Ferdinand (film)

Lori Forte

Bruce Anderson

Brad Copeland

Don Rhymer

Anthony Anderson

Bobby Cannavale

Peyton Manning

Gina Rodriguez

Miguel Ángel Silvestre

David Tennant

Davis Entertainment

### Release date

December 8, 2017 (Dubai International Film Festival)December 15, 2017 (United States)

### Based on

The Story of Ferdinand bookby Munro Leaf

Robert Lawson

### Box office

$296.1 million

Ferdinand is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Based on Munro Leaf and Robert Lawson's children's book The Story of Ferdinand, the film was directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay by Robert L. Baird, Tim Federle and Brad Copeland, and features the voice of John Cena as the titular role, alongside Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson, Bobby Cannavale, Peyton Manning, Gina Rodriguez, Miguel Ángel Silvestre and David Tennant. The story, written by Ron Burch, David Kidd and Don Rhymer, follows a gentle bull named Ferdinand who refuses to participate in bullfighting but is forced back into the arena where he faces the world's greatest bullfighter.

Ferdinand premiered on December 8, 2017 at the Dubai International Film Festival, and was theatrically released in the United States a week later on December 15 in 3D and 2D formats. It has grossed $296 million worldwide against a production budget of $111 million. Ferdinand received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards, losing to Coco. It received nominations for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song ("Home") at the 75th Golden Globe Awards.

This was the last Blue Sky Studios film to be released by 20th Century Fox prior to Disney's acquisition of Fox, which was completed on March 20, 2019.

## Plot

In Spain, a ranch owned by Moreno that trains bulls for bullfighting called Casa del Toro harbours a bull calf named Ferdinand. He is ridiculed by his fellow calves Bones, Guapo, and Valiente for being non-confrontational and his tendency to smell and protect flowers. A saddened Ferdinand runs away from Casa del Toro after his father Raf (Jeremy Sisto) does not return from the bull fight he was picked for and a flower he was fond of was flattened by Valiente after his own father was defeated by Raf. He eventually winds up at a florist's farm in Seville and is adopted by the owner Juan, his dog Paco, and his daughter Nina with whom he shares a bond, much to Paco's jealousy.

When Ferdinand eventually grows up into an enormous bull, he still retains his non-violent, flower-loving nature. Due to his size, he is left alone when Juan, Nina, and Paco go to Ronda for an annual flower festival. Ferdinand decides to go anyway, resulting in him getting stung by a bee and unintentionally causing chaos around town and is taken away back to Casa del Toro, much to his and the family’s sadness.

Once back there, he finds that Bones, Guapo, and Valiente have also grown up and have been joined by a Scottish bull named Angus and a silent but intimidating bull named Maquina. Ferdinand is still disrespected by the 3 grown up bulls he knew when they were calves, but manages to befriend a crazy goat named Lupe (Kate McKinnon) who wants to be his coach in bullfighting despite his lack of interest and three hedgehogs named Una, Dos, and Cuatro who frequently invade Casa del Toro to steal food and used to have another brother named Tres, but they claim he is dead.

One day, a legendary but egotistical bullfighter named El Primero arrives at Casa del Toro to choose the biggest, strongest, and most aggressive bull to fight against before he retires. After the bulls fail to impress him on their first try, Guapo is taken to a nearby slaughterhouse and the other bulls tell Ferdinand that it will eventually be their fate if they are not chosen for a bullfight. Although Ferdinand manages to earn the respect of the other bulls, except Valiente, after a dance-off with three Austrian Lipzzans, they still hold on to the belief that fighting is the only way for them to live. Ferdinand manages to convince Lupe to come back with him to Nina's farm and the hedgehogs help them escape, but when Ferdinand is close to freedom, he sees his father's picture on a wall with his horns mounted, along with dozens of other horns, making him realize that every bull who is chosen to fight gets slain by the matador.

Ferdinand explains to the other bulls that they will all eventually be killed even if they are chosen to fight. Valiente is the only one unconvinced and fights Ferdinand outside where Ferdinand inadvertently beats him in a fight and knocks off his right horn, much to the other animals' shock. Primero witnesses the scuffle, and chooses Ferdinand to fight him after seeing him defeat Valiente. When Valiente is taken to the slaughterhouse, Ferdinand rallies up the remaining bulls to escape but first goes to the slaughterhouse to break out Valiente. He at first refuses as he believes that the slaughterhouse is his fate now, but they discover that Guapo is still alive, and Ferdinand questions Valiente's courage after Valiente refuses to help him rescue Guapo. When Ferdinand tries to save a now-friendlier Guapo, he accidentally activates a series of deadly contraptions, but with the help of a now-friendlier Valiente, they escape the slaughterhouse. The bulls, Lupe, the hedgehogs and a red bunny rabbit steal the training area's company truck to escape, with Moreno and his employees giving chase.

The animals try desperately to lose the humans and wind up at Atocha train station in Madrid that Ferdinand sees as his ticket back to Nina. When the bulls push a small railroad cart to catch the train back to Nina's home, Ferdinand sacrifices himself so the other bulls can escape (except for Lupe, who stays behind in shock after Ferdinand's act) and is captured by Moreno and his employees. When Nina learns of Ferdinand's upcoming fight with El Primero, she and Juan set out to Madrid to find and rescue Ferdinand.

At Las Ventas bullfight arena, Lupe tries to convince Ferdinand that he must fight in order to survive, but Ferdinand is silently unsure. When Ferdinand is released into the bullfight ring, he refuses to fight at first but is urged into fighting by El Primero. While being forced to run into Primero’s cape, Ferdinand is able to grab the cape from Primero with his horn and is temporarily blinded by it. Primero attempts to grab his cape back from Ferdinand, but is accidentally tossed out of the ring by Ferdinand. Primero re-enters the ring angrily and attacks Ferdinand using banderillas, striking him in the shoulder. Ferdinand almost retaliates against him, but sees a carnation underneath his hoof, realizes he is becoming the fighter he was determined not to be and does not fight back. As Primero draws his sword in order to finish Ferdinand, the crowd begins to cheer for Ferdinand, convincing Primero to spare him. Ferdinand is then reunited with Nina, who embraces him as the crowd throws carnations to the ring to praise the bull. The other bulls arrive to save Ferdinand but instead witness Ferdinand making history as the first bull to ever make it out of a bullfight alive by being himself. Impressed, they sit to praise him for his efforts.

Ferdinand returns home with Nina, Juan, and Paco. They are joined by the other bulls, the hedgehogs, the bunny, and Lupe, who all move into the farm. The film ends with Ferdinand, his bull friends, and Lupe watching the sunset over Ronda from a field of flowers. During the first part of the credits a photo montage after the film's events is shown, creating an epilogue and revealing that Ferdinand's bull friends now become Ferdinand's friendiler friends, the hedgehogs become Juan's butlers, the bunny who is the farm's bodyguard and security guard, and Lupe becomes the second pet of Nina.

In a mid-credits scene, the hedgehogs discover their brother Tres is still alive all along, much to their disgust.

## Cast

* John Cena as Ferdinand the Bull, a huge flower-loving bull who does not want to fight.
	+ Colin H. Murphy voices a calf Ferdinand.
* Kate McKinnon as Lupe, an old goat and Ferdinand's mentor.
* Bobby Cannavale as Valiente, a bratty bull who bullies Ferdinand due to his flower-loving personality and reluctance to fight.
	+ Jack Gore voices a calf Valiente.
	+ Cannavale also voices Valiente's father. A bull who hates his son Valiente, Ferdinand, Guapo, Bones, and their fathers and has a grumpy attitude causing Valiente to bully Guapo and Bones, and causing them to bully Ferdinand.
* Peyton Manning as Guapo, a nervous bull who has stage fright and hates Ferdinand due to his personality.
	+ Jet Jurgensmeyer voices a calf Guapo
* Anthony Anderson as Bones, a skinny scrawny and enthusiastic bull who has super speed and calls Ferdinand a weirdo when he rejects to help him up after Valiente pushes him due to his flower loving and pacifism personality.
	+ Nile Diaz voices a calf Bones
* David Tennant as Angus, a Scottish Highland bull from Scotland who had hair over his eyes until Ferdinand licked it.
* Tim Nordquist as Maquina, a cloned Belted Galloway bull made in a laboratory who doesn't talk and mostly makes sounds.
* Lily Day as Nina, the original owner of Ferdinand and Paco. In the end, she becomes the new owner of Lupe.
	+ Julia Scarpa Saldanha (Saldanha's daughter) voices a young Nina.
* Juanes as Juan, the father of Nina.
* Jerrod Carmichael as Paco, a dog owned by Nina and Juan
* Miguel Ángel Silvestre as El Primero, a matador
* Raúl Esparza as Moreno, the owner of Casa del Toro and Primero's lead henchman.
* Gina Rodriguez as Una, a hedgehog who is Dos and Cuatro's sister.
* Daveed Diggs as Dos, a hedgehog, Una and Cuatro's brother
* Gabriel Iglesias as Cuatro, a hedgehog, Una and Dos' brother
* Flula Borg as Hans, a Lipizzan at Casa del Toro.
* Boris Kodjoe as Klaus, a Lipizzan at Casa del Toro.
* Sally Phillips as Greta, a Lipizzan at Casa del Toro.
* Jeremy Sisto as Raf, Ferdinand's father who died in the bullfights.
* Cindy Slattery as Bunny, a red rabbit.

## Production

In 2011, it was reported that 20th Century Fox Animation had acquired the rights to the children's book *The Story of Ferdinand* by Munro Leaf to adapt it into a computer-animated feature film with Carlos Saldanha attached to direct it. In May 2013, Fox titled the film simply *Ferdinand*, which would be produced by Blue Sky Studios. John Powell, a frequent collaborator with Saldanha, would be composing the film's score. In November 2016, it was reported that Gabriel Iglesias would voice a character named Cuatro, a hedgehog, Una and Dos' brother.