasy drama film directed by Thea Sharrock from a screenplay written by Mike White based on the 2012 children's novel of the same name by Katherine Applegate. Inspired by the true story of Ivan the gorilla, the film stars the voices of Sam Rockwell as Ivan alongside Angelina Jolie (who helped Allison Shearmur and Brigham Taylor to produce the film), Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Brooklynn Prince, Chaka Khan, Ron Funches, Phillipa Soo, and Mike White, with the human characters portrayed by Ramón Rodríguez, Ariana Greenblatt, and Bryan Cranston.
The project was first announced in 2014, and went into production two years later. The cast was assembled between October 2017 and May 2018, with filming taking place in Florida in summer 2018. Originally intended to have a theatrical release, The One and Only Ivan was made available to stream on Disney+ from August 21, 2020, and received mixed reviews from critics. The film received nominations from both BAFTA and the Academy Awards for its visual effects, but lost both to Tenet.[2][3]
The film was dedicated in memory of Allison Shearmur who died of lung cancer on January 19, 2018.
The film was removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amidst a Disney+ and Hulu content removal purge as part of a broader cost cutting initiative under Disney CEO Bob Iger.[4] It was, however, re-released on multiple video-on-demand platforms on September 26, 2023.[5]