According to The Hollywood Reporter, Angelina Jolie will produce and lend her voice to Walt Disney Pictures‘ live-action/animated hybrid The One and Only Ivan, based on the 2011 Newbery Medal-winning book written by Katherine Applegate and illustrated by Patricia Castelao. She will voice the role of a baby elephant named Stella.
Here’s the official book synopsis: “Inspired by the true story of a captive gorilla known as Ivan, this illustrated novel is told from the point-of-view of Ivan himself. Having spent 27 years behind the glass walls of his enclosure in a shopping mall, Ivan has grown accustomed to humans watching him. He hardly ever thinks about his life in the jungle. Instead, Ivan occupies himself with television, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting. But when he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from the wild, he is forced to see their home, and his art, through new eyes.”
Thea Sharrock (Me Before You) will direct The One and Only Ivan from a script by Mike White (School of Rock), with Allison Shearmur (Cinderella, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) producing alongside Jolie.
Jolie will next reprise her title role in Disney’s sequel Maleficent 2. She has previously provided voice work for animated films Shark Tale and the Kung Fu Panda franchise.
