The Big Top Mall (full name: Big Top Mall and Video Arcade) is the main location from the 2020 Disney+ original film The One and Only Ivan.
Background[]
The Big Top Mall was a shopping center hence its name. Due to the mall having a circus theme, a circus tent was placed inside the mall's interior with the circus named Big Top with its slogan "The Littlest Show on Earth". Inside the mall, a fountain depicting three sea lion sculptures sits in the center of the mall and behind it is a popcorn stand. It is the former home of Ivan, a gorilla who was billed as the main attraction of the mall as well as other animals who performed in the show. Outside the circus was a kiosk selling merchandise related to the circus such as merchandise relating to Ivan (such as toys or mugs) or even a plush toy of Frankie, a sea lion. Since Ruby's introduction to the circus, several merchandise were added to the kiosk such as buttons and flags with Ruby's name as well as elephant plush toys to represent Ruby.
The circus also housed an area full of enclosures where the animals live, which access to visitors was limited and only staff who worked at the circus could enter - namely Mack or George. Aside from the circus and arcade located inside the mall, it also included other facilities whose signages are only seen in the background.
In addition to the mall containing a circus, it also included arcade games as hence its name such as a claw machine or a section full of retro-style arcade games. Some of the video games displayed in the arcade consisted Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Dig Dug, and other generic arcade games as well as certain other carnival games or attractions such as a Whack a Mole game, Tiki Fishing (a fishing game), Roller Dreams (a roller derby area), Crazy Mirror (a house of mirrors attraction), or a balloon dart game. Additionally, the Big Top Mall property had a strict rule against stray dogs that arrived at the circus, such as the case of Mack calling in Castello to get Bob out of Ivan's enclosure.
Outside the mall were two facilities named "Boardwalk Bargains" (a discount store) and "Bowl A Rama" (a bowling alley). Next to these aforementioned facilities are two other facilities, a movie house and a laser tag facility.
A billboard advertising the Big Top Mall
Additionally, there were billboards advertising the mall with Ivan being the headlined attraction at the circus where the billboard was decorated with an elephant standing on a circus platform, a sea lion, and a silhouette of a ringmaster. Since Ruby's arrival, one of the billboards advertising the circus was placed with a banner advertising Ruby reading, "Introducing Ruby". The following day when Mack discovered Ivan having the ability to paint, the billboard is updated with an illustration of Ivan holding a paint palette, billing him as the "Artistic Ape".
Role in the film[]
The Big Top Mall is introduced at the beginning of the film where Mack is seen presenting the animals who perform in the circus to impress the audience, including one of them which is Ivan, a mighty gorilla who is the main star of the show. After Mack realizes that his show is not earning enough money, he tells Ivan to bring the excitement back, which Ivan becomes fearful of why the circus wants an angry gorilla to which during a chat with Stella and Bob at night, Ivan plans to give the excitement back to the audience by becoming an angry gorilla to impress the audience. The next day, Mack gets the animals ready to perform on stage, including Ivan who participates his role as the angry gorilla to impress the audience. However, one day, Mack temporarily cancels the show, due to Ruby the Baby Elephant arriving at the circus, billing her as the new star of the show, making her a permanent addition. Ruby's performance at the circus resulted her to gain popularity with audiences as a new addition to the show. The next day, one of the billboards advertising the circus is decorated with a banner with an image of a baby elephant reading, "Introducing Ruby" due to Ruby being a new headliner in the show, causing the baby elephant to achieve popularity. However, one day, Stella passes away, causing the Big Top Mall to mourn her death, leaving only Ruby by herself, making her take Stella's place.
After Julia finds the drawings made by Ivan, she shows them to Mack, showing him the drawings that Ivan did just as Mack is impressed of Ivan's drawings, thinking that he is a gorilla who draws just as Julia shows her father the drawings that Ivan did just as Mack tells Thelma about Ivan's ability to draw. Hearing of Ivan's popularity, Mack tells Ivan that he is a headliner again but rather than being an angry gorilla, he became an artistic gorilla, causing him to gain fame just as Mack gets him ready for the show.
During showtime, Mack presents the audience of Ivan being a painting gorilla rather than being an angry gorilla which Ivan is too shy to draw a picture for the audience. Mack then tells the audience that one of Ivan's paintings can be purchased at the kiosk outside the circus. Just as Mack tells Ivan that this is his chance to be a famous gorilla, he then notices Bob, the stray dog, inside Ivan's enclosure, calling Castello to get him out of the enclosure, telling him that if he does not get the dog out of the Big Top Mall property, he will fire him which Castello follows his orders. That night when the animals escape, Mack receives a call from Castello who is locked inside Ivan's enclosure while planning to capture Bob, telling him that the animals have escaped, leading Mack to find Ivan and the other animals and bring them back to the circus. Mack enters the "forest" (which is actually an intersection) to search for Ivan and the other animals to bring them back to their enclosures and as he approaches the other animals in the woods, he plans to bring the other animals back to their enclosure to safety which he suddenly approaches Ivan and the other escaped animals, bringing them back to their enclosures to safety.
The next day, Julia visits Ivan and gives him paints which her aunt gave to her, telling him that if he paints, his wish could come true just as she shows him a drawing of her and her mother at the beach. Ivan, feeling inspired of Julia's drawing, works hard on painting a landscape masterpiece representing freedom. When Mack presents Ivan's act during the show, everyone sees his painting during the show just as the audience is impressed of Ivan's hard work as they cheer for the artistic ape. After the show, Julia asks a news reporter, Candace Taylor, to help Ivan be free from the circus.
The next day, protesters are gathered outside the Big Top Mall demanding the animals to be released from the circus, holding signs reading "Free Ivan" and other signs regarding about the other animals' conditions in the circus, followed by one of the billboards advertising the circus vandalized by protesters with the words "Free Ivan" in regards to Ivan's conditions at the circus. Following the closure of the Big Top Mall, all the animals (except Snickerss) are released from the circus to find better homes, followed by Snickers remaining as Mack's pet dog as a result of the circus being shut down. In the aftermath, Ivan was later relocated to the Zoo Atlanta with Ruby following along and later adapting to a new herd of elephants.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to the One and Only Ivan-inspired book, It's Showtime!, Big Top Mall is located in West Grove, Florida, as indicated by a circus poster advertising Ivan.
- Coincidentally, The One and Only Ivan was also filmed at Lakeland, Florida in real life; specifically, the locations filmed were the Southgate Shopping Center.[1]
- In real life, Ivan was never part of a circus, unlike what happened in the original book and the film adaptation of The One and Only Ivan. The scene where he smells a flower is also taken from the actual event. The real Ivan was born in 1962 and spent 27 years in a Tacoma mall where he learned to paint. Following a protest, he moved in 1994 to Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo and later Zoo Atlanta where he lived until his death in 2012.
References[]
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