A kind couple finds a lost baby gorilla with no place to go. They decide to take him in, not knowing how much their lives are about to change. What starts as rescue quickly turns into something much deeper, a bond like family.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

Ivan, a silverback gorilla, is the headliner for a failing show at the big top mall circus. He has his own billboard and everything. Anyway, a show can’t go on with just one person, so that’s where Mack, the ringmaster, comes in. He’s goofy during performances, but not so much afterwards.

He gathered a bunch of other animals like Henrietta, a chicken quite talented at playing baseball, Frankie, a sea lion with anxiety issues but pretty good with a ball, and Murphy, a rabbit in a fire truck – for some reason, kids dig him.

Then there’s the queen, Stella, an elephant so old she’s been around long before Ivan was born, and her co-performer, Snickers, a poodle who’s just there to bring a sprinkle of class to the show.

Ivan was made to believe that all he had to do was be himself, but he’s not the angry gorilla he seems to be on stage.

After the show, he heads back to his cage where Julia, a young girl, is sitting by the glass divider. Her dad, George, works for the show so he always brings her around. This time, she comes with a drawing of Ivan and presents it to him as a gift.

Mack joins them as he asks George about his wife Sarah, only to find out that things are still difficult with her health. To ease things along, he gives Julia some money for new crayons and receives a bunch of thanks in return.

After everyone leaves, Mack finds himself lamenting to Ivan about the failing show, hoping to get some advice on how to improve things. He soon feels miserable after remembering that he’s talking to a gorilla.

That night, Ivan and Stella talk about how scanty the seats have become, all while a stray mutt sleeps on the silverback’s tummy. Anyway, she does her best to encourage him that it’s not his fault.

Mack does some prep work before their next show, and in no time, it’s Ivan’s turn to present. He does his usual growling routine but the applause isn’t loud enough to wake a sleeping baby.

After the show, Julia stops by with another gift – a set of  her old crayons and some paper. She just traipses off with her dad the moment she delivers them.

That night, Ivan watches as Mack feeds Snickers some kibble. His stray mutt of a friend also notices, and Mack clocks him in return. Anyway, the ringmaster gives Castello, a tamer, hell about letting the stray in.

Castello then opens the cage to do something about him but one look at Ivan gives him the shivers.

The silverback decides to try drawing a beetle with the crayons Julia gave him, and his canine friend stops by after he’s done. He guesses a million and one other things before Ivan reveals that it’s a beetle.

The next day, Mack sees Mike, his colleague at the mall, packing up to move to the galleria. They get to talking about how business will pick but nothing he says convinces Mike to stay. Mike was up to something moving out because the next show they put on practically has Mack begging the attendees to invite others.

The way Julia commissions portraits, Picasso could learn a thing or two. She makes another drawing, but this time, it’s of Ivan’s stray mutt who she decides to name Bob. This profound feeling of identity washes over the stray, and just before the little girl leaves, she catches a glimpse of Ivan’s drawing. She calls her dad’s attention to it and what he sees as a scribble, Julia sees as a beetle. The fact that she knew what it was right away tugs on Ivans heartstrings.

Come daybreak, Mack is excited for some reason. He leaves the building with Snickers escorting him to the door, so Bob takes the chance to weasel his way up to her room. He farts like a proper barbarian, and goes on to eat her kibble. Snickers returns at this very moment, preaching the gospel of domestication to Bob. Unfortunately, the dog prefers his freedom. She then reveals that the show has been cancelled for the day because a new animal is being delivered.

Bob promises to keep it a secret but the moment he crosses the doggy door, he yells at Ivan, telling him everything. He goes a step further, moving from pillar to post and telling all the other animals the news.

Moments later, a truck rolls in and the door hisses open. Mack takes gentle steps into the back, standing in awe of the new delivery – that’s until it knocks him down so hard his heart almost escapes his chest.

He has to call in Stella as a last resort and it turns out that the new delivery is a baby elephant. Ever so elegantly, she extends her trunk and the little one does the same. They form a connection immediately and she uses this to lure the young elephant out of the truck.

Apparently, the little one was bought from a failed circus in Jersey, and answers to the name Ruby. Ivan can’t stop staring as Mack claims that Ruby is what the show needs to turn things around.

That night, while Ivan tries to get some shut eye, little ruby does what every kid does and begins to ask question after question. She even blurts that Ivan isn’t scary but he tries his best to change her mind. His best fails.

During the next show, Ivan has barely thumped his chest before Mack closes the curtains on him, all so he can introduce the new headliner. It’s none other than Ruby, and Mack rolls the “r” in her name so much that it physically hurts Ivan to hear it.

She comes on stage and it’s all “oohs” and “awws” just from being cute. Ruby even gets a resounding applause that goes on to make the rest of the show interesting.

That night, she continues her twenty questions, bugging the joy out of Ivan and Bob

By daybreak, a new poster is unveiled with Ruby on it. And just like that, life returns to the show. People troop in in their numbers to see the little elephant and they keep increasing with every show.

One day, Julia stops by to say hi to Ruby, only to notice something funny about the way Stella is standing. The old elephant doesn’t seem capable of putting weight on all her feet, so Julia  calls her dad. In turn, he reaches out to Mack, and together, they check it out.

After a while of checking in vain, Mack suggests that George puts some Aspirin in the elephant’s food, promising to call the vet in the morning.

That night, she tells Ruby a story, one that happened when she was a little elephant herself. She was stuck in some deep mud in the forest and a young girl like Julia pulled her villagers together to save her. The story strikes curiosity in the youngin, making her wonder if all animals are free in the wild. Stella goes on to paint quite the beautiful picture of a zoo and then instructs Ruby to go to bed.

It’s time for the next show but Stella still can’t put any weight on her foot.

George suggests that they sit her out of the show and Mack agrees, leaving Ruby no choice but to go at it alone. As ringmaster, he heads out to introduce the young elephant but Ruby misses her cue twice because she’s too scared.

It’s at this point that Ivan swings down to encourage the same animal that’s upstaging him, advising her to go out and just be herself. Upon the third introduction, Ruby slowly makes her way out, raking in applause after applause for showing such courage.

She can’t sleep later that night but Stella is passed out like she had too much fun earlier that day. Anyway, Ivan draws the youngin a carrot and they promise to keep his talent a secret. Of course, Ruby wants to also hear a story but Ivan can’t remember a thing from when he was little.

Bob replaces him in a heartbeat, telling stories about how he was abandoned by a mean human and left to drown after he fell off a bridge. This isn’t so much a bedtime story as it is a horror film, so Ivan takes the reins once again. This time, he tells his story.

You see, the silverback was practically raised by Mack and his wife, Helen. He wore diapers, slept in their bed, watched movies, and even went to the park to play. People noticed and couldn’t stop staring – in a good way.

Soon enough, he began taking pictures with a bunch of them, but something went wrong. Ivan was a gorilla so he didn’t know that making messes and tearing up the couch was something he wasn’t supposed to do.

After a couple of months of this, Helen got fed up. She picked up her purse and walked out of the house, never to return. It was just Mack and Ivan moving forward. And that was how he got transported to his current cage which was built just for him.

Back to the present and Ruby is already fast asleep. Ivan wishes her a goodnight, and just before he can get some shut eye himself, Stella calls out to him. Whispering, she makes him promise her one thing – that he’ll make sure Ruby lives a life different from hers. A life of freedom.

Ivan swears on his life as a silverback and Stella wraps her trunk around his hand as she utters her last word – goodbye. It rains that night, almost like the skies were sad themselves.

Gloom fills the circus, with every animal finding themselves missing the old elephant. Mack pulls himself together at this moment and turns all his attention to Ruby, telling her that they’ll have to start working on her act tomorrow.

As it turns out, Bob’s big mouth couldn’t shut up about Ivan’s promise to Stella before she died. Now, they have Ruby and her expectations to deal with. Ivan is initially confused, seeing as he has no idea where to go or whether he wants to abandon Mack like that.

He falls asleep in this dilemma, only for Bob to lick him until he wakes up. The mutt shows Ivan how Mack is teaching Ruby some new tricks for the show. The young elephant doesn’t seem to be getting a hang of even the simplest tricks but Mack doesn’t give it a rest. He continues to push her long into the afternoon and it’s obvious to everyone else that Ruby is tired.

Julia reports this to her dad who tries to save Ruby from his boss. It doesn’t work. Mack continues to push the little elephant, and each time he does, Ivan gets a little angrier. Suddenly, Ruby retaliates by shooting water from her trunk like an exploding water balloon. It blows off Mack’s toupee, and the shame pushes him to give it a rest.

Later on, Ivan hatches a plan to get Julia to get him the key to the cages, so he and Ruby can flee into the Forest on the other side of the highway. Because he’s so sure itll work, he tells Ruby his plan in the form of a story, assuring her that the elephant in his story gets to be free.

The next day, when Julia arrives, Ivan shows her his drawings, expecting her to notice the drawing of a key. Unfortunately, Mack walks in before she can have a proper look and scrolls through the drawings. He finds out that Ivan drew them and has an epiphany almost immediately, knowing full well that the press would eat up news of a drawing gorilla.

He was right.

News outlets carry the story like it’s a UFO sighting. In mere days, the circus begins to sell out shows and Bob draws Ivan’s attention to the crowd. He’s not as excited as the others, seeing as he’s plagued by the thought of not fulfilling his promise to stella.

Excited, Mack gets up on stage, introducing Ivan as the artistic ape from exit eight. Too bad that everyone except Ivan thinks the nickname is catchy. The spotlight is on him as he’s presented with a canvas and some crayons, but he just boos at Mack. The ringmaster tries to reintroduce Ivan but before he’s done, the silverback walks away like an uninterested girl.

Afterwards, Mack comes in yelling, only to see Bob hiding in the corner. He calls Castello for the umpteenth time, threatening to fire him if he ever sees the dog again.

That night, while Castello prepares a net to catch Bob with, Ivan hatches another plan, explaining that he’ll need Bob’s help if it’s going to work.

As planned, Bob approaches Castello first and instantly bites his ass to get the tamer to chase him. He then runs into Ivan’s cage as usual, but this time, the silverback pretends to be asleep. Noticing this, Castello retrieves the key to the cage, gets in, and approaches Bob with a net. Ivan chooses this moment to jump down, intimidating Castello with his size alone. The poor tamer faints in seconds.

Ivan locks Castello in the cage, swings over to Ruby, and informs her that they’re heading into the wild. She asks about the other animals, so Ivan heads back to release them all.

Together, they make their way to the exit.

Bob tries to get Snickers to come with them, but the poodle is certain that she won’t last two minutes in the wild. Apparently, she needs her blow dryer like anyone would a heart.

Thelma the Parrot keeps slamming into the door, and Bob points out that it’s locked. For a split second, they all look like there’s no hope – that’s until Bob reminds Ivan that he’s a silverback weighing over four hundred pounds.

Ivan simply slams into the door and it gets blown off its hinges. As the alarms go off, the crew takes a second to marvel at what the outside world looks like, only for Bob to yell that he can show them the way.

They mindlessly follow the mutt.

Later on, Castello calls Mack from the cage and sleep clears out of the bald man’s eyes the moment he mentions that none of the animals are at the circus.

It’s time to cross the road and Murphy’s fire truck gets stuck. He has been in it for so long that he forgets how to actually hop out. While struggling to get it free, a car approaches at full speed, leaving the poor rabbit to scream for his life. At the last minute, Ivan swoops in and grabs him. Sadly, his beloved truck gets crushed to bits.

Seconds after they cross into the bushes, Mack arrives in a frenzy. He sees all the empty cages for himself and doesn’t even care to release Castello.

Meanwhile, all the animals are as happy as can be, with Murphy hopping on his own feet for the first time in forever. They admire the bushes and trees as they think about a future of freedom. Too bad that the universe has other plans.

After crossing the bushes, Ivan finds himself face to face with the big top mall once again. Apparently, they walked through a small patch of forest in the middle of the concrete city. The mood switches to gloom as they all stand there speechless. Ivan is still thinking about how to move forward when they see someone approaching with a flashlight. He urges the others to hide immediately and growls loudly to scare away this intruder.

It’s at this moment that Mack identifies himself, trying to calm Ivan down. He explains that none of them are safe and that the gorilla is putting Ruby in danger. After contemplating for a while, Ivan gives in.

They all return to the circus and Mack falls asleep watching them. He’s woken up by George who comes in early to help in any way he can. He checks in with Mack who makes it clear that they’d get shut down if word gets out about the escape.

George understands this, so he tags Mack out.

At the same time, Ruby resumes her twenty questions, barraging Ivan about what the wild is really like. The silverback grows frustrated because Ruby won’t give it a rest even though he already told her that he can’t remember.

Bob calls him out on this, accusing him of not wanting to remember in the first place. Feeling guilty, Ivan promises to give it a try.

He recalls how his parents called him mud because he was always looking for it. He’d use the mud to draw anywhere he could and spent all day drawing when his mates climbed trees. It was his own definition of fun.

His dad found it weird, even tried teaching him how to thump his chest, but Ivan fell in some mud on his first attempt. He goes on about how much he loved playing with his sister, Tag. It turns out that their parents named the kids after what they loved.

Little ruby interrupts Ivan’s story at this point to say how much fun Tag sounds like. She then wonders where Ivan’s sister is. The silverback tries to back out of continuing his story, but Ruby insists.

You see, Ivan was drawing with some mud one day and the forest suddenly got quiet, too quiet. In the blink of an eye, intruders lunged at the gorillas, leaving Ivan’s father no choice but to hurl his son onto his back. He ran like their lives depended on it, because it did. Unfortunately, they were separated from the other members of their troop.

His father hid him in a tree and thumped his chest in an attempt to defend them. This only got him shot and this one moment stuck with little Ivan.

He never got to see any member of his troop after that day, and still blames himself for not being strong enough to fight. Ruby, God bless her heart, encourages Ivan in Stella’s stead, explaining that his dad must’ve loved him the way he is.

After their failed attempt to join the wild, everyone is still licking their wounds. Julia shows up just then with some finger paint she got from her aunt. She gifts it to Ivan and sits close to him, ready to dive into a heartfelt monologue.

Without words, she still understands that Ivan doesn’t want to live in the circus anymore but hates that she can’t do anything to help.

Sad, the silverback returns to his corner.

Later that night, while he’s playing with some water, it reminds him of how he used to draw with his bare hands. This lights a fire in Ivan and he rushes back to retrieve the paint Julia dropped off. Ivan paints throughout the night, getting so engrossed that he doesn’t come down at all. Meanwhile, Mack drives from home, gets to his booth to apply some make up, and has time for an interview with Candace, a reporter from the local news.

He welcomes the interview, thinking it’s about the artistic ape from exit eight. Unfortunately, it’s about the animals escaping the other night. Mack instantly denies this, mocking the reporter for even believing something like that. He successfully slithers out of the situation and approaches George who’s busy ensuring that his daughter can operate the lights.

Mack pulls his attention away, warning him about the reporter outside, scared that they’ll get shut down if anything leaks.

Moving on, Frankie takes the stage to perform, but Ivan is still too busy drawing to notice. The others go up and Ivan is still drawing. It’s time for Ruby to perform so it’s obvious that Ivan is next. A worried Bob goes up to check on his buddy and is taken by what he sees.

Mack does his usual introductions, this time referring to the silverback as a primate Picasso. Anyway, the curtains are pulled aside and Julia shines the spotlight on Ivan. Instead of seeing a gorilla, the crowd is amazed by his beautiful hand-painting of a flourishing forest, spring of water, and ample sunlight.

The crowd grows silent in awe of Ivan’s talent, and seconds later, a roaring applause fills the air. Quietly, he wipes a part of the sea with his fur and stares straight at Julia. She’s entranced by this and can’t seem to stop staring in return, almost like she can see something in his eyes.

Later on, she abandons her post and runs to her dad in excitement, starting out by asking if he can see Ivan’s painting. George admits that it’s beautiful, so Julia uses the chance to point out that Ivan wants to be free. This puts her dad in a tough place. He doesn’t want to lose his job but he also wants his daughter to learn to do the right thing.

George wonders what his kid expects him to do and she nods towards Candace, the reporter near the entrance. He goes mute after this, taking some time to think about it. The glint in his kid’s eyes is too difficult to say no to, so he sends her on her way. Without hesitation, Julia rushes to the reporter’s side and introduces herself.

As early as the next day, protesters gather in front of the mall, screaming for Ivan and Ruby to be set free. Mack is still home, about to have some toast when he hears about it on the news. Candace had spread the word about Ivan’s painting representing his quest for freedom and everyone bought into it.

At the circus, young Ruby wonders why everyone’s yelling her name. She asks Ivan if the people outside are angry with them. In response, he makes her understand that they actually want to help them. He then reminds her of what Stella said, adding that the old elephant just wanted them to see the beauty that is the wild.

Sooner than later, the big top circus shuts down for good. Mack sulks and sulks as he clears out his things but the situation doesn’t change. The next day, wildlife control drops by to cart off the other animals, so Frankie and Henrietta say their goodbyes.

Ruby’s twenty questions are yet to be exhausted. She asks if there’ll be other elephants where she’s going, worried that they won’t like her. In turn, Ivan promises that she’s saying nonsense, seeing as she’s too adorable anyway. She also promises to tell the other elephants about everyone she met at the circus, especially Stella.

After they take a moment to remember the old elephant, Dr Maya from wildlife control shows up with a treat in her hand, signaling to Ruby to come get it. The elephant looks to Ivan for approval, and he gives her the nod. Slowly, they both walk until they have to go their separate ways, with Ruby walking off with the doctor.

Mack looks to Snickers for comfort, seeing as it’s going to be just the two of them.

At the same time, Bob sneaks into Ivan’s cage to say goodbye, sad that he’ll no longer have a tummy to sleep on. Almost immediately, the silverback hands him Not-tag, a stuffed gorilla Julia had given him as a gift. He claims that it’s to help the mutt sleep and this gesture doesn’t go unrecognized. Too bad that Bob has to split before he gets sent to the pound.

On his way out, he reminds the silverback that he’s the one and only Ivan. This beautiful moment gets interrupted by Mack, so Bob tries to run away. The ringmaster really isn’t in the mood to chase anyone, but Bob runs away just to be safe.

Mack sits with Ivan after this, reminiscing about old times and how happy he felt when he brought him home for the first time. He even brings out a cute picture to prove it and Ivan walks up to him. They exchange knowing glances and join their foreheads together as they used to do before every show.

On his way out, Mack Admits that he’s going to miss Ivan. He holds back a sniffle and then pushes the gate to his cage open. Dr Maya shows up again, this time with a cage big enough to hold Ivan. With her hand against the glass, she assures the silverback that it’s time to get him that freedom. Ivan takes a moment to look around before walking into the cage and falling asleep.

By the time he wakes up, he finds himself in a white room and concludes that he must’ve been transferred from one cage to another. In a frenzy, he slams his weight into the exit and almost does it again. He only stops after hearing the sound of Dr Maya’s voice, followed by a promise that the white room isn’t his home.

With the push of a button, the door rolls all the way up. For the first time in forever, Ivan feels the sun on his face and basks in it with gratitude. He puts one foot out first, feeling the grass, and then goes all the way out to smell a flower. These little things speak volumes to him and the loudest is when he sees another family of gorillas simply roaming around the gigantic zoo.

Distracted by the trumpeting of elephants in the distance, Ivan abandons everything and runs after this sound. He makes his way up a tree in that direction, and upon getting to the top, sees Ruby playing among the other elephants.

Ivan stares into the sky at this moment, telling Stella that he kept his promise, telling her that Ruby is finally free.

The story of Ivan is loosely based on true events. You see, the real Ivan was saved from poachers in central Africa in 1962. He was brought to America to stay with a loving family and moved to Tacoma, Washington when he got too big. There, he became an attraction in a shopping mall and spent 27 years indoors. He learned to paint there, and in 1994, the local community protested to have him moved to a better place.

The protest was successful. Ivan was moved to zoo Atlanta, a place with more than enough acres to roam.

Much later, Bob pops up out of nowhere. Ivan doesn’t believe he’s real at first but the mutt claims that there’s nowhere he can’t sneak into

This time, he’s lying.

He had moved in with Julia’s family because her mom, Sarah, loved having him around. Yeah, Ivan gets a visit from Julia, her dad, and even Mack. This time, he comes without the toupee and admits that Ivan looks amazing.

Bob reminds him for the last time that he’s the one and only Ivan, and he smiles reassuringly.

What started off as a tragedy for Ivan led to him meeting some of the most amazing people. But when his time with them was up, he had to return to the wild where he truly belongs. There’s a Chinese saying that a bird in a gilded cage is still unaware of the sky. So, are you that bird?

The one and only Ivan 2020 .