The new Disney film The One and Only Ivan will debut September 11th in Italy, exclusively on the streaming platform Disney+ and it will premiere Tuesday, August 18th at Giffoni Film Festival.
The film, directed by Thea Sharrock, is based on the multi-award-winning book by Katherine Applegate, published in Italy by Mondadori. The film deals with the story of Ivan, a very special gorilla, who learns that life is defined by the power of friendship and courage to make things change, and not by the place and circumstances that surround you.
The One and Only Ivan, which was supposed to hit theatres courtesy of Walt Disney Studios, is an unforgettable story about the beauty of friendship, the power of imagination and the meaning of a place called home. Ivan is a 180kg gorilla who shares his cage with Stella, an elephant, Bob, a dog, and other animals in a suburban shopping centre. He only has shreds of memories of the jungle where he was caught, but when a baby elephant named Ruby arrives, something inside him deeply changes. Ruby has been recently been separated from her family and her life in the wild. This makes Ivan question his life, the place he comes from and where he would like to be in the end.
“The world has changed in a heartbeat. People all over the globe have shared important, life changing experiences in ways we have not seen for a century”, said Thea Sharrock. “I’m really happy that we can share The One and Only Ivan, Katherine Applegate’s delightful and original story, with the whole world on Disney+, bringing some joy with this unique film on true friendship, based on a true story”.
The One and Only Ivan, coming to our screens with a suggestive mix of live-action and CGI, is based on Katherine Applegate’s book, which has won several awards since its publication in 2013, including the Newbery Medal. The book is published in Italy by Mondadori. In the film Bryan Cranston plays the role of Mack, the owner of the shopping centre, while Ramon Rodriguez plays the role of George, one of the employees in the centre, and Ariana Greenblatt is his daughter, Julia.
In the Italian version the voices belong to the actors Stefano Fresi, Paola Minaccioni and Federico Cesari, in the role of Bob the dog, Henrietta the hen and Murphy the rabbit, respectively.
The One and Only Ivan is directed by Thea Sharrock with a screenplay by Mike White, based on Applegate’s novel, and produced by Allison Shearmur, Angelina Jolie and Brigham Taylor. Sue Bade-Powell and Thea Sharrock are the executive producers.
Disney+ is managed by the international and Direct-to-Consumer branch of the Walt Disney Company. It is a streaming platform dedicated to films and entertainment products by Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and other brands, joined together for the first time. Disney+ is available to most screens connected to the internet and offers a service without any ads, with a wide variety of original feature films, documentaries, live-action and animated series and short films. Disney+ is the new streaming service where the latest films distributed by Walt Disney Studios can be found; it also offers an unprecedented access to the Disney’s endless film and TV archive. All the information and subscription methods are available on the website DisneyPlus.com
