Ferdinand Movie Spoiler Free Review

I just watched the movie Ferdinand in theaters. Its one of those movies that I was curious about last year. It was supposed to be aired sometime December last year but due again to the Metro Manila Film Festival that happens December it was moved at a later date along with a couple of other movies. Like most movies I am not familiar with I went into the theater with low expectation and an open mind. So to judge the movie fairly I went home after watching the film and did some quick research before writing this review and wow did I discovered a lot.

Ferdinand an animated comedy, drama adventure by Blue Sky Studios, Davis Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Animation. it was based on Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson's children's book The Story of Ferdinand, written by Robert L. Baird, Tim Federle and Brad Copeland and directed by Carlos Saldanha. Its about a big bull that is mistaken as a dangerous beast. The film features the voices of John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson, Bobby Cannavale, Peyton Manning, Gina Rodriguez, Miguel Ángel Silvestre and David Tennant. 

To start off I really know nothing about this movie aside from its a feel good movie and about a big Bull....and something, something about being yourself.  And in much cases it was, but then I watched the source material of the film. Roughly the eight minute stand-alone animated short cartoon that was made by Walt Disney back in 1938. I watched a lot of cartoon growing up in the 80's and after watching the animated short on youtube prior to writing this it brought back a lot of fond memories.

Here's the link to the short for reference: Ferdinand the Bull (1938)

Right off the bat even just from watching the films trailers you know theres a lot of changes from the animated short when compared to the film and a lot of this changes are for the better. I'm impressed at how many of the source material was still there right from Ferdinand's overall look right down to the matador set to take him down. Im so glad they do away with the over the top animation of the short and delivered a more concise story while keeping much of the core elements of the cartoon in tact.

The story was a bit cookie cutter in some areas and a bit too short for my liking as I personally wanted to see more of Ferdinand's adventure along with all his animal friends. This movie surprisingly touches on some darker elements that wasn't present in the animated short halfway into the second act that I feel isnt really for kids but Im glad they didnt delve too much upon. There are certain scenes are probably comedic filler as well that didn't do much to develop the plot, this is a kids film after all and I do admit I did find a lot of those comedic fillers funny. Im not saying Ferdinand is bad it just could be better. Guess when you have watched a film like Coco you tend to have higher standards when it comes to animated films.

You can read my review of Coco here: Coco Movie Review

The characters on this film are really good specially Ferdinand which I found out was actually voiced by John Cena. Im a big wrestling fan but even was skeptical about this. I didn't know John Cena could pull off the voice acting but he makes a really convincing big guy that is both charming and fun at the same time, but Im so glad I was wrong. The other characters in the film did a great job too and they play off against each other to make the film really fun and entertaining. Happy to see that there are good character developments in this film. I specially like how the supposed villain of the film isnt really a bad guy at the end and simply has these set of reasons why he does what he does.

The animation was beautiful as always. Pretty much what you would expect from the company that did the Ice Age films. I just find it ironic that a cartoon short made by Disney back in 1938 is being made by Blue Sky Studio which was another animation company. Then again Transformers used to be owned by marvel so I guess these sort of thing happens more often than I am aware of.

Ferdinand was about a kindhearted bull that taught kids about the value of being yourself and to never judge a book by its cover based on a stand alone cartoon short that came out back in 1938. It has charming characters and a decent plot that Im sure kids and those who want to watch a funny feel good movie would enjoy. A big leap in a lot of ways if you consider the source material was an eight minute  cartoon short back in the late 30's. Its only flaw is its cookie cutter plot that I feel could have been expended upon. In the end its a very good heartwarming movie that could have been great.