Bob the Dog is a major character featured in the 2020 Disney+ original film, The One and Only Ivan. A stray dog wandering around the Big Top Mall property, Bob shows a supportive personality towards Ivan, despite being chased off by the local staff of the Big Top Mall in keeping the property clean from any nearby animals causing a mess.
Background[]
During his duty as a stray dog, Bob usually sneaks up in the animals' enclosures at the Big Top Mall unnoticed and shows good conversations with Ivan. As a stray dog, he usually dislikes getting shooed away for being a nuisance to the circus animals such as the case of Mack calling in his fellow security guard Castello to get him out of the property. Besides having good conversations with Ivan, Bob notices certain changes happening at the Big Top Mall. For instance, when the billboard advertises Ivan as an artistic gorilla, Bob joyfully tells Ivan that the drawing routine attracted visitors all across the circus making the gorilla a headliner to the public.
As a dog, Bob has an obsession of kibble to which in one occasion, Bob goes to Snickers' room only whenever Mack takes Snickers for showtime at the circus, giving Bob the opportunity to get the kibble for himself.
Role in the film[]
Bob is introduced as a stray dog serving Ivan's best friend just before Ivan is taken to perform at the circus. After Ivan's performance at the circus, Bob appears in Ivan's enclosure, just as Stella and Ivan greet him inside just before Ivan explains to Stella that he is the headliner.
After Ivan picks up one of Julia's crayons, Bob curiously gazes upon Ivan holding it, but he feels distracted when he sees Mack giving kibble to Snickers, to which Ivan warns Bob to hide so that Mack doesn't catch him to which he and Ivan hear Mack telling Castello to get Bob out of the gorilla's enclosure, to which Mack explains to him to keep other non-circus animals out of their enclosures to keep them clean. After Castello leaves, Bob happily notices Castello not shooing him away. Later when Ivan starts drawing peacefully, Bob gives him a bag full of yogurt raisins to which it is interrupted after Bob drops the bag on the ground to which Ivan explains to Bob that the picture he is drawing is Mr. Beetle, the beetle that Ivan saw the glass wall. Ivan than thanks Bob for the raisins and asks Bob if he wants a raisin to which Bob explains that he can't eat raisins.
After Ivan's next performance at the circus, Bob felt excited that the audience was excited about the gorilla's act, to which the conversation is interrupted when the two see Julia's drawing of a dog as a superhero pup to which Julia names the stray dog Bob just as Ivan and Bob back away when Julia tells her father to look at Ivan's drawing of Mr. Beetle just before Julia and her father leave the circus. After a while, Bob felt curious that Julia heard him give his own name to the stray dog.
The next day, Bob manages enter Snickers' room in a plan to eat kibble as Mack is busy taking the poodle herself for circus performance, only for Bob to notice the poodle back in her room. As Bob eats Snickers' kibble, she explains to him that he should eat leftovers and sleep on cement to which Bob denies and instead sleeps with Ivan. Before Bob can go to Ivan, Snickers explains that there is no showtime today due to a new animal being delivered just as Bob tells the elephant Stella, the chicken Henrietta, the rabbit Murphy, and the sea lion Frankie that a new animal is arriving at the circus just as Bob gives Ivan the good news of a new arrival at the circus which is an elephant calf named Ruby.
With Ruby accepted into the Big Top Mall's circus, Bob listens to Ruby's conversation with Ivan to which Bob explains to Ruby that Ivan has always been headlined as the main star of the Big Top Mall's circus, which advertises Ivan as an angry gorilla. The next day, Bob looks at the Big Top Mall's billboard not only advertising Ivan, but also the circus' newest addition: Ruby the Baby Elephant. Later after listening to Stella's story, she explains to Bob that not all humans are bad. Later that night, Bob listens to Ivan's story he tells to Ruby. Later after Stella dies, Bob mourns for the passing of her, along with everyone else at the Big Top Mall. Later, Bob discusses with Ivan about his plan to free Ruby to have a great life just before telling Ivan who he is just as he and Ivan stare at the sky to remind them of Stella.
The next day, Bob takes Ivan to see Mack teaching Ruby how to walk like Stella in order to keep her legacy alive. He later watches Ivan continue his free time drawing routine just as Ivan tells Bob to look at the drawing of a key he did, so that he could get the key from Julia to free Ruby from her enclosure. The next day, Bob notices a large joyful crowd overjoyed of Ivan's ability to draw, making him a headliner. Later when a disappointed Mack talks to Ivan, he notices Bob inside Ivan's enclosure just as he warns Castello that he will be fired from working with him whenever Mack sees the stray dog inside. Later that night, Ivan requests Bob to help him with his plan due to Castello using a net to capture stray dogs wandering around the Big Top Mall to which Bob constantly tricks him with help from Ivan by locking up the dogcatcher in Ivan's own enclosure.
Having foiled Castello, Ivan escorts Bob, Ruby, Frankie, Thelma, Murphy, and Henrietta to explore the outside world around the, only to find out that the mall's doors are locked at nighttime to which Ivan uses his super strength to break open, not noticing the alarm outside the mall. Bob then leads Ivan, Ruby, Frankie, Thelma, Murphy, and Henrietta out of the circus to find themselves free just as the animals leave the Big Top Mall to enjoy their freedom in nature only to find out that the "forest" is an intersection.
At the intersection, Bob and the other animals find themselves spontaneous for a while in nature only to notice that the Big Top Mall is behind them with the group themselves caught by Mack for escaping the circus. Back at Ivan's enclosure, Bob listens to Ivan recapping his flashback during his life in the wild. After the flashback, Bob explains that humans are enemies to him, but Ruby clarifies telling him and Ivan that not all humans are bad. The next night, Bob notices Ivan grabbing a set of paints to help him fulfill his purpose in seeking freedom.
The next day during performance, Bob checks on Ivan to know if his painting is almost finished using his power of creativity to which led to his purpose fulfilled as the audience applauds for Ivan's masterpiece which is a painting of the wilderness. The next day, Bob later hears the Big Top Mall under pressure from protesters alongside Ivan and Ruby demanding them to be free.
The following day, Ivan suggests Bob that he will always be with him whenever he is released from the circus, to which Bob explains that he is a domesticated animal just as he gives Ivan his favorite doll Not-Tag to Bob just before Bob plans to escape before being put into the dog pound just as Bob takes Ivan's doll to remind him of his friendship with Ivan.
During the mid-credits, it is shown that Bob had been adopted by Julia just as he observes Ivan in his new home at Zoo Atlanta.
Trivia[]
- Danny DeVito, Bob's voice actor, previously portrayed Max Medici in the 2019 remake of Dumbo, another Disney film with a circus setting like in The One and Only Ivan.
- Bob's spin-off story, The One and Only Bob was released on May 5, 2020, which came out three months before the film adaptation of The One and Only Ivan premiered on Disney+ and eight years after the original book was released.
- Bob is the first character from the original One and Only Ivan series to receive his own spin-off, the second being Ruby.
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