Ferdinand (U.)
Directed by Carlos Saldanha.
Starring John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson, Bobby Cannavale, Peyton Manning and David Tennant. 106 mins
New, from the director of Rio, Ferdinand. It's the story of a flower loving, pacifist, Spanish bull who, despite growing up in the Casa Del Toro where bulls are breed for the ring, wants nothing to do with the bullfighting game. An obvious stance you might think, but all the others are gung ho and keen to have their shot at glory in the ring. They are also keen to avoid the fate of bulls deemed not good enough to face a matador: a trip to the chophouse.
Fox's Blue Sky Animation are top of the second tier of animation studios; they don't win Oscars but in 5 Ice Age films, two Rios and a few others, their frantic mix of slapstick and celebrity voice artists have consistently kept audiences and the scriveners of Rupert Murdoch's accounts department contented.
Their latest, adapted from a book by Munro Leaf, represents a moderate step forward. Beneath the car chases and frantic mugging, there's a good basic story. It's not Bambi, but there is a sense of danger and mortality. There's even a poignancy in the bulls' deluded belief that this will be a noble contest, and seeing them psyching themselves up to fight.
Wrestler Cena (sounding a lot like Seth Rogen) is good as the title character, though McKinnon is over indulged as a giddy goat. One of the other bulls is voiced by Peyton Manning, who I believe is a famous quarterback in the American football game, not the man who gave all those state secrets to Wikileaks and became a lady.
Directed by Carlos Saldanha.
Starring John Cena, Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson, Bobby Cannavale, Peyton Manning and David Tennant. 106 mins
New, from the director of Rio, Ferdinand. It's the story of a flower loving, pacifist, Spanish bull who, despite growing up in the Casa Del Toro where bulls are breed for the ring, wants nothing to do with the bullfighting game. An obvious stance you might think, but all the others are gung ho and keen to have their shot at glory in the ring. They are also keen to avoid the fate of bulls deemed not good enough to face a matador: a trip to the chophouse.
Fox's Blue Sky Animation are top of the second tier of animation studios; they don't win Oscars but in 5 Ice Age films, two Rios and a few others, their frantic mix of slapstick and celebrity voice artists have consistently kept audiences and the scriveners of Rupert Murdoch's accounts department contented.
Their latest, adapted from a book by Munro Leaf, represents a moderate step forward. Beneath the car chases and frantic mugging, there's a good basic story. It's not Bambi, but there is a sense of danger and mortality. There's even a poignancy in the bulls' deluded belief that this will be a noble contest, and seeing them psyching themselves up to fight.
Wrestler Cena (sounding a lot like Seth Rogen) is good as the title character, though McKinnon is over indulged as a giddy goat. One of the other bulls is voiced by Peyton Manning, who I believe is a famous quarterback in the American football game, not the man who gave all those state secrets to Wikileaks and became a lady.
