Before I get into the film, want to give some props to the [sometimes-evil] empire Disney for their current and future spate of films directed by women. Though most of past and future stories are female-led, it's a very good sign that they also include women behind the scenes in a male-gorilla-led film like this).
Before I get into the film want to talk about the book, a 300-page kids book my daughter and I read and enjoyed last week. What I liked best about the book was that it was written in the first person, from the gorilla's point of view, as a diary. And what the book does best is live in this framing: what would a gorilla's diary be like, what would they say, what would they focus on? Ivan's view of everything around him, his domain, his animal friends, and his views on humans, are smart and funny and moving. I doubt without this grounding the book would be so popular. Otherwise it's a pretty standard story.
The film got rid of a lot of the inner-life character study diary stuff, and we're left with a pretty standard story. The film still has a bit of heart, a bit of comedy, and is well made and directed. The book isn't perfect, either. But...
Read the book. The book is better.
PS: the screenplay is by one of my favs, Mike White, and one thing he loves to do is find a part for himself to play in the story. The film added an additional character, a guy who is repeatedly told to capture a dog, and my immediate thought was "huh! Weird that there's a new character and it's not played by Mike White." Still think he may have intended this to be his role, but nonetheless and fear not, Mike White does make a memorable 3-second appearance.Statistics: Posted by poorpete — Tue Oct 13, 2020 9:29 am
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