Ferdinand

In this family friendly animated feature, Ferdinand the bull is trying to protect a solitary flower from the boisterous antics of his farmyard rivals. Bred to compete in the grand bull fighting stadiums of Spain, Ferdinand’s peaceful demeanour is completely at odds with his rivals and his situation. Non violent and very sweet natured, fate will challenge him with a dawning reality that he cannot escape. What will become of this soft centred bull who refuses to rage?

In the years since landmark animations like ‘Toy Story’, ‘A Bug’s Life’ and ‘Finding Nemo’ the animal kingdom has been a good cinematic fit for modern animated films. With ‘Ferdinand’ it is now the turn of the bull to the featured animal and the inevitability of its life to bred purely for bloody entertainment.

’Ferdinand’ is a family movie far removed from the animated movies like ‘Shrek’. …

In splicing morality with comedy, modern animation movies have usually managed to appeal to both adults and children alike. Sadly however, ‘Ferdinand’ is a family movie far removed from the animated movies like ‘Shrek’. Neither witty or engaging, its characters feel like they’ve been painted onto the screen by numbers.

In terms of its story setup, what was a previously fresh formula for creating sympathy and identification, now feels like a pale catalyst for brightly coloured vistas and racially questionable side kicks. Lacking both wit and pizazz, ‘Ferdinand’s’ are at best bulls in sheep’s clothing. This is a  movie that looks like good, family entertainment but in fact is a spray-painted facsimile of what you have already seen too many times before.