Disney's
"The One and Only Ivan" is a live-action/CG hybrid directed by
Thea Sharrock (
"Me Before You") based on the
children's novel of the same name by
Katherine Applegate. The screenplay is written by
Mike White (
"Pitch Perfect 3").
Oscar-nominated actor
Bryan Cranston (
"Breaking Bad") has joined the cast of the adaptation, which already stars
Angelina Jolie, Sam Rockwell,
"The Florida Project" breakout
Brooklynn Prince, and
Ariana Greenblatt from the Disney Channel show
"Stuck in the Middle".
The story follows a silverback gorilla named Ivan (Rockwell) who lives in a cage in a shopping mall along with Stella the elephant (Jolie) and a stray dog called Bob. Ivan does not remember life before the mall, but when a baby elephant named Ruby enters and Ivan finds himself taking care of her, he begins to rediscover his previous life and concocts a plan to take the baby elephant away from their abusive owner. Cranston will play the desperate owner of a failing circus.
The film is produced by Jolie and
Brigham Taylor (
"The Jungle Book").
Allison Shearmur, who died in January, will retain a producer credit on the movie.
Cranston can also be seen on stage at London's National Theatre in the play
"Network" based on the 1970s film of the same name, and has also voiced a character in
Wes Anderson's stop-motion animation feature
"Isle of Dogs", which is set for release on March 23rd.
