'Ferdinand' Director Carlos Saldanha on Inspirational Characters

To celebrate the release of Ferdinand reporter Emilie sat down with director Carlos Saldanha to discover what audiences will love most about this well-loved book adaptation. Watch the video above to find out why Carlos thinks the film shows us how to be true to ourselves.

Ferdinand tells the story of a giant bull with a big heart. After being 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. Set in Spain, Ferdinand proves you can't judge a bull by its cover.

Visit FindAnyFilm to find screenings near you, and find out what Carlos has to say about working with John Cena and Kate McKinnon by visiting our Get Into Film Channel click here for the full interviews.

Ferdinand is out in cinemas 16 December.

Emilie's review

The film ‘Ferdinand', directed by Carlos Saldanha, is heart-warming, funny and entertaining. However, perhaps the most important thing I took from watching it was the message behind the film, of acceptance, individuality and friendship. Along with this, the film conveyed the importance of recognising animal cruelty as a large issue within today's society, particularly within Spanish bull fighting. This was extremely effective as the animal characters were created in such a way that they were really lovable, which gives us as an audience a different way of viewing these animals that we would typically see as aggressive and violent. Furthermore, I particularly enjoyed the celebration of Spanish culture within this film, as it is not something that we typically get to see on screen. The use of vibrant colours throughout the film successfully captured the essence of Spain, and it was lovely to see a range of different aspects of the culture, especially the flower festival and the Spanish dancing. Complementing this, the music within the film really enhanced the atmosphere and lifted everything off the screen, it was well suited for the changes in mood, and it moved seamlessly along with the image.

The depth of each and every one of the characters was something that really impressed me, as this is something that is often very difficult to convey, especially within the animation form. The character progression of Valiente, particularly stood out for me, and it was really nice to see a little bit of his backstory as a young bull, and how his relationship with his father had shaped him as a character, especially in comparison with Ferdinand's relationship with his own father. I only wish that the film had explored this further, and that we maybe would have gotten to see the backstories of some of the other characters as well.

Overall, ‘Ferdinand' was a truly enjoyable film that was both funny and heart-warming, with an extremely important message that was really effectively conveyed to young audiences.