The One and Only Ivan (2020) review (Disney+)

 

In our ever-continuing series on films that got royally screwed over by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a film that was originally intended for a proper theatrical release about a week ago before obvious circumstances forced it to shift over to Disney+ as the streaming service’s latest original release. The film in question is The One and Only Ivan, an adaptation of the 2012 children’s novel of the same name by author K.A. Applegate. Upon its publication, the book, which was based on the true story of a clever gorilla named Ivan, immediately became a big hit with its target audience and would end up winning the 2013 Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award for children’s literature in the United States. In other words, it was simply another bona fide success for K.A. Applegate, who’s had a respectably lengthy career as a writer. While The One and Only Ivan may be one of her more recent books, folks of my generation will most likely be familiar with one of her most famous works, the Animorphs series from the ’90s, which she co-wrote with her husband Michael Grant. Not only that but the film adaptation of The One and Only Ivan isn’t the first time that she’s worked with Disney since she also notably wrote several literary spin-offs for both Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. But now this brings us to the film adaptation of The One and Only Ivan, which is directed by Thea Sharrock (who had made her directorial debut in 2016 with the romantic drama Me Before You) off a screenplay by veteran screenwriter Mike White (School of Rock). And thanks to both their combined efforts and a solid cast that’s headlined by an impressively stacked voice cast, it’s easy to see why The One and Only Ivan more than succeeds at being an immensely charming family flick.

For the past several years, Ivan the silverback gorilla (voiced by Sam Rockwell) has been the headlining attraction of a daily circus show held at the Big Top Mall in Florida that’s run by his owner Mack (Bryan Cranston), who had raised Ivan since he was a baby. But while Ivan and his fellow performers such as his best friend Stella the elephant (voiced by Angelina Jolie) are more than content with their lives, Mack soon finds himself having to deal with the increasingly likely prospect of dwindling crowds. Luckily for them, Mack ends up finding a new star attraction in Ruby (voiced by Brooklynn Prince), a baby elephant that he purchases from a fledgling circus in New Jersey. And while Ivan is initially displeased with Ruby immediately stealing his thunder as the show’s newest ‘headliner’, her arrival proves to be exactly what they needed to draw in more crowds and he does legitimately begin to grow fond of the young pachyderm. However, despite all the newfound success that their show has managed to achieve, Ruby begins to learn more about the outside world from Stella and what it’s like to truly be ‘free’. Not wanting her to live the rest of her life in captivity in their small enclosure at the mall, Stella personally asks Ivan to take care of Ruby and to ensure that, someday, she’ll be able to be free. And while Ivan is initially unsure if he could even remotely make this happen, Mack’s increasingly inconsiderate behavior towards them is what ultimately convinces him to go through with it for Ruby’s sake. Thus, with the help of the other animals, the circus’ janitor George (Ramón Rodriguez), and George’s daughter Julia (Ariana Greenblatt), Ivan begins to utilize the artistic talents that he’s had since childhood so that the rest of the world can understand their current predicament.

The One and Only Ivan is the very definition of a good-natured family film. It has a pleasantly relaxing pace throughout and is fully anchored by a lovable collection of main characters. And while I’m aware that many have noted that the film tones down some of the darker elements of its source material (i.e. it lessens the severity of Mack’s harsher actions towards his animals, thus making him more of a decent albeit incredibly short-sighted owner rather than a traditionally cruel antagonist), it still hits its big emotional beats quite well. Much of this is due to the film’s excellent cast, both in terms of its human characters and its animal voice actors. When it comes to the former, Bryan Cranston headlines the film nicely as Mack who, as noted earlier, isn’t the same villainous character that he is in the book but still plays a huge role in how many of the story’s most poignant moments pan out. And as for the latter, Sam Rockwell delivers an incredibly earnest and charismatic performance in the title role of Ivan. He’s then backed by a great supporting voice cast that’s full of big names such as Danny DeVito, who plays a stray dog named Bob who isn’t a part of the show but regularly hangs out with Ivan, Angelina Jolie as the wise old Stella, and Helen Mirren as the show’s actual dog performer, Snickers the poodle. Admittedly, most of the other animals don’t get that much to do in the grand scheme of things since the film primarily focuses on the quartet of Ivan, Stella, Ruby, and Bob, but at the very least, it does seem like everyone involved had a great time working on the project. And so, because of all this, The One and Only Ivan is an incredibly sweet and well-made family film that very much wears its heart on its sleeve. It may not be the most groundbreaking or thought-provoking film ever made, but its largely uncynical nature and terrific handling of its pertinent themes makes it easy to see why its source material has become a staple of children’s literature.

Rating: 4/5

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) review

Of the many classic children’s books that author Chris Van Allsburg has written, one of his most famous is 1981’s Jumanji. The story follows two kids named Judy and Peter as they come across a magical jungle-themed board game named Jumanji that forces them to endure realistic versions of the various obstacles that they come across in the game. Upon publication, the book was so successful that it earned Van Allsburg his first Caldecott Medal for being the year’s ‘most distinguished American picture book for children’. In 1995, the book was adapted into a feature film by former VFX artist turned director Joe Johnston that starred Robin Williams in the role of a man who ends up trapped inside the game for 26 years. And while the film didn’t necessarily do too hot with critics, it was a sizable hit at the box-office and is still very much regarded as a beloved 90’s classic. Thus, it was that legacy that made fans quite skeptical towards the announcement that a new take on Jumanji was in the works, especially since it was first announced only a year after Williams’ tragic death in 2014. And yet, instead of being a straight-forward remake of the original, 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a sequel that re-imagined the world of Jumanji as a video game that the film’s main protagonists get sucked into. Upon its release, the film surprised many by doing solidly with critics and managing some impressive staying power at the box-office as it grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide. And because of this, a sequel was promptly put into development once again directed by veteran comedy director Jake Kasdan and headlined by the quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan. Sure enough, all this talent in front of and behind the camera results in yet another highly entertaining popcorn flick even if it does retread a lot of familiar territories.

It has been three years since high school students Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner), Anthony ‘Fridge’ Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain), and Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman) were sucked into the dangerous world of the video game Jumanji and turned into the game’s eclectic group of playable avatars. The four teens ultimately managed to escape their predicament by coming together as a group, which effectively changed their lives for the better once they got out. However, while his friends have all managed to move on with their lives, Spencer finds himself having a lot more trouble when it comes to re-adjusting back to life in the real world. Thus, Martha, Fridge and Bethany soon discover that Spencer ended up ‘fixing’ the game (which they had destroyed at the end of the previous film) and has gone back into it, forcing them to go back in as well to rescue him. Upon their return, however, they quickly realize that things are a bit different this time in the world of Jumanji. While Martha reprises her role as dance-fighting commando Ruby Roundhouse (Karen Gillan), Fridge ends up switching to the role of cartographer/curvy genius Professor Shelly Oberon (Jack Black). And instead of having Spencer and Bethany by their side out the starting gate, the two learn that Spencer’s crotchety grandfather Eddie (Danny DeVito) and his estranged friend Milo Walker (Danny Glover) have been sucked into the game as well. Now Eddie inhabits the role of Dr. Smolder Bravestone (Dwayne Johnson), the strong, muscular archeologist with the power of smoldering intensity, while Milo becomes Bravestone’s ‘backpack guy’, zoologist/weapons specialist Franklin ‘Mouse’ Finbar (Kevin Hart). And so, Martha and Fridge are now forced to adjust to the personalities of their new comrades as they set out to find Spencer and Bethany, which involves them embarking on another adventure to save Jumanji from an imposing new threat.   

Jumanji: The Next Level is admittedly one of those cases of a sequel that doesn’t try to deviate too far from the things that made its predecessor the massive hit that it was. Namely, it retains almost the exact same general plot structure of its predecessor right down to its main conflict of the group trying to stop a bad guy who stole a mythical jewel. And just like Welcome to the Jungle, most of this film’s humor is still based around how the main characters’ personalities are translated to their video game avatars. That said, though, the best aspect of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was its humor, which means that The Next Level is just as much of a top-notch comedic riot throughout. It also helps that this film properly retains the solid character development that the lead quartet of Spencer, Martha, Fridge, and Bethany gained in the previous film. Whereas the pre-game sequences of Welcome to the Jungle were some of the weakest moments in that film, those same moments flow a lot better in this film (as does the humor in those parts) because of the main characters’ vastly improved camaraderie. In other words, if there are two things that The Next Level does better than its predecessor, it’s that the humor is a lot more consistent this time around and the main characters get to start out as the endearing quartet that they were at the end of the previous film. And while that technically means that the new character development that they get in this film isn’t necessarily as substantial as what they had in the previous film, it still results in another entertaining adventure with a feel-good ending. Plus, despite its adherence to the previous film’s formula, The Next Level does switch things up in the best way that it possibly can by trading the previous film’s jungle setting for fun, new action set-pieces in both the desert and the wintry mountains.

It goes without saying that one of the best aspects of Welcome to the Jungle was getting to see the lead quartet of Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan take on the personas of their real-world counterparts, whether it was Dwayne Johnson acting like an easily scared nerd or Jack Black embodying a self-absorbed teenaged girl. Sure enough, this concept is once again handled brilliantly in The Next Level as each member of the quartet gets to take on a new personality over the course of their latest adventure. The hilarious results that stem from this are so delightful, in fact, that I can’t even mention them all here (outside of Johnson and Hart’s spot-on impressions of Danny DeVito and Danny Glover, respectively) because I’d be delving into spoiler territory. But just like before, these four have an utterly phenomenal camaraderie that’s also well-reflected by their real-world counterparts as Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser’Darius Blain, and Madison Iseman all benefit greatly from the solid character development that they got from the previous film. Meanwhile, Danny DeVito and Danny Glover are a fun pair of additions to the ensemble (in their admittedly minor roles outside of the time their characters spend in Jumanji) as is Awkwafina as the game’s newest avatar, thief Ming Lightfoot.  Unfortunately, as was the case with the previous film, The Next Level’s biggest shortcoming is its villain, warlord Jurgen the Brutal. Sure, it’s revealed that Jurgen was the one who killed Dr. Smolder Bravestone’s parents in a ‘cut-scene’ flashback, but just like with Bobby Cannavale’s Van Pelt from Welcome to the Jungle, Jurgen is adversely affected by his generally limited role in the plot despite Game of Thrones alum Rory ‘The Hound’ McCann’s best efforts in the role.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was easily one of the most entertaining films of 2017. Sure, it may not have been the most thought-provoking film to come out of the action-adventure genre, but the phenomenal comedic performances from Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan effectively made it a good, old-fashioned crowd-pleaser. Thus, while it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel when it comes to its writing, Jumanji: The Next Level dutifully retains everything that made its predecessor such a big hit, resulting in an arguably superior follow-up. Even though it does repeat practically every major story beat from its predecessor, The Next Level does have the advantage when it comes to not having to deal with the more awkward bits of set-up from Welcome to the Jungle. And because of this, the whole film flows a lot better when it comes to its humor, pacing, and overall camaraderie between its main characters. This, in turn, also helps when it comes to the film maintaining the simple but effectively heartwarming emotional beats that have always been an element of these films, like in the original Jumanji when Alan Parrish learned about how much things changed when he got sucked into the game. Because of all this, Jumanji: The Next Level is another solid entry in this growing franchise, although I will say that if they end up doing another one, they should probably try to do something a little different story-wise. One way could involve the incorporation of elements from the original book’s 2002 follow-up Zathura, which had a pair of brothers go through a similar scenario but with a space-themed board game. That book got an enjoyable albeit commercially underrated film adaptation in 2005 via director Jon Favreau, and while Favreau did try to distance it from the original Jumanji film since he wasn’t a fan of it, it could be fun to see a new spin on Zathura that’s in line with what we’ve gotten from these last two Jumanji films.

Rating: 4.5/5

Dumbo (2019) review

It’s safe to say that out of all the live-action remakes that Disney has been making since 2010, Dumbo has been one of the more controversial entries to come from this venture. A lot of this stems from the legacy of its source material, which was Disney Animation’s 4^th official feature. The original Dumbo was released in 1941 and provided the studio a way to recoup from the financial losses of their previous outing, 1940’s Fantasia, by being a far more simplified project from a production standpoint. Nevertheless, the film went on to become yet another classic for the studio and has continued to be a staple of Disney’s pop-cultural identity, including the creation of one of the most iconic attractions at Disney theme parks, Dumbo the Flying Elephant. In other words, while a lot of animation fans have been against the idea of remaking Disney’s animated classics, to begin with, it probably doesn’t help that this latest live-action remake happens to be one that’s using one of the studio’s Golden Age features as its source material. There was also some skepticism when it was announced who was directing it, Tim Burton, effectively making this the second live-action Disney remake that he’s directed after 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. Sure, Burton may be one of the most iconic directors in the industry, but his recent directorial efforts haven’t necessarily been as successful as his earlier outings. And yet, you may be surprised to find that Dumbo kind of fits perfectly into Burton’s directorial wheelhouse. Thus, while it may not be perfect, this new take on the story of a lovable flying elephant manages to be a charming endeavor complete with Burton’s trademark visual flair.   

Following the end of World War I, veteran Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns to his old job as one of the performers for the Medici Brothers’ family circus. Unfortunately, the circus has fallen on hard times recently to the point where owner Max Medici (Danny DeVito) had to sell the horses that were key to Holt’s original act after the death of his wife. Thus, Medici assigns Holt to be the circus’ new elephant handler, and as luck would have it, one of the elephants, Jumbo, ends up giving birth to a young calf. However, when it’s discovered that the young elephant has abnormally large ears, thus earning him the derogatory nickname of ‘Dumbo’, Medici tries to keep this a secret from the public to avoid any potential humiliation. Things begin to change, however, when Holt’s daughter Milly (Nico Parker) and son Joe (Finley Hobbins) discover that Dumbo can fly with the help of his ears and a single feather. Thus, when Dumbo’s ability is eventually revealed to the public, he quickly becomes a sensation. This ends up attracting the attention of theme park tycoon V.A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton), who offers Medici a business partnership to have Dumbo perform at the circus at his lavish theme park, Dreamland. There, he’s partnered with Dreamland’s star performer, trapeze artist Colette Marchant (Eva Green), to become what Vandevere hopes will be his latest and greatest attraction. However, when it’s discovered that Dumbo’s mom is being held in one of Dreamland’s exhibits, the Farriers and their friends begin to formulate a plan so that they can reunite the young elephant with his mama.

To this film’s credit, it arguably has a lot more opportunities to do something new with the story of Dumbo when compared to most other Disney live-action remakes. At just 64 minutes long, the original Dumbo is one of Disney Animation’s shortest features and, as a result, is very simply-plotted. In fact, the iconic moment where Dumbo discovers his flying ability doesn’t even occur until the very end of the film. Thus, the remake does expand upon this plot to the point where almost all the major moments from the original film, including Dumbo’s mom being locked up for attacking people, the famous ‘clown firefighter’ circus act where Dumbo flies in the circus for the first time, and of course, the ‘Baby Mine’ sequence are covered in just the first half hour. Admittedly, though, the new stuff that is added in to bolster the narrative for a longer runtime is sort of in the same simplistic vein. Compared to the original, this version relies a lot more on its human characters, thus meaning that there aren’t any talking animals; no baby-delivering storks, no ostracizing adult elephants, and no Timothy Q. Mouse (though he is alluded to, for the record). Despite this, however, the new plot that’s built around them is a rather basic ‘stop the corrupt businessman’ storyline that doesn’t really give these new human characters a lot to work with. Ultimately, though, there are still plenty of great moments of emotional poignancy in this film, and yes, many of them involve the adorable CGI elephant that shares its name.

As with any Tim Burton film, one of the biggest reasons to watch this new take on Dumbo is to see the latest showcase of that lavish visual style that he’s well-known for. And while this one doesn’t rely on his usual gothic imagery, it still manages to capture the majestic atmosphere of a classic circus of yesteryear with its bright color scheme and grand locales. Plus, unlike Burton’s previous Disney remake, Alice in Wonderland, this film has a far more balanced mix of practical sets and CG imagery instead of being a case of actors in front of a green-screen for a good chunk of the runtime. Speaking of actors, this film’s cast manages to do solid jobs in their respective roles even though, as noted earlier, they don’t really have a lot of material to work with. Much of the main cast is made up of Burton’s most frequent collaborators. Danny DeVito, for example, provides much of the film’s comic relief as the occasionally bumbling Medici while Eva Green (one of Burton’s newer regulars) gets a decent little arc in which her character Colette slowly but surely warms up to the little flying elephant. Meanwhile, Michael Keaton manages to overcome his character’s straight-forward ‘corrupt businessman’ persona thanks to his slick charisma. And yes, I too am amazed that this Disney-released film managed to get away with a villain character who’s clearly meant to be a caricature of Walt Disney himself. Finally, closing out the main cast is Colin Farrell as Holt Farrier and Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins as his children Milly and Joe, all of whom help bolster the film’s big emotional moments due to them taking on the role that Timothy Q. Mouse had in the original as Dumbo’s biggest allies.

As noted in the intro, there was quite a bit of skepticism when it was announced that Tim Burton would be directing this film because it didn’t seem like the kind of project that he’s known for doing. And yet, it ironically makes perfect sense for him to direct Dumbo because the character’s status as an outsider amongst his peers at the circus due to his large ears ties very effectively into Burton’s tendency to do films about outcast-type characters as evident from the likes of Edward Scissorhands and his two Batman films, and that’s just to name a few. Sure enough, this new take on Dumbo once again succeeds in endearing audiences to its titular protagonist. And while the new stuff that’s added in to buff up the plot is ironically just as simple in execution when compared to everything that we got from the hour-long 1941 original, its heart is very much in the right place. Plus, as one would expect from a Tim Burton production, its gorgeous visuals are second to none right down to the various nods to the original… and yes, that includes a reference to the infamous ‘Pink Elephants on Parade’ sequence. In short, while I’m not saying that it’s ‘better’ than the original Dumbo, it’s still a worthy adaptation of a Disney classic. And as anyone who’s been following this blog for a while will recall, this sums up my views on Disney’s live-action remakes in a nutshell. Contrary to what some may claim, these aren’t meant to be ‘replacements’ for their animated counterparts. Instead, they’re simply interesting new takes on these iconic stories, and regardless of how they turn out, the originals will still be there at the end of the day for both young and old to enjoy. And while this film does break the streak of well-received remakes that the studio has been experiencing since 2015’s Cinderella, I’m still genuinely looking forward to all the new spins on the animated classics of my childhood.

Rating: 4/5