Ferdinand review

FERDINAND:

THIS ANIMATED TALE ABOUT A FIGHTING BULL IS MOSTLY HARMLESS BUT OFFERS ENOUGH WITTY JOKES AND FAST ANIMATION TO MAKE THE ADULTS GIGGLE ALONG!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

20^TH CENTURY FOX

John Cena is Ferdinand

            I’m gonna go on record and say this is a better Fox/Disney competition for a Star Wars movie weekend than 2015 when Fox released Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip on the exact same day as Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At least Ferdinand, the latest animated film from Blue Sky Studios is a legitimately solid movie harnessed by talent unlike those little rodents.

            Based on the children’s book, The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson and featuring the voice of professional wrestler, John Cena (The Marine, Total Divas, Sisters) as Ferdinand the Bull, Ferdinand is a harmless and at times very funny animated film. Does every joke get a big laugh? No, does the story at times get predictable? Yes, but he animation is fast and full of life, the voice acting is solid, and the jokes that work hit bullseye (No pun intended).

            The film follows a giant bull with a big heart named Ferdinand who, after being mistaken for a dangerous beast is torn from his home and family and ends up in a bullfight training area in Spain called Casa del Toro. Determined to return to his family, Ferdinand rallies a group of misfits consisting of a crazy goat named Lupe (voiced by Kate McKinnon-Saturday Night Live, The Angry Birds Movie, Ghostbusters (2016)), three hedgehogs that pretty much move and act like the penguins from Madagascar, Una (voiced by Gina Rodriguez-The Bold and the Beautiful, Jane the Virgin, Deepwater Horizon), Dos (voiced by Daveed Diggs-The Get Down, Black-ish, Wonder), and Cuatro (voiced by Gabriel Iglesias-The Book of Life, The Fluffy Movie, Coco), his fellow childhood bulls, Bones (voiced by Anthony Anderson-Barbershop, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, Transformers), Guapo (voiced by football quarterback, Peyton Manning), and Valiente (voiced by Bobby Cannavale-Ant-Man, Daddy’s Home, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), and a Scottish bull named Angus (voiced by David Tennant-Doctor Who, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jessica Jones) on an adventure home and to prove that a non-violent person (or bull) can be a winner.

            The film also features the voices of Miguel Ángel Silvestre (Winning Streak, Sense8, Narcos) as El Primero, Flula Borg (Auction Hunters, Pitch Perfect 2, Conan) as Hans, Boris Kodjoe (Soul Food, Starship Troopers 3: Marauder, Resident Evil 4 and 5) as Klaus, Sally Phillips (Smack the Pony, Bridget Jones trilogy, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) as Greta, Jerrod Carmichael (The Carmichael Show, Transformers: The Last Knight, The Disaster Artist) as Paco, Ekhymosis member, Juanes as Juan, Jeremy Sisto (Clueless, Robot & Frank, Batman VS Robin) as Raf, Karla Martínez (Control, Despierta Ameríca) as Isabella, and Raúl Esparza (Law & Order, My Soul to Take, BoJack Horseman) as Moreno.

            Overall, Ferdinand is a fine family film to watch after the Star Wars hype, it’s unlikely that this movie will gain much attention because of that particular release. But it’s well-animated, has some really funny gags and visual humor, and enough heart and drama to appeal to both adults and children.

            While there’s nothing spectacular about it, John Cena’s voice work as Ferdinand is solid and even if not all the jokes work you can tell he’s trying to work with the script. Kat McKinnon as Lupe the Goat is phenomenal, the voice she has accompanied with the animation on the character, pacing, and timing of the jokes are comedic gold and probably the most times I’ve ever laughed at a Blue Sky Studios character, and not once was I ever rolling my eyes at bad jokes with her.

Story wise, there’s not much to it, if you’ve ever seen an animated movie or sports film about someone trying to fit in or prove themselves then you can pretty much predict a good chunk of this movie. As soon as Ferdinand’s father showed up in the movie I knew exactly where they were going with it, however they’ll throw in a couple twists on some of these old clichés that feel fresh and new.

Ferdinand isn’t quite on par with Ice Age or The Peanuts Movie but it’s certainly better than most of Blue Sky’s other films especially the Ice Age and Rio sequels. If you got time after your inevitable Star Wars viewing and looking for something fun to take the kids to, Ferdinand is an animated movie that isn’t “Bull”, but if you haven’t seen Coco yet, get that out of the way first.