Unlikely friendships blossom, tenderheartedness starkly contrasts with selfish unkindness, and creative problem solving prevails. What a great recipe for a delightful, inspiring story. Its heroes -- a gorilla, an elephant, and a young girl --may be a fairy tale group, but the theme, compassion often requires courage, is very real and transcendent. Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living in a shopping mall, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he's seen, his friends Stella and Bob, and painting.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home--and his own art--through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it's up to Ivan to make it a change for the better.