Ferdinand: a warm homage to a great bull

Rating: ***

Voiced: John Cena, Kate McKinnon, David Tennant

In retrospect, when we look at the initial response to Ferdinand the bull in 1936, we see it was clearly an overreaction. It had been banned in many countries that practically viewed it as a political tract.

Munro Leaf had simply written a story about a bull that would much rather smell flowers than fight matadors.

Then again, look at how the story ended. When Ferdinand is finally forced to confront the matador, he does not fight, rather chooses to enjoy the flowers that he sees there. The matador breaks down crying — the stupid bull had not even let him take out his sabre.

Perhaps there was something to why the leaders of the time were irked. War wasnt war for everyone. For many men, especially at the top, it was way to show the ladies their sabres.

Walt Disneys 1938 adaption, directed by Dick Rickard, stayed true to the very serious theme of the (childrens!) story. It added a Disney-esque feel, threw in a good measure of cartoon humour, with a meta-narrative touch, and if anything, made it better.

The penultimate scene of the film, where you see a poster on a wall that reads EL …read more