First Take: Ferdinand- bullieve this

SYNOPSIS:

After Ferdinand, a bull with a big heart, is mistaken for a dangerous beast, he is captured and torn from his home. Determined to return to his family, he rallies a misfit team on the ultimate adventure.

I really wanted this film to be something different from the folks at Blue Sky Animation, after all, they gave us the Ice Age films, and while the studio’s other franchises have had varying fates, they’re back with a new idea. Unfortunately, it’s another average paint by numbers kids film.

Industry veteran Carlos Saldanha is the man in charge of the film, and sure, the pacing isn’t quite perfect, but it’s good enough to do the job, with a packed screen 5 being captivated as ever. But my issue lies with the script, as it just doesn’t have the signature trademarks of the studio- Robert L Baird, Tim Federle and Brad Copeland are not to blame, it’s more due to the fact that only a selected few people knew of the original Ferdinand books until the release of this film. However, the animation is brilliant as we’ve come to expect from Blue Sky, and John Powell once again provides a score that suits the film perfectly.

When it comes to the voice cast, this is where the strengths of the film begin to show. Making his animated film debut (for a major Hollywood studio) is John Cena, who is actually rather good at this, and with a cast that includes Kate McKinnon, David Tennant, Gabriel Iglesias and Bobby Cannavale amongst others, the star power is enough to sell this film to audiences. It’s just a real shame that the film’s plot disappointed me the way it did.

THE VERDICT

Disappointing but not surprising, Ferdinand is a decent kids film that will do good business over the Christmas period. It’s understandable why it opened for previews 2 weeks before its release date, but it lacks the originality that the studio became known for in their glory days- either way, it’s perfect for the whole family.

RATING: 3/5