The best sentimental movies evince an unspoken contract with the audience. The implication seems to be, "Here's the story, these are the stakes, will you invest emotionally?" In order for the movie to work, emotions have to feel genuine. This circumstance blessed many musicals during Hollywood's Golden Age, and it also helped lighthearted fare such as Free Willy to aim high. However, the trouble with The One and Only Ivan must be a lack of such convictions. 

Although based on a true story, the work of director Thea Sharrock and screenwriter Mike White -- adapting Katherine Applegate's book -- suffers a serious case of the cutes. Almost everything comes across as nice, so there's virtually no weight or impact when a tragedy occurs. Twice the film tries to be poignant and in both cases the emotion was off. Even composer Craig Armstrong whisks in the most sentimental strings you ever heard, yet his music felt handicapped due to a non-existent theme. 

As for the plot, silverback gorilla Ivan (voiced by Sam Rockwell) has spent nearly his whole life in captivity. He seems happy enough, until the film makes an excuse that he'd be better off in the wild. Meanwhile, he performs as a roaring attraction in Mack's circus. Mack, played by Bryan Cranston, seems such an unassuming guy it's a shame his role was restricted to animal duty. He has no interior life beyond his job, although we see his wife leave him during a gushy flashback. By contrast, films such as The Infiltrator and Trumbo showed the range of feelings and techniques in Cranston's arsenal. Other than showing up, saying his lines and smiling a lot, The One and Only Ivan demands nothing of him. 

In fact, Thora Birch made a film in 1994 called Monkey Business, and that was more lifelike and entertaining than the candy dross offered by The One and Only Ivan. Regarding the latter, the best thing about it was seeing the film for free on YouTube. 

Time to rhyme:

All set to like the story of an ape

Someone forgot to rewind the tape.

A film of such good feeling

Ought to look beyond the ceiling.

Every cliche and predictable path

Inviting ridicule and wrath.

So many cases where animals talk

They mumble and squawk.

The sentimentality trap

Contains an awful rap.

Forever branded as fake

They chose the wrong take.

The music needed to be more

Than a sweet and epic snore.

Even a theme or well composed passage

To elevate the family friendly message.

The answers came all too easy

Tragic elements left me queasy.

It's best not to be depriving

Those who watch The One and Only Ivan.

(Released by Disney+ and rated "PG" by MPAA.)