The first half (a terrible thing Indian theaters do to Hollywood films) of the animation movie Ferdinand is a low-key one. When compared to the usual standard of wit and activeness of other animation films, it feels a bit dull. But the last one hour of this movie is quite a rollicking ride with humor in conversations and choreography along with a story that works really well for its targeted juvenile audience. Hence Ferdinand is ultimately a fun film without many flaws.
Ferdinand is this bull who grew up with a small kid named Nina and her family. When he became this humongous bull, he was refrained from going out with the family and at one point he refused to stay back and the innocent flower loving bull was taken to a place where they train bulls for the arena bull fight. His attempts to get out from there are what Ferdinand showing us.
The usual format of putting a simple conflict and crowding it with jokes isn’t exactly the structure of Ferdinand. I am not saying it is an entirely novel animation film that breaks the mould completely. But there are elements in the film beyond just humor that makes it more interesting. Memorable sequences are there in the film and the dance sequence where the horses and bulls shows off their talents are outrageously hilarious. From around that particular event to the end, the film is on top gear with ease.
John Cena has been casted as Ferdinand and the guy has done the voicing very impressively. The irony of John Cena playing a bull who doesn’t want to fight was also kind of fun. In the elaborate cast of voice actors, the one I would love to mention would be Kate McKinnon who as Lupe (a goat) makes us laugh out loud a lot in this film.
Carlos Saldanha who has made the Ice Age films is the maker of this movie and the veteran knows the trick of making the narrative witty. Like I said, the initial portions doesn’t have that enthusiasm one would expect and Saldanha after taking ample time offers the viewer a continuous series of engaging scenes with fun, sentiments and positive philosophies. The animation quality was good. And as always Blue Sky has choreographed the sequences impressively.
Ferdinand isn’t breaking the typical structure of an animation film completely. But there are some elements of freshness in it along with the quintessential humor. With a fair enough story in a humor soaked narrative, it’s a non-boring and occasionally hilarious 107 minutes spent inside a cinema hall.
Rating: 3/5
With a fair enough story in a humor soaked narrative, Ferdinand is a non-boring and occasionally hilarious 107 minutes spent inside a cinema hall.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
