The One and Only Ivan is a 2020 American 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 K. A. 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 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.

Plot

In 1973, Ivan the western lowland gorilla, a silverback, lives in the enclosure at Big Top Mall. He performs for Mack, the owner, alongside other performers; a wise and nurturing African elephant named Stella, Mack's spoiled pet poodle named Snickers, a spunky baseball-playing chicken named Henrietta, a toy fire truck-riding rabbit named Murphy, a paranoid sea lion named Frankie and a loquacious parrot named Thelma. Ivan's main friend is a stray mutt named Bob who secretly lives in his enclosure unless Mack has the security guard Castello drive him out. Mack's janitorial employee George brings his daughter Julia who frequently interacts with Ivan. One day, Julia leaves her old crayons with Ivan who suddenly begins taking an interest in drawing with them. Julia is apparently the only one who can decipher his drawings and what they mean.