Parents' Guide to

Ferdinand

Movie PG 2017 106 minutes
Ferdinand Poster Image

Common Sense Media Review

Joyce Slaton By Joyce Slaton , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 6+

Sweet story about compassion, nonviolence has a few scares.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 6+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 7+

Based on 88 parent reviews

age 7+

age 5+

thought provoking

The story allowed for many questions and thoughts around allowing society expectations to force us to act in a specific way. It also showed that boys can be soft and gentle but didn't push any sexual content.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (88 ):
Kids say (41 ):

Based on the 1936 children's book The Story of Ferdinand, this charming tale about a lover-not-a-fighter bull is surprisingly relevant for a vintage property. Ferdinand is a gentle giant who's -- literally -- bullied by his peers. They tell him, in not so friendly ways, that fighting is expected of him, and that his habit of admiring and sniffing flowers is suspect. It's a message that may resonate with children who struggle with traditional gender roles (and the parents who work hard to support them). When Ferdinand finally escapes the bare, brutal farm on which he was raised and gallops up a green hill strewn with flowers, we see that he's found a place where he can be himself, accepted and appreciated just as he is. It's positively beautiful, and sensitive viewers may find themselves welling up while wishing every person who doesn't feel like they fit in could find a place just like that.

For their part, young viewers will find Ferdinand lots of fun. A trio of wisecracking manic hedgehogs keeps Ferdinand on his toes during the movie's second act, and Ferdinand's "calming goat," Lupe (Kate McKinnon), is a lovable goofball in the Dory tradition. The songs are a little anemic, and there are a few plot holes (why doesn't Nina age as Ferdinand grows from calf to bull?), but the serious message this movie sends is a great one for our times, or any times. "It looks like weird is the new normal," observes one character -- and if that's not true, it ought to be.

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