HBOWatch Editors were not able to line-up a writer to review the animated movie FERDINAND but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to draw your attention to it. It the next movie up with a Saturday night premiere. The movie, from Blue Sky Studios, debuts SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 01 at 8:00pm.
Blue Sky Studios is the animation house that has given us, in chronological order, Ice Age (2002), Robots (2005), Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who! (2008), Ice Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs (2009), Rio (2011), Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012), Epic (2013), Rio 2 (2014), The Peanuts Movie (2015) and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) and a number of short films. To its accomplishments, it recently added FERDINAND (2017).
The 3D computer animated movie is based on the 1936 Munro Leaf children’s book “The Story of Ferdinand.” That book and this movie tell of a gentle pacifist bull named Ferdinand who refuses to participate in bullfighting but is forced back into the arena where his beliefs are challenged by being faced off against the world’s greatest bullfighter. Actually, in the tradition of bullfighting it does not bode well for the bull, so who could blame him. I highly doubt this family film will carry out all that transpires within a Spanish bullring.
How about a bit of plot and character? From what I recall, from the book as a kid; not the movie, Ferdinand would rather smell and tend to the flowers in the meadow not snort and charge in the ring and he grows up always with that disposition. Now, according to the movie plot, one day a legendary but egotistical bullfighter named El Primero to choose the biggest, strongest, and most aggressive bull to fight against before he retires. The matador sees Ferdinand stand up to a bully bull and thus is chosen for the ring! Surely, this a movie with a happy ending, right? Somehow he dodges the matador and deserves to love another day, right? Well, I surely cannot give any of that away, so if you haven’t read the book then find a youngster and watch the movie on HBO.
Actors lending their voices to human, bovine and farm animal characters include John Cena is Ferdinand, Lily Day is Nina, Ferdinand’s owner, Bobby Cannavale (VINYL) plays the bully bull, and Miguel Ángel Silvestre is El Primero. Other actors include Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, Jerrod Carmichael and David Tennent (CAMPING). The movie was nominated for Oscars for Best Animated Picture & Best Song (for “Home”). Though it didn’t win those it did receive accolades from critics and fans. Below is what Rotten Tomatoes said about it.
Whether you got kids or not how about taking in FERDINAND on 09.01.18. A little heart-warming animation never hurt anyone.
