User reviews

If adults are going to review this film they should first ask what the children thought. Why some try to analyse these type of films is beyond me. It's old style fun and happy ending we all enjoyed as kids. If you don't have any, borrow one or two, because you'd have an excuse to enjoy a bit of fun. Don't want to bring up any religious connotations but I did fall in love with a goat.

First let me say my physically 37 year old but mentally 4 year old son (umbilical cord around neck cut off air at birth/brain damage) thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was a bit slow in the middle at one spot I thought, but generally entertaining for me as well.

There is a reason this is PG, namely that it is about bulls that are raised for fighting in the ring - If you know the story of Ferdinand you know the basics, and the movie included some elements from the book so those were nice to see.

There are some of the usual innuendos these cartoon movies only adults will understand, but the characters are varied enough it keeps the movie hopping along. Towards the end the young bulls realize the bull never wins in the ring, thus bringing the subject of death into the movie, the momentum quickly shifts to the comedic as the characters break out from their confines, and in the end they all live happily ever after...Entertaining, likable, not a classic but good little movie.

Ferdinand is an over-the-top cartoony movie about a massive bull who's expected to be a fighter but only wants peace. It gets wildly energetic, sometimes to the point of being too much. The crazy goat, especially, is a really bizarre character that sometimes makes me laugh and sometimes just makes me uncomfortable. But if you're in the right mood and don't take it too seriously, there are some pretty silly and funny moments in the movie. Something I like too is that most of the characters, for all their quirks, have a moment of vulnerability. The few calm moments reveal a lovely message about putting down arms and soaking in the simple joys of life.

Surprisingly a good movie! I would be honest with you. From the trailers, I didn't expect much from Ferdinand Movie. But I was wonderstruck when I actually saw it. Watching it become a powerhouse of emotions as the movie progressed, I knew I had been dead wrong. That a movie should not be judged by its trailer, just as no book should be judged by its cover. Ferdinand movie didn't pack in as many jests as you find in animated movies nowadays, but it was a great entertainer nevertheless. It was successful in walking a tightrope of emotions. That's where its true strength lurked. When you focus on other parts critically you realize there were tons of issues strewn around the movie as well. But all of that can be overlooked once you become the bull the movie cashes in on, and try to empathize with that creature who doesn't share his dream based on his appearance, rather stands by his decision to see what others fail to. Story and Characters Not everyone is same. We have been wired differently. Whilst a father wishes to be something, his son might not share his dream. He might have a dream of his own. Everyone has a choice. That very fact forms the basis of Ferdinand movie. You can't decide or judge someone by their size or appearance. What you can't see, their brain, in fact, holds the key to their vision. Place that impactful storyline into animation and you have got an enjoyable hoot to savour. That's what Ferdinand does with its bull, the protagonist voiced by John Cena. He is an out of place animal who doesn't share other's dreams. Bullfighting in Ferdinand Movie Either you are a fighter, or you are meat. What you might call as someone's dream is a brilliant mockery of materialism. In the movie, the dream of fellow bulls is to fight the matador. Whilst the bulls in the flick fail to see the pointlessness of it, (like all the people who consider bullfighting a sport) Ferdinand in his blatant sense of indifference towards the game, digs up the real truth behind it. They are all ending up getting slaughtered! Just as we had seen in Sausage Party, the blind followers are all prepping up to die. Sure, you get to fight in a magnificent stage, but it's just another chop shop! Ferdinand movie uncovers the ugliness that surrounds the sport in a way that will leave you teary-eyed. Ferdinand is all about saving the meek, helping others. He is finding it hard to explain it to others why he is the way he is. Doesn't that chime in with life? I don't know, like your very own? How many times have you felt that way? As if you are in someone's else body, forced to live someone else's dream. Are you fighting for it? It's good to see someone is. Ferdinand is willing to leave no stones unturned to make the world understand he is not like the others. He is different. Violence his not his place even though he has been bedecked with a body that leaves the onlookers marveling. Look at your pecs! They are like two tiny bulls inside a bull. But the world, being the world, judges Ferdinand by the way he looks and brands him as destructive. A Glance at Life Ferdinand is given a shot at identifying his life the way he wishes to live it. He finds it in a place right next to Nina voiced by Lily Day. That's where he wishes to be - In a patch of land where a bull is chosen over a dog, Nina teaches Ferd the Nerd what love is all about. Is this love? I love love. It's that taste of life that helps the bull in registering home - not where you are born but where you are supposed to be. Deprived of the life he desires to lead, Ferdinand is picked up and dropped at Ground zero once again. He ends up in Casa del Toro, the place that he had escaped from, to be prepped up for bullfighting, something he is not cut out for. Unable to understand what the fuss is all about Ferd tries to escape a bull's fate, but ends up drawing himself closer to the inescapable sport. Lupe voiced by Kate McKinnon is one of those weird funny characters, who brings in most of the punches and stays close by. El Primero (Miguel Angel Silvestre) is in search of a bull to fight his final fight. Marking Ferdinand as a perfect contender he awaits him in the center of all applause. Even though the main villain brings that heightened sense of befitting contrast to Ferdinand's character, you realize it is a typical cliched build-up that you have often seen in countless movies in the past. El Primero might have reminded you of Anton Ego from Ratatouille if only he had better words to say. The screenplay of the flick, unfortunately, isn't impressive and hence framing him as a villain to remember is something you might want to reconsider. The Final Showdown What tears you apart is the final face-off that puts the bull against El Primero. While there's an imminent death written in the frames, the demeanor of the bull is enough to shatter you into pieces. The multitude is busy cheering the one with the sword, but they easily forget that the one fighting without is a true champion

The central concept of having a bull that would rather smell flowers than fight isn't a bad idea for a kid's story as it promotes a sweet message. The main character as well as the supporting characters were likable. There were 3 German show horses in the field next to the bulls and these horses would act like they were superior to the bulls. At one point there was even a dance off between the horses and the bulls, which although completely unoriginal, it was funny. There was also a joke involving 3 hedgehogs and Spanish numbers, which was also hilarious. The most creative (although overly extended) joke was a sketch literally involving a bull in a china shop. These as well as some of the action scenes that were impressive. As well as Cena, I thought there was a pretty good supporting voice cast which they did good. Overall, Ferdinand is a fine movie with a nice message.

I laughed a lot more than I thought I would! This is a very fun movie with a lot of laughs, but between those laughs there are some slow parts. Better than Turbo (the only other animated movie I can think of where I did notice the slow parts), but it isn't the best animated movie ever. The kids will watch it a few times. I don't see it becoming a classic, but the first watch will definitely entertain you!

Although the story is fairly generic and the jokes mostly fall flat, 'Ferdinand' is still a entertaining family flick that somewhat stands out from the majority of recent animated films thanks to the important themes explored throughout, and its subtle commentary of the bullfighting sport. The film does, however, include a few overlong action set-pieces that drag down the pacing and seem to have only been included to keep hyperactive children engaged (although that is indeed their purpose), but luckily the film doesn't rely on these and instead focusses on delivering its principal ideals. Furthermore, the third act is emotionally powerful and nicely wraps up the character arcs on display, while really hammering home its message. John Powell's music score is fantastic too. 6/10

Seb's Rating: 7 Stars Paul's Rating: 7 Stars Sienna's Rating: 8 Stars.

I don't understand why the rating is this low here. It was one of the best animation movies I have seen. It has several layers to it. Surface layer is of course going against violence and advocating peaceful life and behavior. But it can have several other layers; like how the society forces boys to define themselves as "masculine" based on the norms of the society. Masculinity is more of a sociological construct rather than an eternal unchanging truth. Some people here have said that this movie is not pro fighters. I totally think the opposite. It is advocating a new definition for fighting. Rather than violence, fighting according to Ferdinand is patience and perseverance.

All in all, I loved this movie and totally recommend it.

I didn't expect to like the movie at all. It was a lot of fun, enjoyable and there were moments that i was laughing, which surprised me so much, but it doesn't mean the movie is flawless. There are problems that makes it distance itself from being a good movie and in my opinion it doesn't deserve the Academy Award nomination that it receive if i have to be honest. It felt too clichéd and things that were presented way better in live action and animated form by other famous studios. Even with it's problems, i would definitely see it again in the future and recommend it to everyone.

The movie FERDINAND is serviceable, it definitely hits home for those of you who identify yourselves as a lover, not a fighter. Although the sidekick goat is absolutely annoying and there are parts in the middle of the film that drag and are just pointless especially the use of dance number as a way to forge friendship, FERDINAND means well and it will easily become PETA and animal rights groups' favorite movie of the year.

Voiced by John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Gina Rodriguez, Davee Diggs, Gabriel Iglesias, Bobby Cannavale, David Tennant, Anthony Anderson and Flula Borg, the story is about this giant bull with a big heart. As a little calf, he escapes the fighting bull ranch and ends up growing up in nice farm owned by a lovable girl with her kind-hearted father. After being mistaken for a dangerous beast, Ferdinand gets captured, torn from his home and finds himself once again back in the old fighting bull ranch where he must form a team in order to escape, otherwise the choice is either die in the matador's arena or in the meat factory.

I think my only problem with FERDINAND is that it plays it too safe, the characters, their personalities and how they bond for example, are very textbook. The story and its themes are nothing new really. When you've seen it addressed in a much grander way like the movie "Okja," seeing it done like this, in FERDINAND just seems unimpressive. If this had been a short film focusing on the battle between the bull and the matador in the arena, I think audiences would be more entertained and they'd still get the whole "Don't kill animals" message. By the way, that scene is indeed the highlight of this movie because it does a switcheroo and turns Ferdinand the bull into the matador, it's a clever twist in my opinion. But still there are so many jokes in FERDINAND that just don't land, I'm a big fan of Kate McKinnon but her character, that goat is just annoying, there's nothing likable about her.

But at the end of the day, I probably shouldn't bee too hard on FERDINAND. It's a movie that does what it's supposed to do. It's not a complete mess of a storytelling like those Nut Job movies. And WWE action star turned actor John Cena does a decent voice job. If you recalled, Dwayne Johnson also had his stint in the family comedy world back then with "The Game Plan" and "Tooth Fairy," and so with "Daddy's Home" movies and FERDINAND, it's like a rite of passage for John Cena. Children will love this fighting bull who'd rather smell the roses than to throw a punch, in this day and age when aggression unfortunately seems to be the answer to every conflict, it is nice to have a character who believes that good can defeat evil just by way of simply being good.

-- Rama's Screen --

We are a family of animal lovers, especially cows, and we absolutely adored this movie. Ferdinand is the lovable giant who melted us all.

I ended liking this more than I was expecting.

The movie was fairly enjoyable and had a very nice animation. Personally I think this is the best movie Carlos Saldanha has ever directed.

I'm sure a lot of people have heard the term of "stopping to smell the roses". It's a metaphor for seizing a moment in life to enjoy the more beautiful elements that are taken for granted. While some things could mean an entertaining movie or TV show, this is usually meant for something that we rarely pay attention to like a landscape, a sunset, or even the flowers in your backyard. The truth there couldn't be stronger as we often complain about the bad decisions and atrocities, and yet we probably hold back more then we should. There is a benefit to appreciating the little elements that do us a lot of good.

The idea to "stop and smell the roses" is most associated with the children's book of Ferdinand the Bull, which was about the biggest and strongest bull that would rather smell flowers then fight. While I haven't read it, it sounds like a good moral (especially in today's icy society of politics and stress) that a lot of people really ought to take in. Like a lot of children's books, it should come as no surprise that a movie adaptation would be inevitable. So let's see if Ferdinand can make a modern movie transition.

In Spain, a young calf escapes from a bullfighting training facility when his father is selected, but never comes back. Aside of escaping the tragedy, he's also running from the bullying he gets from his lack of interest in violence. He finds himself in a farm where he's taken care of by a florist Juan and his daughter Nina. Fully grown, the bull Ferdinand (played by John Cena) is a big animal, but is only focused on smelling the flowers and trying to make the other animals happy. When he get's stung by a bee and accidently causes mayhem at a flower festival, animal control seizes him and takes him back to the bullfighting facility he escaped from.

He comes across calves now grown like Bones (played by Antony Anderson), Guapo (played by Peyton Manning), Angus (played by David Tennent) and Valiente (played by Bobby Cannavale) who all dream of being selected to bullfight. While Ferdinand does befriend an insane goat Lupe (played by Kate McKinnon), all he wants is to escape, especially after finding out that all bulls selected either never win bull fights or are sent to the chophouse.

The story of Ferdinand seems to carry the same themes of enjoying the simpler things in life. It also seems that the writers wanted to incorporate an anti bullying element that's not a bad idea. Does it work? I think it does, but then again, I feel like that the story of an outsider within a society has been done several times in animated movies (The Lego Movie, Rio, Ice Age, countless DreamWorks films, etc...). If Ferdinand is going to stand out, it really needed to think outside the box.

The problem I'm having is the movie feels at least ten years behind the curve. I think it simply falls on the story. A lot of the things they do are not bad ideas, but are things that I've seen done better in other animated movies; the goofy sidekicks, the big chase, the animals roaming in cities. Much of it isn't that original or even that funny. To it's credit, I don't think it's trying to be a major comedy, but rather tell a sweeter story. Because of that, the film retains a quieter and slower tone...for the most part (there's a pointless dance sequence and a use of the "Macarena" song that feel out of place). I appreciate it for more what it's trying to do when the final result.

The one element that does help it is John Cena as Ferdinand. The pro wrestler is actually fitting in to his comedic elements a lot better then his earlier work. He does carry a charisma that makes his large personality an advantage for the pacifist bull. He even got a laugh out of me every now and then. Does it make up for the rest of the movie? I can't say this is a bad movie, but a merely passable animated film for families that are looking for something to watch.

I'll give this five Ferdinand bulls out of ten. It's hard to get mad at a film that does accomplish it's goal, but I still think there's better ways to tell this story. Children should like it fine (I probably would have at eight as well), but adults will probably be board. I'd tell the family to watch Coco instead, but Ferdinand delivers on what it offers.

In the shadow of the epic saga, there lies an animated field where flowers grow, birds sing, and bulls romp around smelling the fauna. No, I'm not drunk, I'm talking about Ferdinand the Bull, the latest kid's animated feature to stamped on to the silver screen. Blue Skies Studio has been advertising this film like crazy, in hopes of nabbing the younger audience this weekend. Yet with Disney knocking these films out of the park is there any hope for the other studios to put out quality work? Robbie K here happy to answer that question, as we hit yet another Robbie's movie review.

LIKES:

Animation: It's an animated movie and as such you want the animation to be well good. While not the most realistic looking film to drop into our laps, Ferdinand still has a wonderful style that brings the world to life. The cartoony looks of the character, a common theme in Blue Sky production, adds to the fun of the film, and will be a welcoming sight to your little ones. The world has dynamic shades of color to mirror the tone of the setting, and a majority of it explodes to life in a manner that kid's movies only can. And of course, the anthropomorphized animals move beautifully in all aspects from the simple act of speaking to even break dancing.

Voice work: In an animated work, it's up to the voice work to also bring the characters to life and Ferdinand accomplishes this goal quite well. John Cena is surprisingly a great voice actor, bringing some range in his emotional spectrum I didn't quite expect from the gigantic tower of a man. Kate McKinnon in all her glory, is the comedic punch to the film with a very energetic delivery that gets toned down a few times to roll her character back in serious mode. Of course the other supporting voices lend their roles well with Anthony Anderson, Peyton Manning, Gina Rodriguez, and Gabriel Iglesias all contributing to the fun at hand in their own special way, and yes fluffy was my favorite. And as an added bonus, most of the characters have decent screen time, meaning you don't get shortsighted like many films do.

The Fun: This movie is exactly what the advertisements promise, a fun, simplistic adventure that brings a lot of enjoyment to the screen. Ferdinand's antics are simply cute, like a big puppy trapped in a big body that is awkward and klutzy. What starts as simplistic slapstick though soon evolves, recruiting some rather witty jokes, a poke at some cinema references, and a dance off that will be legendary on YouTube for some time. All these little gestures combine to maximize the laughs, and while much of this is geared towards kids, there are some jokes that adults will appreciate.

The emotions: While this movie is certainly more on the humorous side, it's also got a great delivery to tug at the heart strings. Ferdinand's moral code is inspiring, his perspective of love, loyalty, friendship, and courage fantastically told in the camera work and cinematic score. I didn't tear up, but the things the digital bull did carved a smile on my face for a majority of the movie. It's nice to see such balance in the film.

DISLIKES:

A little too simplistic: One thing that is difficult to compete with Disney is their unique worlds and ideas they build. Ferdinand, despite being fun, is not that unique of an environment compared to the magic of Walt and is lacking that creative spark that has become famous in modern animation. In addition, the movie doesn't have the most complicated twists to the mix, which works for the younger audience, but could have added a little more pep to the step.

McKinnon's jokes: While McKinnon is a fantastic voice actor and infuses energy into the mix, there are times where she goes a little too far in her joking. The writer's capitalized on her SNL talents, but sadly they went a little too far. Kate's character Lupe is very sporadic, extremely silly, and at times very irritating. Imagine a drunk toddler with an ADD twist, and you'll get a good idea of what her character is like, including regurgitation and memory lapse for the whole family. Yes, there are those golden moments where it works, but for me, well Lupe's over trying was a downfall for me in the long run. Thank goodness for those grounding moments, because without the well I wouldn't have been pulling for them.

More hedgehogs: Final small dislike, wanted more hedgehog power to bring up the magic. They were my favorite characters of the bunch, and I would have liked to see them shine a little more.

The VERDICT:

Ferdinand is fun, wholesome, family entertainment that will leave you with a warm feeling in your heart and a smile on your face. With great animation and voice work to guide the way, this movie will be a fantastic trip for you and the whole family. Despite the fun to be had though, it still needs some tweaking in a few areas to really bring out the masterpiece. In comparison to a Disney film, it has a lot of work to catch up on, but most families should not mind with the fun adventure to be had. Worth a trip to the theater? Yeah, I can say it would be, especially for a nice holiday church outing.

My scores:

Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 8.0 Movie Overall 6.5-7.0

This is a splendid animated film for all viewers to watch. The storyline was great and straightforward. There were some moments where the film could have gone sideways. The cast selection was outstanding. They committed to their respective characters brilliantly. John Cena was a great selection for the lead character. He was able to fit into the character with no problem. This film reveals to viewers that it is absolutely fine to do whatever you want. For some strange reason, I am not allowed to do whatever I want. One thing that I do not understand is that the lead character was created by Walt Disney but Blue Sky created this film. I truly was expecting a law suit by Walt Disney to happen when this film was being released. This is still a nice film for viewers to watch.

This movie was about a bull who had to make a bold choice in his life. The story was not very heavy and quite easy to understand but there was a major moral message in the movie where anybody could and should be anyone they wanted to be even if it was of different nature. This film was rather light and gave us some laughters combined with brief emotional moment. Despite starting off rather slow, but from the middle onward, Ferdinand's character would grow on you. It was fun to see a very very big bull who would be scary to all people but loved to smell flowers.

In an era of more serious & heavy animated movie especially those from Disney and Pixar such as Coco, this movie brought some freshness and I believed would be much easier to understand by children. When my wife and I saw this movie, there were quite a lot young children as well and they were able to laugh on most of the funny scenes. This is understandable since the movie was based on a children's book titled The Story of Ferdinand.

The movie was very very colorful and the animation was actually pretty good and beautiful. It was no doubt due to produced by Blue Sky Studios which produced other hit animated movies such as Ice Age series, Rio and The Peanuts Movie. This one was a nice movie where you could enjoy fun times and few touching moments, specifically the climax where my wife was quite emotional. Although it was rather light, apparently this film was good enough to be nominated for 75th Golden Globe's Best animated movie. Oh, there was a brief quite funny moment in the middle of end credit scene.

So if you are looking for a fun light hearted movie, easy enough to understand for whole ages, then this one could certainly be an option, especially if the children are already on holiday. One thing that audience have to remember is that this is not up to the caliber of those Disney/Pixar movies so there is no need to compare with those movies.

for my complete review, pls have a look at michaelnontonmulu.blogspot.co.id

+ The anti-animal cruelty message represented very well from the perspective of the bulls and also merged very well with the message of individuality. + The animation is simple yet very beautiful, and the human characters' designs are really something special; every single human character design is different from the other and also very suitable for their Spanish nationality + John Cena did a great job voicing the titular character, I mean who could be better than him voicing a strong bull with a big heart? + "Home" is really a very good song and surprisingly moving! + The final bullfighting scene is very well directed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• The humor is really really bad in this movie and 99% of the joke didn't work for me. Every bad joke you could imagine is in this movie; they are very silly, they are clichéd and they are so long that make you bored!
• There are a lot of useless characters who are often supposed to be funny (okay, maybe the hedgehogs weren't that bad), and their introduction seemed like short films not just because they are long scenes but also very bad edited.
• Unexpectedly, the relationship between the little girl and Ferdinand seemed to be forced to the movie. I really think it's not that important to the story, and the movie itself didn't care so much about it; it didn't give it a lot of time to be emerged or to be felt throughout the movie.

It seems that some people think the jokes in this movie fall flat and there is too much unnecessary clutter, but I honestly really really loved this movie. It was a reluctant choice after not finding anything else playing that we wanted to see, but man am I glad we saw it!

Ferdinand is the cutest bull I've ever seen, and I have to say I'm not familiar with this studio's other films but I thought the animation style was wonderful. I especially liked the wide range of expressions on Ferdinand's face throughout the movie, with a few close-ups that really captured the perfection of those expressions well.

The story itself was inspirational and heartwarming, full of examples and discussions on being yourself and breaking the mold and not letting anyone else define who you are. There were some heavy-handed moments that I'm not sure a younger viewer would understand, or possibly that may be too bleak for a very young viewer. Some of the humor was a little more adult-oriented, but most of it was clean, although sometimes rather stupid. The ending is pretty much exactly what you'd expect of a feel-good kid's movie, and I liked it very much.

What a terribly bad and boring movie! Bizarre bad adults humor. Not understandable for young children and far too faint and well-worn for adults. The story is also a very standard animation story. Potty and often useless film passages. And the starting point: slaughtering defenseless bulls in Spain is too idiotic for words to use as children's animation film. Here, too, small children do not understand anything at all. This is going above the cap! Not worth 1 point.

It may be a bit generic with a predictable plot and some cliché characters. Some of the voice acting may be a bit jarring and the animation is simply OK. Still Ferdinand delivered humor and warmth in spades. I could not stop laughing! Even when the jokes were corny, the corniness fits right in with a soft-hearted, flower loving bull that wouldn't hurt a fly.

A pretty good, feel-good family movie for when you just want some light watching.

Overly noisy and busy the way most modern toons are

There are plenty of animated films that follow the same sort of formula, make the kids laugh with silly humor but keep the adults entertained by throwing in a heartfelt message that resonates well with people of all ages. Ferdinand certainly tries to do just that with the story of an outsider just wanting to break the mold of being a tough fighter bull, but it also falls victim to the same sort of problems that most non-Disney/Pixar films do.

It's always so easy to tell the difference between an animated film that is for all ages and one that is merely made for kids dragging their parents to the theater, and it has nothing to do with the animation style difference between studios. The real difference is in the humor and direction. Ferdinand is full of great voice talent from the improving John Cen, to Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, or Gina Rodriguez. Heck it's even impressive in the look of Blue Sky's animation. However, I had a real issue with the use of that particular voice talent and animation that made the experience far from a worthy outing at the movies.

When 98% of the humor is physical-slapstick cheap humor that has no substance or bearing on the actual story, then I constantly get the feeling there wasn't as much time or care put forth in the making of the film than there should be. Which in turn, can eliminate any emotion you did have attached with those particular characters in the first place if the film puts humor before heart.

With that said, of course there are things to like about Ferdinand. There will always be place in Hollywood for stories about characters breaking the mold and doing something different, whether that be a human, animal, or even toy. Underneath all of the ridiculous humor, there is a nice arc for the character of Ferdinand and his various animal friends. To me though, the misplaced childish humor every few minutes interrupts any momentum for the real story to kick in.

5.7/10