Angus

**Angus** is a Scottish bull in *Ferdinand*.

He is voiced by David Tennant.

## Development

As Angus' hair constantly covers his face, the animators communicated his emotions through 'wider shots so [they] could show Angus' whole body posture" when storyboarding.

## Biography

### Early Life

Angus was originally born in Scotland but somehow he wound up at Casa del Toro in Spain.

### Meeting Ferdinand

At Casa del Toro, Angus is first seen training with the other bulls at night until he is introduced to the "new bull" named Ferdinand by Lupe, the "calming goat". After Bones manages to recognize Ferdinand, considering he knew both Bones, Guapo, and Valiente when they were calves before he ran away after what happened to his father after he was chosen to fight the matador, Angus takes an immediate dislike to Ferdinand when meeting him for the first time despite not being able to see him very well due to his long, thick locks covering his eyes most of the time. Lupe points out to Angus that he is in fact, talking to Ferdinand's butt, which he comes to realize until he inadvertently talks to Lupe's butt as he scolds at her afterwards, which she points out to him and he comes to realize his mistake again; much to his disgust, and then leaves in anger and disgust.

Then, Angus is present as all the other bulls including Valiente express their own views and dislikes of Ferdinand.

### El Primero's Arrival

In the morning, after overhearing the ranch hands announcing and preparing everything for the arrival of a famous bullfighter named El Primero, Angus and the other bulls including Ferdinand are awoken and informed about El Primero's arrival by Lupe.

Angus and the bulls approach to witness his arrival while Lupe explains to a reluctant Ferdinand that El Primero is the greatest bullfighter in all of Spain. At this time, due to his long locks of hair, Angus finds it difficult to find his way to the fence at first. Once El Primero arrives at Casa del Toro and when they learn that he has come to select a bull for his final fight, Angus and the other bulls are excited but dismayed when they see that Lupe thinks this is her chance to train and make a fighter out of Ferdinand as his coach.

### The Trial for El Primero

Angus and the others are seen getting ready to show off their fighting skills and training for El Primero in the ring with a reluctant Ferdinand joining along. Before the trial, Angus calls Ferdinand "the teacher's pet", to which Bones points out that "nobody likes the teacher's pet" to Ferdinand since Moreno wanted him to be the first bull to come out first.

During the trial, Angus does poorly due to his lack of eyesight, crashing into the door on his way into the arena, and almost runs into Ferdinand and hitting a wall while Lupe tries to convince him to "hit something." When Ferdinand tries to help Guapo up due to fainting after Valiente messes with his head again, this causes the rest of the bulls to foul up, therfore, causing an embarrassment to them and unimpressing El Primero, who decides to leave until Moreno asks him to reconsider, which he does for the next two days before his final fight in Madrid.

Later, Angus and the others scold at Ferdinand and when Ferdinand explains that he was only trying to help Guapo, Angus points out that there is no helping and states that he is the "worst fighting bull he has ever partially seen" even when Valiente reveals to him that Ferdinand isn't a real fighter and that despite his growth spurt, he is still the "same, scared, little coward he always was." Angus becomes more confused when Ferdinand states that he is NOT a fighter who wants to fight for "glory in the ring." Then, Angus and the others witness to their shock, Guapo getting sent to the chop house, a fact which the latter remains oblivious to momentarily when he assumes he got picked by El Primero instead.

### Training and Dancing

The next morning, Angus is seen trying in vain to hit a barrel, which he constantly misses again while the others except Ferdinand continue training. While Lupe talks to Ferdinand, Angus is about to hit a Bunny, which he can’t see because of his long hair, while trying to hit the barrel again. Ferdinand runs after Angus and knocks him out of the way, before nearly hitting the Bunny himself. Later, after a somewhat successful but embarrassing rescue, when Ferdinand comes to make it up to Angus for what happened back there and Angus literally talks to a tractor, Angus admits to Ferdinand that he is worried that El Primero won’t pick him because of his poor eyesight, which he reveals to Ferdinand as his "terrible secret", and that he will get sent to the chop house once they find out, just like Guapo. When Angus starts panicking, Ferdinand licks up his hair to cheer him up and calm him down; much to his surprise and excitement. After successfully hitting the barrel at last, Angus sits somewhere to admire the view for the first time as he befriends Ferdinand. Angus tells Ferdinand that he has given him a fighting chance and asks why would he do such thing, to which Ferdinand replies that if they don't look out for each other, who will and states that it wasn't that big of a deal but, it was for Angus. Then, Angus and Ferdinand continue admiring the view before being interrupted by Lupe.

Angus later appears and joins in on the dance-off between Ferdinand and the snobbish horses: Hans, Klaus, and Greta who continue mocking the bulls while stating that horses are far better dancers than bulls; much to Lupe and the hedgehogs: Una, Dos, and Cuatro's joy and surprise when they are seen cheering for Ferdinand, dancing to his "bagpipes" which Lupe plays asked by Angus. When the horses insist on proving their theory correct with their own dancing skills, Bones decides to join in when he sees them laughing at their friends as he states that he hates them and a dance-off is on with Lupe partially dancing to the music; thanks to the hedgehogs and a radio they stole the other night from the horses. Then, Maquina joins in and the bulls finally win.

As Angus and the others celebrate and laugh over their victory on the horses, their happiness is cut short when Valiente intervenes to remind them that as they continue doing other things besides training and fighting, they will be sent to the chop house sooner than they think as he still continues boasting about being the one to be selected to fight in the ring tomorrow against El Primero. Despite Ferdinand's objections and his offer to take them with him back to his home on the farm, Valiente's statement unfortunately proves efficient enough to convince the others to reluctantly and regrettably resume training.

### Escape from Casa del Toro

At night, Angus and the others are awakened by Ferdinand and Lupe. When Ferdinand states that they have to escape immediately, Angus and the others, still thinking they can win a fight, refuse to listen but Ferdinand justly refers to the bullfights as a "death sentence" and to further intensify his proof of what he saw in Moreno's house when trying to escape with Lupe and the hedgehogs, the hedgehogs bring back a trophy of horns belonging to one of the fighting bulls who got selected to fight the matador in the arena while foolishly thinking they could win in the past just like Ferdinand's father did; much to Angus and everyone else's shock and horror except Valiente, who still remains unconvinced by this fact.

Then, Angus and the others become even more shocked and horrified when they witness a selfish and stubborn Valiente challenging a reluctant Ferdinand to a fight, which eventually leads to Valiente losing his right horn, Ferdinand getting selected by El Primero (who saw the whole thing as well), and Valiente getting sent to the chop house.

Realizing what getting selected by El Primero means for Ferdinand, what's in store for them whether they get selected to fight or not once El Primero is done with Ferdinand, and learning that Ferdinand is offering everyone a chance to come back home with him if he is intending to leave, Angus and the others gladly agree to come with him including Lupe and the hedgehogs as well.

Later, after the hedgehogs trick and trap the horses inside their pen, Angus and the others enter after Maquina chews off and swallows the electric wires of the fence and try to hold the horses off inside their pen so as not to alert the humans while Ferdinand goes out and up to the chop house to rescue Valiente despite their differences.

After Ferdinand rescues both Valiente and surprisingly Guapo from the chop house and the horses are dealt with for good for now, Angus and Bones happily welcome Guapo back in open arms, which is no surprise to Valiente when he admits he deserves such treatment as payback for his former behaviour in the past despite showing kindness to them.

The hedgehogs take command of the truck transporting the bulls and Lupe and drive further away from Casa del Toro after the humans have been alerted. As soon as they begin driving, Angus is suddenly thrown out the back of the truck, and he chases after it until he is pulled back in by Valiente. On the way, they stop the truck to avoid hitting the same Bunny again, which Ferdinand brings on board as well, and then, continue to drive on with Moreno and his men in pursuit in his car. As Angus tries in vain to revive the fainted Bunny, Bones tries to encourage him but to no avail until Maquina manages to revive the Bunny with electroshock therapy using his charged up hooves, which later earns him the Bunny's trust and respect as he is later seen perching on top of his head the rest of the way.

During the chase, the hedgehogs accidentally turn left after misunderstanding Lupe's sense of direction until they including Ferdinand and Lupe notice a low bridge on their way and duck to avoid collision while screaming, which somehow destroys the top of the cart carrying the bulls and the Bunny now perching on Maquina's head; making it a close shave for them.

When Moreno and his men get closer and after Una manages to subdue them momentarily, which ends with Una being rescued by Valiente, the humans crash into a haystack pile in a field as Angus and the company drive further away towards Madrid.

### Escaping to the train station in Madrid

The gang are stuck in a heavy traffic jam in Madrid until they notice Moreno and his men having caught up to them and decide to go on hoof to the train station that will take them to Ferdinand's home where he grew up in Seville with the hedgehogs riding on Ferdinand while the Bunny rides on Maquina. During the chase, Angus is seen charging at a phony matador (a guy in a matador cutout actually) along with the other bulls except Ferdinand, of course. Later, Angus can be seen enjoying some churros with his friends while riding a bus to the train station. At the station, after the hedgehogs watch on the board for which track to take, Angus and the others follow them. Unfortunately, they are spotted by Moreno and his men and their passage is somewhat blocked. The train heading for Seville is leaving so, Angus and the others hurry to catch up with it. While the bulls push a cart to connect it to the train, the hedgehogs climb aboard to help with the connection and Lupe gets the train switch. When Ferdinand sacrifices himself to save his friends and Lupe stays behind as well, Angus and the others are saddened as they watch him get captured by Moreno and his men to be taken to the arena in El Primero's final fight while riding further away.

### Living on Juan's farm

Later, after the fight is over, Ferdinand's life has been spared; given his gentle nature, which deeply touched Lupe and the crowd during the fight, and El Primero retires with dignity, as Lupe watches Ferdinand get reunited with Nina, who embraces him as the crowd throws carnations to the ring to praise him, Angus and the others including the Bunny and the hedgehogs arrive, thinking they are too late 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, Angus and the others sit to praise him for his efforts. Then, they are taken with Ferdinand back to his home on Nina and her father, Juan's farm, where Ferdinand was raised and grew up all his life, by Moreno. After Lupe becomes the first to be welcomed on the farm and loved by Nina, Ferdinand, Angus, and the other bulls along with Lupe watch the sunset over Ronda from a field of flowers on top of a hill next to Ferdinand's favorite tree.

## Physical Appearance

Angus is a relatively large bull with brown fur and lighter shaggy hair that drapes over his eyes. He has a beige snout with two crooked buck teeth from his upper jaw sticking out prominently from his mouth. His lower jaw and chin area are rather large, as compared to other bulls in the film.

## Personality

Angus shows to be aggressive and never is afraid to fight. He often gets with his hair covering his eyes.

Although he tries to hide it, Angus is scared his poor eyesight can get him into getting send to the Chop House. When he was finally able to see clearly, Angus became much happier with his life. Angus shows gratitude to those who help him.

## Relationships

### Ferdinand

Angus takes an immediate dislike to Ferdinand when meeting him for the first time despite not being able to see him very well due to his long, thick locks covering his eyes most of the time. The next day, after Ferdinand causes an embarrassment during a trial for El Primero, Angus gets angry at him, stating he is the "worst fighting bull he has ever partially seen" even when Valiente reveals to him that Ferdinand isn't a real fighter and that despite his growth spurt, he is still the "same, scared, little coward he always was." Angus shows more confusion when Ferdinand states that he is NOT a fighter who wants to fight for "glory in the ring."

The next day, after failing to hit a barrel constantly and being pushed aside by Ferdinand to avoid hitting a Bunny, Angus reveals his "terrible secret" that he can't see very well and worries that once Moreno, his men, and El Primero find out about his terrible eyesight, he will be sent to the chop house just like Guapo and begins panicking. Luckily, Ferdinand licks Angus' locks up like a dog, which finally gives him the chance to see things very well for the first time and finally hit the barrel; much to his joy, thus earning Ferdinand his respect and gratitude despite the confusion of his noble act. Later, Angus displays more care and loyalty to Ferdinand when he decides to join in the dance fight against the horses; stating that "three against one is hardly fair", and asks Lupe to get his pipes (bagpipes).

### Nina

Nina took Angus, the other bulls and Lupe in as she did with Ferdinand two years ago. Angus and Nina seem to be very close with each other now, as they are seen together during the credits, with Nina making funny hairstyles oh herself and Angus, and the two seem to be liking it.

### Lupe

Like with the bulls of Casa del Toro at first, Lupe wasn't on good terms with Angus. However, they had a better relationship than she has with the other bulls, as challenging the horses for a dance battle, Angus asks Lupe to get his pipes (bagpipes).

It's likely they are friends now that they're living in Nina's farm.

### Greta, Hans and Klaus

Like the other bulls, Angus dislikes Hans, Greta and Klaus due to their arrogant and selfish personalities. Angus, Ferdinand, Bones and Maquina managed to teach the horses a lesson after winning a dance-off against them.

## Trivia

* The Angus is a type of Scottish cattle.
* In real life, Scottish cattle have extremely long horns, unlike Angus.
* At one point in the film, Angus states: "I'm a bull, not a doctor." This is a likely nod to David Tennant's role as the 10th Doctor in the long running BBC series *Doctor Who* (2005). This is also a nod to *Star Trek* (1966) as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, when doing something out of his expertise, says things such as: "I'm a doctor, not an engineer."
* When the bulls are stuck in the traffic jam, Angus says "What part of Scotland is this, anyway? This is lovely!" possibly meaning he had no idea that he was actually in Spain the whole time.
* Angus is similar to Prince Rutherford from the TV series, *My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic*, as they are both animals with horns that have long hair covering their eyes and enjoy smashing things.

## References

1. ↑ *"In storyboarding we communicated his emotions by choosing wider shots so we could show Angus' whole body posture." #AskAnArtist*. (November 30, 2017). *Twitter*.