Based on the classic children’s book and brought to the big screen by Blue Sky Studios under the direction of Carlos Saldanha (The Ice Age Trilogy, Robots), this tale of a teddy bear in a bull’s body is a safe bet for family movie night.
Ferdinand (John Cena) is a bull without a home, without an identity, but with a sense of purpose, one that does not match the expectations of others. Surrounded by the usual band of animated misfits, Ferdinand must find a way to escape his fate at the hands of un unbeatable matador and create his own destiny. Our hero is helped along by his would-be trainer Lupe the goat (Kate McKinnon) and his trio of hedgehog cheerleaders Uno, Dos and Cuatro (Gina Rodriguez, Daveed Diggs and Gabriel Iglesias). Don’t ask about Tres!
The principle of the story is the classic “don’t judge a book by its cover”, always an important lesson for children (and adults!) alike. Unfortunately, I must say you can go ahead and judge this film by its cover. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing with a family film, kids will be guaranteed some laughs and you won’t leave the theatre wishing you could get that 1h46min back. However, you also won’t leave raving about the film, and you may even rue the dvd release, when your kids will play over and over and over again…
A word of caution, there are some sensitive issues addressed in Ferdinand, the loss of his father and the outcome of bullfighting, so be warned about having younger children see the film. There were certainly tears at the premiere
