Ferdinand

As with offering the 'token' big-budget film at the end of the year in the form of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi", Hollywood also realizes it needs to offer the 'token' animated film. And what a better film to offer that that of "Ferdinand". The Blue Sky production is being released on the coattails of Pixar's "Coco" and proves to be as artful as it is entertaining.

 

A gentle, big-hearted bull named Ferdinand (John Cena) lives a happy life as the pet of a loving family predominantly by Nina (Lily Day) in Spain, and prefers smelling flowers to fighting. When he is captured and forced to participate in bullfights, plots to escape and return home with the help of a group of animal friends namely Lupe (Kate McKinnon), Guapo (Peyton Manning), Bones (Anthony Anderson) and Angus (David Tennant). Will Ferdinand be able to find his way home, or will he have to succumb to fighting in the bullring?

 

Others to round out the cast are Bobby Cannavale as Valiente, Gina Rodriguez as Una, Flula Borg as Hans, Sally Phillips as Greta, Boris Kodjoe as Klaus, Jerrod Carmichael as Paco and Miguel Angel Silvestre as El Primero.

 

This was directed by seasoned animation director, Carlos Saldanha ("Ice Age" (co-dir.) '02, "Robots" (co-dir.) '05, "Ice Age: The Meltdown" '06, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" '09, "Rio" '11, "Rio 2" '14) plus shorts and video games. This filmmaker truly knows how to bring out the emotions of these characters needed in each and every scene, especially with the character of Ferdinand. The fact that this bull is as huge as he is, yet has a heart of gold was well executed by Saldanha, It was written brilliantly by Robert L. Baird, Tim  Federle and Brad Copeland based on a screen story by Ron Burch, David Kidd and Don Rhymer which is based on a book by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson. Although this story was based on another medium-- a book, it was fresh and original in its outlay of story. It was humorous without being sappy, represented heart without being maudlin and conveyed a message that all could learn from, not just children. The message? Having to confront one's demons even though it would seam so easy to ignore them, and to allow yourself to be different in spite of the pressure of others. This story was concise, cohesive and well thought out. As far as Cena, I'm telling you, he was born to play the voice of Ferdinand. The tonality he gave this voice was real and rife with feelings.

 

Believe it or not, this is one of the freshest stories out there in the theaters as we speak. This film has it all-- heart, humor, a great message and extremely entertaining all in a nifty 3D format as well. Grab the popcorn and enjoy this ride!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                         Rated: PG                                     108mins.