Movies That Surprised Me: Ferdinand

Oh, boy, was I in for a treat today! One of my old high school chums (and her big brother) invited me to a movie; we went to see Ferdinand, with a lovely Chick-fil-A lunch afterwards.

If the movie hadn't been all that great, it would have been a wonderful little getaway all the same; who could object to a movie and lunch date with a ten-plus-year friend?

Happily for me, the movie was great, so that's a big bonus. I give it a solid 10 out of 10, maybe even an 11 or 12.

To recap, I never go into a new movie expecting to hate it. On the other hand, I never know how much I'll really enjoy it. I do enjoy the theater itself, especially with its super-comfy chairs and tasty snacks (Buncha Crunch and Sour Brite Crawlers and a giant Cherry Coke for me, plus one large popcorn for all three of us to share; I'm not always a fan of popcorn but you can never go wrong with theater popcorn).

Besides, I'll admit it won't kill you to see a movie from start to finish at least once, and then you never have to see it again if you don't want to. And if you do like it and want to see it again, so much the better.

I'll refrain from spoilers, since this movie hasn't been out for long and I don't want to ruin it for anybody else. But may I just say, I was very impressed; I was laughing out loud more than once, and multiple moments made me go, "Awwww!"

Even if the animation was 3-D, it was still delightfully zany and cartoony, and the sheer dedication to the minuscule details was astounding. I loved Ferdinand's design, and the design for El Primero blew me away.

But probably what won me over the most was the overall message. If I could sum up this entire film in a single sentence, I'd sum it up as, "Nice guys don't always finish last."

In fact, being a sweet guy (or girl) in a sour and bitter world can very well make all the difference.

This is what I admire most about Ferdinand, and this is what added him to my list of role models. He goes through a remarkable deal of development, and yet he retains all of his good qualities from the beginning. Let's just say he learns to be nice without letting everybody walk all over him; he's no longer living in a sheltered bubble but he still chooses to be the gentle, tender blossom as opposed to the sharp, deadly horns that the whole world expects him to be. Which is character growth at its finest.

My favorite movies are the ones that really speak to me. And I can tell you, this one made its voice loud and clear.

Now it's a mere matter of time before I get my paws on the DVD.

On a side note, I can tell 2018 is going to be a good year for movies. Because there are three or four other movies out there that I really want to check out as soon as possible.