In Spain, a calf named Ferdinand lives with other bulls at Señor Moreno's "Casa del Toro", where they are trained for bullfighting. Ferdinand is a pacifist and loves flowers; this makes him an outcast among the other calves, Valiente, Guapo, and Bones. A matador arrives, and the calves' fathers fight to impress him. Ferdinand's father is picked, so Valiente crushes Ferdinand's favorite flower in retaliation. Ferdinand's father does not come back from the ring, and Ferdinand runs away from Casa del Toro to a flower farm owned by Juan and his daughter Nina, who adopt him, much to the dismay of their dog, Paco.
Many years later, Ferdinand has grown into an enormous but still gentle bull. Juan determines that Ferdinand looks too scary to take along to the annual Flower Festival at Ronda, as in previous years. Ferdinand follows them anyway, but is stung by a bee and panics, accidentally destroying the town square. Animal Control officers deem him dangerous, and take him away before Juan and Nina can explain.
The officers decide to give Ferdinand to Casa del Toro, where he meets his old bullies Valiente, Bones, and Guapo, plus new additions such as Lupe, a female goat, and two new bulls, Angus and Maquina. Ferdinand tries to escape but is stopped by three GermanLipizzan horses, Klaus, Greta, and Hans, who were picadors.
The next day, snooty matador El Primero arrives, needing a bull for his final bullfight before retirement. Moreno puts all the bulls in a ring to fight it out, but Ferdinand refuses to take part, causing a chain of mishaps when he tries to help Guapo recover from a stage fright-induced faint. El Primero gives Moreno two days to get the bulls into shape. Guapo is sent to the slaughterhouse, and Valiente informs a horrified Ferdinand that non-fighters now become meat.
That night, Ferdinand comforts Bones as he grieves for Guapo, making a friend of him. The next day, he fixes Angus' hair by licking it so he can see better, earning another friend. Ferdinand, Bones and Angus then challenge the horses to a dance off and Maquina joins in the fun, helping them win. Valiente mocks them for bonding and wasting valuable practice time, causing the other bulls to reluctantly abandon Ferdinand and return to training.
With the help of the three hedgehog siblings Una, Dos and Cuatro, Ferdinand and Lupe try to escape through the house. Ferdinand finds a wall of horns in a trophy room, including his father's. Realizing that bulls die whether they are selected or not, Ferdinand goes back and warns the others to run for their lives. Valiente refuses to accept the truth and starts fighting Ferdinand, accidentally breaking off his own horn. He is taken to the slaughterhouse, and Ferdinand is chosen by El Primero, who believes he deliberately injured Valiente.
After being convinced by the bulls, Ferdinand rescues Valiente, as well as Guapo, who had not yet been killed. Together, Lupe, the bulls and the hedgehogs steal Moreno's truck and flee to Madrid, just as El Primero and his bad guys chase them down the highway. El Primero threatens to fight Moreno in the ring if the bulls are not caught. The bulls abandon the truck and flee on foot to the Atocha train station. Ferdinand helps the others get aboard the train, but sacrifices himself to buy them time to get away. He is captured by Moreno and brought to the ring, but a video of the bulls' escape has made the news. Recognizing Ferdinand on TV, Paco, alerts Juan and Nina about Ferdinand’s whereabouts, and they hurry to Madrid to save Ferdinand.
In Las Ventas Arena, Ferdinand, after being convinced by Lupe that he needs to survive, refuses to fight and starts running around in blind panic, accidentally knocking over and humiliating El Primero. El Primero wounds him with a banderilla and Ferdinand nearly retaliates until he sees a carnation crushed beneath his hoof, reminding him of his home with Nina. Ferdinand spares El Primero and sits down, waiting to be killed. The crowd yells for El Primero to let Ferdinand live, and he decides to put down his sword and leave with dignity. Through his pacifism, Ferdinand becomes the first bull to survive a bullfight, and is reunited with Nina. Moreno then brings Lupe, Ferdinand and the rest of the bulls to live at Nina's farm. A Mid-credit scene shows that the hedgehogs' missing brother, Tres, returns, much to the siblings' surprise.
Voice cast
John Cena as Ferdinand, a big-hearted, flower-loving Spanish Fighting Bull who doesn't want to fight and believes in looking out for others.[9]
Colin H. Murphy voices a calf Ferdinand.
Kate McKinnon as Lupe, an elderly goat and Ferdinand's self-appointed mentor.[9]
Bobby Cannavale as Valiente, an arrogant Spanish Fighting Bull who abuses Ferdinand for his flower-loving personality and reluctance to fight. He was one of the two last bulls to befriend Ferdinand, doing so by helping save Guapo.
Cannavale also voices Valiente's father, a cruel and ferocious bull who hates everyone, including his son. His attitude rubs off on Valiente.
Peyton Manning as Guapo, a loudmouthed Spanish Fighting Bull who has stage fright and is also bullied by Valiente. He is one of the two last bulls to befriend Ferdinand.[10]
Anthony Anderson as Bones, an undersized but agile bull of nondescript breeding. He is Guapo's friend, and the first of the bulls to befriend Ferdinand.[9]
Tim Nordquist as Maquina, a lab-cloned Belted Galloway who never speaks, but only grunts and growls. He is the third bull to befriend Ferdinand. In the film he is frequently compared to Frankenstein, especially when he manages to bite through an electric fence unharmed.
Lily Day as Nina, the original owner of Paco and Ferdinand. She and her father later adopt Lupe, and all of Moreno's bulls.
Jeremy Sisto as Raf, Ferdinand's father who died in a bullfight.
Cindy Slattery as Bunny, a unnamed crimson red rabbit.
Production
In 2011, it was reported that 20th Century Fox Animation had acquired the rights to the children's book The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf to adapt it into a computer-animated feature film with Carlos Saldanha attached to direct it.[14] In May 2013, Fox titled the film simply Ferdinand, which would be produced by Blue Sky Studios.[15]John Powell, a frequent collaborator with Saldanha, would be composing the film's score.[16] In November 2016, it was reported that Gabriel Iglesias would voice a character named Cuatro, Una and Dos' brother.[13]
On September 19, 2017, it was announced that singer Nick Jonas wrote and recorded a song called "Home" for the film, released as the promotional single of the soundtrack on October 20, 2017.[17][18] A second original song by Jonas, "Watch Me", was released alongside the six-song EP on December 1.[19] It features three original tracks, with the third song "Lay Your Head On Me" by Juanes.[19][20]
It was the last time Powell composed a Blue Sky film before the studio shut down on April 10, 2021. His score was released by Fox Music on December 15, 2017.
In May 2013, Fox scheduled the film for April 7, 2017 release.[15] In February 2016, the release date was pushed back from its original release date of April 7, 2017 to July 21, 2017.[21] In August 2016, the release date was again pushed back, this time from July 21, 2017 to December 22, 2017, taking over the release date of DreamWorks Animation's The Croods: A New Age,[22] before that film was temporarily cancelled, put back in production, and eventually released on November 25, 2020 by its new distributor Universal Pictures.[23] In February 2017, the film was moved up by one week from December 22, 2017 to December 15, 2017.[5] The first trailer premiered on March 28, 2017,[24] followed by the second trailer on June 14, 2017.[25]
Home media
Ferdinand was released on Digital HD on February 27, 2018, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 13, 2018.
The film was made available for streaming on Disney+ on January 8, 2021 in the United States.
Reception
Box office
Ferdinand has grossed $84.4 million in the United States and Canada, underperforming at the North American box office, and $211.6 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $296 million, against a production budget of $111 million.[4]
In the United States and Canada, Ferdinand was released alongside Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and was projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,621 theaters in its opening weekend.[26] It made $350,000 from Thursday night previews at 2,385 theaters, which began at 5 P.M. and $3.6 million on its first day. It went on to open to $13.3 million, finishing second behind The Last Jedi.[27]
Critical response
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 121 reviews and an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Ferdinand's colorful update on a classic tale doesn't go anywhere unexpected, but its timeless themes – and John Cena's engaging voice work in the title role – make for family-friendly fun."[28] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29] Audience polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[27]
Spanish bullfighting critic of El País, Antonio Lorca, in a critique of the film, said that the film's message is "profoundly unnatural", and that the "renunciation" of the lead character to its "animal nature" is a lie that manipulates children, who will become "tomorrow's anti-bullfighters".[30]El Diario.es commented on this article by Lorca, saying that it had been widely commented on social networks and that the anti-bullfighting narrative of the film "raised hackles" for its message against animal abuse, which can also be interpreted as "fight against school bullying" and "implicit defense of sexual and gender diversity".[31] Ben Kenigsberg of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, saying, "Unlike in the book, Ferdinand earns the arena's cheers for not fighting, but the crowd's sense of surprise will elude audiences attending Ferdinand."[32] Susan Wloszczyna of Rogerebert.com gave the film a three out of four stars and said, "Enough of that kind of bull. What the world needs now is Ferdinand, sweet Ferdinand, a rare breed of bovine who takes a stand against aggression, competitive rivalry and conforming to the expectations of others."[33] James Dyer of Empire gave the film a three out of five stars, saying, "Inoffensive fun, but unlike its paperback forebear, the cinematic Ferdinand is unlikely to stand the test of time."[34]
Simran Hans of The Guardian gave the film a four out of five stars and said, "A flower-sniffing bull goes on a journey of self-discovery in this fun adaptation of a 30s children's book."[35] Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter also gave a positive review for the film, saying, "It's no Coco, but Ferdinand, a CG-animated adaptation of the classic 1936 Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson book about a flower-loving bull who'd rather sniff than fight, manages to squeak by with enough charming set-pieces and amusing sight gags to compensate for a stalling storyline."[36] Katie Welsh of Chicago Tribune gave the film a negative review of two stars, saying, "With a lovely voice performance from Cena, the spirit of Ferdinand does shine through. But the rest of the story filler is mostly forgettable."[37] Tara Brady of The Irish Times also gave the film a three out of five stars, saying, "Ferdinand may lack the all-out charm offensive of the studio's 2015 Snoopy and Charlie Brown vehicle, but it's not too far off in terms of quality and sweetness."[38]
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