As a feature film, "Ferdinand" remains afloat when it focuses on the virtues of the titular character. The rest feels like an experiment with unequal results. [Full review in Spanish]
Ferdinand is not going to be the next Frozen or Lion King or even the fourth or fifth Ice Age movie, but there's a reason the story is still being told some 81 years after it was first published.
In the title role, wrestler-turned-actor John Cena gives Ferdinand just the right balance of sweetness and strength. He becomes the wholly convincing center of the parable.
The movie is bright and peppy enough to hold young viewers' attention, though a faithful 1938 Walt Disney short showed more inventiveness in eight minutes.
Ferdinand provides the kind of be-yourself, make-love-not-war, antibullying messages kids probably need right now. But unfortunately, as adorable as its flower-crazy bovine hero may be, it doesn't do that with enough magic to get them to actually stick.
