If you’ve just enjoyed The One and Only Ivan on Disney Plus, did you know that you can visit many of the sets in person? While the film used a lot of Disney magic, many of the locations are real places in Lakeland, Florida. In 2018, the film crew rolled into town to get footage of the local drive-in movie theatre, the mall, the school, and a residential street for the wild family flick.

The city has been the setting to a variety of features, including The Waterboy, Edward Scissorhands, Tom Selleck’s Mr. Baseball, Ed Harris’ China Moon, and John Cusack’s Grace is Gone.

What’s On Disney Plus’ Roger Palmer recently reviewed the movie. Find out what he thinks of the silverback’s story.

Silver Moon Drive-In

A local news outlet was allowed to take some set photos, on the day of filming. As you continue to scroll, you’ll see why the location scouts chose this Insta-worthy spot. It’s simply iconic.

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That Bryan Cranston side-eye though. ? In 2018, the Disney movie, “The One and Only Ivan,” was filmed over the course of several days, at various Lakeland locations, including the Silver Moon Drive-In. ? The film — which is about a silverback gorilla named Ivan, who lives in a cage at the mall — stars Bryan Cranston, along with the voices of Sam Rockwell, Angelina Jolie, and Helen Mirren. While the movie won’t see a theatrical release because of COVID-19, it will be streaming on Disney+ starting Aug. 14. ✨ #LALtoday // ?: @silver_moon_drive_in

A post shared by LALtoday (@thelaltoday) on Jul 8, 2020 at 1:59pm PDT

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First time at the Drive-In!!! So excited!!!!

A post shared by Kristie Etheridge (@the_fit_ginger38) on Aug 17, 2020 at 5:36pm PDT

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Silver Moon Drive-In recently took to Facebook to see if visitors would pay an extra $2 on Saturdays to support and see local bands play. With COVID, many local bands have had venue and event cancellations and the team at Silver Moon would deliver proceeds to the bands. What do you think, Lakeland? Would you be interested? Sound off below. ? #LALtoday // ? @c.amrynw

A post shared by LALtoday (@thelaltoday) on Aug 5, 2020 at 1:02pm PDT

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Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it! ?⁣ ⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ •⁣ ⁣ #vintagestyle#vintagehair#vintage#1950s#1950sstyle#50shair#retro#bumperbangs#pompadour#florida#quarantinelife#suavecita#redlipstick#drivein#driveintheater#50s#50sstyle#datenight#socialdistancing#newnormal#driveinmovie#movienight#cultmovies#silvermoondrivein#pink#pinkladies#pinklady#truevintageootd

A post shared by Jannette Mendez ? (@jettesett) on May 19, 2020 at 12:18pm PDT

West Palm Drive

This narrow street has a gorgeous tree canopy, and one of the older houses on the route was used in the film. Bizarrely, producers asked the owners of this old car to move his decades-old wheels onto the set.

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Movie set update for big red (my collage car) has been moved to palm street. They have changed the tag and it’s about to make his big movie debut. #theoneandonlyivan #fordescort #famous

A post shared by miltonlyons (@miltonlyons) on Jun 21, 2018 at 4:25pm PDT

Southgate Shopping Centre

Southdale is known for its arch, an original feature of the 1957 plaza. Filmmakers replaced its signage digitally, to say “Big Top Mall”:

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Did y’all know Southgate Shopping Center in Lakeland used to be lit with neon? ? Do you like it this way or the way it is now?

A post shared by The Ledger (@ledgernews) on May 1, 2019 at 6:20pm PDT

Not all of the signage is digital. Boardwalk Bargains and Bowl-A-Rama signs were mounted for the day, while the real retailers were closed:

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Braved the curious crowds because I’m LOVING this retro movie makeover! #disney #theoneandonlyivan #ivan #southgate #MYpublix #filming

A post shared by Krystyna Matlick (@krystynamatlick) on Jun 21, 2018 at 8:30am PDT

The mall is just a plaza: there’s no interior for Ivan an his animal friends to be displayed in real life. So the mall’s open-air central courtyard was festooned with green, to allow visual effects artists to transform it into a mall entrance.

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Movie set of The One and Only Ivan.

A post shared by Lori Esteve (@lori.esteve) on Jun 16, 2018 at 2:59pm PDT

Now that’s what I call a sign:

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The Southgate Shopping Center was built in 1957 and it was a modern marvel, pioneering the fledgling shopping center concept and permanently changing the face of #Lakeland. It appeared in the film “Edward Scissorhands” and will be featured in the new Disney movie “The One and Only Ivan”. #LkldPhoto

A post shared by Lakeland Photo (@lkldphoto) on Aug 2, 2018 at 3:11pm PDT

If you do visit Lakeland on your next trip to Florida, check out the city’s tourism website, lakelandgov.net/fun for more information on the community, or visitcentralflorida.org/cities-towns/lakeland for the tourist hotspots.

Will you be checking out any of these locations?

Nick Moreau

Nick Moreau works at an archives, delving into his community's past. On DisKingdom, he focuses on vintage Disney content.

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