Ferdinand *** / *****
Directed by: Carlos Saldanha.
Written by: Robert L. Baird and Tim Federle and Brad Copeland and Ron Burch & David Kidd and Don Rhymer based on the book by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson.
Starring: John Cena (Ferdinand), Kate McKinnon (Lupe), Jeremy Sisto (Ferdinand's Father), Bobby Cannavale (Valiente's Father / Valiente), Raúl Esparza (Moreno), Juanes (Juan), Jerrod Carmichael (Paco), Lily Day (Nina), Anthony Anderson (Bones), Peyton Manning (Guapo), David Tennant (Angus), Gina Rodriguez (Una), Daveed Diggs (Dos), Gabriel Iglesias (Cuatro), Miguel Ángel Silvestre (El Primero).
It has not been a banner year for mainstream animation in 2017. It started good with The Lego Batman Movie – a much needed, fun take on a character who has been taken far too seriously in recent years, and ended strong with Pixar’s Coco – a film that continues to grow in my mind after it ended. Almost everything else this year has been middle of the road at best – and The Emoji Movie at worst. Ferdinand – the last major animated film of the year – is another middle of the road entry – but at least it’s a sweet one, less concerned with manic energy, than its message of being true to yourself no matter what – which in this case, takes on the form of questioning traditional gender roles. I’m not going to argue the film is great – but it was rather fun – and my girls (6 and 3) loved it.
The film, based on the beloved children’s book classic, is about Ferdinand the Bull (voiced by John Cena – surprisingly sweet) – who as a child, is being raised on a ranch that only raises champion fighting bulls to be used in the ring against matadors. He doesn’t want to fight though – and doesn’t take part in the fighting games the other young bulls do. After his father “wins” and gets to go fight the matador, and never comes back, Ferdinand escapes – and ends up being raised by Nina – a little girl, who embraces Ferdinand’s sensitive side. Things go wrong – of course – and Ferdinand once again finds himself being forced into situations where he is supposed to fight. But all he wants to do is smell the flowers.
The classic children’s book, of course, wasn’t nearly as padded in terms of its story. This is a film that adds too many characters – even if almost all of them are charmingly voiced, by a diverse cast of voice actors – best of all, Kate McKinnon in what could have been a stock, annoying sidekick role, but raises the comedy level through pure force of will. There are dance contests, car chases, and a few too many action scenes as well that don’t add much except for runtime and action to the film.
