The cast of The One And Only Ivan revealed tons of fun facts about the movie, coming to Disney+, during the virtual press junket!
The One And Only Ivan comes to Disney+ this Friday, August 21st, and earlier this month I sat in on a virtual press junket with the stars of the film. I learned so much about this incredible movie, but also laughed and laughed. What an amazing cast!
Having read the book with my daughters several times, I can say that The One And Only Ivan was perfectly cast. Every single character. Now of course, some of them were not featured in the book, but they still fit in. Families are going to love this movie — I can promise you that.
Read my full The One And Only Ivan review.
Disney's #TheOneAndOnlyIvan is a powerfully heartwarming movie about friendships & doing the right thing. Based on a true story, @IvanMovie will absolutely touch even the coldest of hearts. Coming to #DisneyPlus on August 21st, you don't want to miss it — have tissues handy! pic.twitter.com/n4Qdx9CiNM
— Tessa Smith – Mama's Geeky (@MamasGeeky) July 31, 2020
The One And Only Ivan Fun Facts
The whole cast and the director joined us for the virtual junket! The moderator was the incredibly talented Grae Drake who I absolutely adore. And she did a great job herding cats with these guys and keeping them on track!
- Bryan Cranston (“Mack”)
- Angelina Jolie (“Stella”)
- Sam Rockwell (“Ivan”)
- Danny DeVito (“Bob the dog”)
- Helen Mirren (“Snickers the poodle”)
- Chaka Khan (“Henrietta the chicken”)
- Phillipa Soo (“Thelma the parrot”)
- Brooklynn Prince (“Ruby”)
- Ariana Greenblatt (“Julia”)
- Ramon Rodriguez (“George”)
- Ron Funches (“Murphy the rabbit”)
- Mike White (“Frankie the seal” / screenwriter)
- Director Thea Sharrock
This junket was an absolute blast to be a part of! There were moments where I could not stop laughing, which is to be expected with a great cast like this. Here are my favorite fun facts about The One And Only Ivan that I learned.
The Color Green Had An Important Role
The first of my The One And Only Ivan fun facts is by far my favorite. It is also the most interesting thing I learned about the making of The One And Only Ivan. It may seem simple but it has a major impact on the final film. Director Thea Sharrock explained that the color green was only used during flashbacks and at the end of the movie. Other than that, they completely avoided the color.
Why? To make where Ivan was living as opposite of where he is from as possible. I didn’t realize it while watching the movie for the first time, but now I cannot unsee it. It really gives the movie a different feel, and makes a big difference.
“Next to know green used in the movie so when you get to Ivan’s flashbacks which were as green as possible, or the very end where he gets to where he needs to go — every choice up to that point with the designer and costume designer — to keep as much green away as possible.” – Thea Sharrock
Elephant Onsies
I really wish I could have been a fly on the wall during recording for this movie. For many reasons of course, but mostly because Brooklynn Prince and Angelina Jolie wore elephant onsies while they recorded! Well, at least for a little bit. Then it got too hot and they ended up tying it around their waists.
“When I saw her at the Critic’s Choice awards I was like, hey, we should wear elephant onesies in the recording room. And I go home. And I’m like, mom, mamma, mamma, please buy me and Angie elephant onesies. And my mom was like, I am buying Angelina Jolie an elephant onesie to match my daughter. me and her have a selfie together wearing our elephant onesies.”. – Brooklyn Prince
Angelina added in that they “became like the elephant family” and that they really got into their characters. Angelina even bought Brooklyn an elephant plush for Easter, that she still has. During the junket I could really see the chemistry they had with each other. It comes across clearly in the film as well.
Bryan Cranston Gave Off Walter White Vibes
One of Bryan Cranston’s most popular roles is Walter White in Breaking Bad. Mack in The One And Only Ivan is very different from this character, but he has his moments where he gets angry and loses his temper. Ramon Rodriguez talked about working with Bryan, and even mentioned that he showed some Walter White while filming.
“One of the greatest gifts and one of the greatest challenges was probably Bryan Cranston. Incredibly gifted and wonderful. Boy-oh-boy he’d like break into his Walter White character every once in a while and start getting a little aggressive.” – Ramon Rodriguez
I am actually working Breaking Bad right now and I have to agree with Ramon. I totally saw glimpses of Walter White in Mack. Not often, but they were there. And yes, I was totally here for them.
The On Set Ivan’s Performance Comes Through On Screen
When it comes to CGI animals, there is an on set actor that plays that character so actors can interact with them. This has got to be one of the hardest jobs. I always imagined it has to be hard to play opposite that character as well.
During the junket Ramon wanted to give props to Ben Bishop, who was the on set Ivan when filming. Yes, Sam Rockwell voices Ivan, but Ben portrayed Ivan on set. Ramon had nothing but praise for Ben, and even touched on how it makes his job easier to play opposite a real person.
“Ben Bishop was amazing. He’s be wearing spandex all over his body and these stilts. When I watched the film, I could actually see so much of his performance. I could see so much of what he gave to that character’s physicality. It was really incredible to work alongside him.” – Ramon Rodriguez
He also gives props to the actor who played the baby elephant Ruby, talking about how he would squeeze into a green baby elephant outfit and walk around the set. He said he has done stuff where this nothing there, but it was really nice to have a real person to play opposite.
The Wig & Girdle Were Bryan Crantson’s Ideas
I kind of adore Mack in Disney’s The One And Only Ivan. If you have read the book like me, you know he is not as likable. But in both film and book, he remains not a villain, but not quite a hero either. He is a very gray character, which are some of my favorites because they seem more real.
Bryan touched on this during the interview saying that he sees Mack as a man who has flaws, but attempts to make things right. He wanted to make Mack seem vulnerable and he came up with a great way to do that. This brings me to the last of my The One And Only Ivan fun facts — Bryan pitched the wig and girdle for his character, and Thea went with them.
“I pitched the idea that Mack wears a wig and that at one point the wig flies up and he’s bald and it embarrasses him. I also had a stomach pad and a girdle. Those were personal vulnerabilities that he didn’t want people to see. He was presenting himself as someone he wanted to project. But it wasn’t really him. And at the end then it came full circle.” – Bryan Cranston
Just wait until you see the scene with the wig! It is pure perfection and fit the character of Mack so well. It also replaces a scene in the book that I think deserved to be replaced. It might have been too hard for the viewers, especially children, to see.
More Notable Moments
I hope you enjoyed reading the fun facts I learned about The One And Only Ivan during the press junket. But that is not all that is worth mentioning. There were lots of other great quotes and funny moments. Here are just a few of them.
- Bryan Cranston is baking a lot and making sour dough bread during these times!
- Thea “wanted to keep in the humor, but not be afraid of connecting with the emotionally.” I think she did this perfectly!
- Ramon loves the lesson that “you get to find yourself later in life.“
- Angelina points out that The One And Only Ivan “deals with heavy issues.“
- Bryan Cranston rode a tiny bicycle and it was a lot harder than he thought it would be!
- Danny DeVito then joked he rode that bike to work every day.
- Mike White says that plot isn’t really front and center in the book, so that was the biggest challenge in writing the script.
- “It teaches us about keeping our promises. Ruby would never have been free if it wasn’t for Ivan keeping his promise.” – Brooklynn Prince
Watch the full junket here!
About The One And Only Ivan
An adaptation of the award-winning book about one very special gorilla, Disney’s “The One and Only Ivan” is an unforgettable tale about the beauty of friendship, the power of visualization and the significance of the place one calls home. Ivan is a 400-pound silverback gorilla who shares a communal habitat in a suburban shopping mall with Stella the elephant, Bob the dog, and various other animals.
He has few memories of the jungle where he was captured, but when a baby elephant named Ruby arrives, it touches something deep within him. Ruby is recently separated from her family in the wild, which causes him to question his life, where he comes from and where he ultimately wants to be. The heartwarming adventure, which comes to the screen in an impressive hybrid of live-action and CGI, is based on Katherine Applegate’s bestselling book, which won numerous awards upon its publication in 2013, including the Newbery Medal.
The One And Only Ivan debuts on Disney+ August 21st.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.