«Ferdinand,» a beautiful animated film set in Spain

Cinema Wednesdays - Jonas Follonier

In 1938, Walt Disney released a short film featuring a formidably muscular bull with a sentimental heart, more drawn to the scent of flowers than to battles with his horns. Now, in 2017, a feature-length adaptation of this tale is hitting the big screen, Ferdinand, which sheds new light on the celebration of diversity and the condemnation of bullfighting. The film is directed by Carlos Saldanha, who also directed the first three Ice Age.

Growing up in a casa del toros Alongside his feisty friends, Ferdinand takes pleasure only in sniffing the pretty red flower in the courtyard. The day his father is taken to the arena, the young bull runs away into the wild. What follows is a magnificent sequence in which Ferdinand is taken in by a young girl whose father is a gardener, and who also grows fond of the animal. This is where the film reaches its most touching and visually stunning moment.

But the young bull soon grows into a sturdy bull. And when he finds himself in town to attend the flower festival, the festivities quickly turn into a disaster. Stung by a bee, the oversized animal charges into the crowd, turning the booths and shops upside down. The police intervene; Ferdinand, who had grown accustomed to his new life with the farmer and his daughter, is taken back to the prison of his childhood.

The action will then unfold nonstop for an hour, culminating in a spectacular finale in the Madrid arena. Ferdinand It certainly achieves its goal of entertaining. The result is a well-balanced and thoughtfully crafted sense of humor, along with some truly exquisite instrumental music. Above all, the stunning computer-generated imagery set across the Spanish countryside—from windmills to arid fields bathed in moonlight—showcases the full potential of modern animated film.

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Photo credit: © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation