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Hero Overview

Ferdinand is the titular protagonist of the movie with the same name and the Children’s story book which he originated from. He is a pacifist bull.

He is voiced by famous WWE wrestler and Internet meme icon John Cena who also voiced J.C. from Surf's Up 2 and John Cenastone from The Flintstones & WWE: Stone Age SmackDown!, Yoshi from Dolittle and Colin H. Murphy as his younger self.

Appearance

Ferdinand is a sturdy, strong and handsome bull with smooth, smoky black skin. He has a wide, well-built, curved body completed with short legs and a tufted tail. A small amount of bushy,short, dark brown hair sits on his head. He is much bigger than the rest of the bulls. He has moderately long horns and bright blue eyes.

Personality

Bulls are known to be fighting machines, but Ferdinand is the opposite of that belief, hence his movie's caption "Built to fight, born to love." He is noticeable for being gentle, compassionate, and friendly by nature. By nature, Ferdinand is a pacifist; he despises violence and the meaning of bullfighting. He prefers calm and peaceful activities; he loves to sniff flowers; when he was with Nina and Juan ever since he was a calf, he goes to the annual flower festival every year. Even as a calf, he watered a flower at Casa del Toro, and would even go as far to protect them from the other calfs, who teased and mocked him for his lack of fighting spirit. Having a conversation with his father about not fighting, he tells him that the world can't be what he, or others, want. Ferdinand also enjoys dancing; while growing up with Nina, the two learned to dance. This later shows up again when he showed off the horses after the three arrogantly claimed they are the best dancers.

A truly lovable bull, he exhibits his big heart and love for people, which is often displayed as adorable awkwardness and curiosity. At the flower festival, he peeked behind some balloons and made funny faces that made a baby laugh, and he asked the three hedgehogs if they had a brother name Tres. The three vowed to never speak of him, making the bull feel embarrassed. He watched in awe constantly and wondered about everything as he traveled around Spain.

With his clumsiness, due to his large physique when he grows up, he can cause havoc and damage, which are always an accident, as when Ferdinand was stung by a bee, he rampaged through town, causing him to crash and destroy everything in his path, and when he found himself in a China shop, he tried to walk carefully; however, a sneeze caused him to destroy everything. This happened when he was brought back to Casa del Toro when he nearly squashed a bunny which nearly died of a heart attack when Ferdinand tumbled over and crashed into a water container that he got his horn stuck in just because he knocked Angus away when he was about to hit the bunny and later performed CPR on him. During the night he was about to escape, and he, along with Lupe, crushed El Primero's car, slipped on the kitchen floor, and crashed the three horses when he, Valiente, and Guapo escaped from the slaughter house.

Violence and bullfighting seems to make Ferdinand timid, as seen when he was being bullied by Valiente when they were calves. This was shown again at the bullfighting ring, as he slowly backed away when he was facing El Primero. Ferdinand only seems to be sensitive and insecure when others see him as just a bull that's violent and aggressive, as well just judging him by his massive size. Ferdinand's childhood bullying coupled with the thought of his father never returning after being selected for being a bullfighter left him timid and wary around others; when he escaped from the ranch to a florist farm, he cowered upon being approached by Nina, a young girl; however, he soon warmed up to her after sniffing her flower she had on her head. Even when fully grown, Ferdinand still possesses this trait when it comes to confrontation, as when Valiente forces him to fight which resulted in him accidentally knocking off one of his horns.

Ferdinand seems to be a bit naïve; in his escape attempt, the hedgehogs told him to do exactly what they do when they were helping him escape, Ferdinand misunderstood it and attempted to roll.

Ferdinand believes in individuality. Given his life at Nina's farm, Ferdinand holds up to where others can be themselves without being pushed around. He encourages the other bulls to where they can be who they are; this comes to light when Ferdinand shows off his dance skills to the three horses, and the other bulls joined in. Ferdinand also has a strong determination, holding up his belief in individuality and his resistance to be violent, even when faced with doubts from the public, being bullied by the other bulls, and cruelty towards bullfighting, even against El Primero. At the bullfighting ring, when Ferdinand was fighting El Primero, he dodged his attacks without fighting back, to where he even accidentally caught the red cape in his horns and made El Primero look like a fool, though unintentionally. However, when Ferdinand's shoulder was cut by one of Primero's banderillas, he retorted to being aggressive and got him by the horns, literally, although briefly, as when he sees a rose underneath his hoof and sees that he's being the fighter he was unwilling to be, he lets Primero live. This made the audience cheer for him to be spared, being moved by his gentle nature, to which even El Primero spared him and left with dignity.

Not only is Ferdinand kind, he's also selfless and forgiving. One of the examples is during his escape; upon seeing the horns of other bulls mounted on the wall, he went back to save the other bulls. He also went to the slaughter house to save Valiente and Guapo, in spite of how the former cruelly treated him. He even wanted Lupe, the hedgehogs, and the bunny to come with him to Nina's farm, to where he wanted Lupe to feel love since the bull ranch was filled with hate, which the goat described it as being full of. Ferdinand is also loyal, as he selflessly sacrifices himself to be captured, allowing his fellow bulls, the bunny, and the hedgehogs to escape.

Biography

Early life

As a calf, Ferdinand and his father, Raf, were from the Casa del Toro owned by Moreno, the latter being a fighting bull. One day, while Valiente, Guapo, and Bones were practicing bullfighting in a pen, Ferdinand emerges from behind a door with a bucket of water and makes his way, without getting seen or entangled in their fight, to a little red flower in the pen. He affectionately speaks to it and waters the plant gently before taking a long sniff.

A truck, which Valiente calls the "Winner's truck", backs into the pen and Ferdinand asks what it is happening today. Valiente replies with a snort, claiming that he knows nothing and proceeds to explain that the truck indicated that the matador would pick a bull to fight in Plaza de Toros. The other bulls start fighting and bragging and Bones is pushed to the ground by Valiente. Concerned, Ferdinand helps him up, only for the other bull to reject his aid.

During this time, Valiente spots his flower and starts mocking him. Ferdinand is challenged to a fight but he refuses, remarking that Valiente can hit him if he wants to but not the flower. Confused and taken aback, Valiente leaves.

Soon, the adult bulls charge out to display their fighting to the matador in the ring. Ferdinand and the other calves cheer for their fathers. When Ferdinand's father, Raf, wins over his father, Valiente scoffs and leaves Ferdinand's side. As they trot back to their own pen, he witnesses Valiente's father dismiss his son furiously.

Ferdinand trots up to Raf gleefully and the latter greets him by tossing him onto his back. He proceeds to talk about fighting for glory in the Plaza and that one day, Ferdinand would be a better fighting bull than him. Bashfully, Ferdinand expresses his reluctance for either of them to fight and asks if he could still win without fighting, to which Raf gently tells him that he wished life would be like that for Ferdinand. He promises to return and show him all of his secret moves, pressing his forehead against Ferdinand's and Ferdinand watches as he boards the truck.

He returns to his pen, only to see a fuming Valiente trample his flower and leave with his father in anger. During the rest of the day, he waits inside his pen for his father to come back but when the truck finally arrives at night, he excitingly crawls out of his pen only to find the truck empty; much to his shock and sadness. Then, Valiente's father coldly states to Ferdinand that his father was "soft" and that "the soft ones always go down," therefore, demanding his own son to "bull up" after that. Spotted outside by one of Moreno's men and afraid of ending up like his father, Ferdinand escapes from Casa del Toro without hesitation and boards a cargo train headed for Seville despite the men's best attempt to catch him with a rope.

Days on the farm

After Ferdinand escapes the Casa, he finds himself alone somewhere in Seville one rainy night until he gets spooked by a distant barking he hears and tries to get further away until he slips off a muddy hill and gets knocked out as he sees two figures: a dog and a man, approaching before blacking out.

In the morning, Ferdinand wakes up to find himself inside a barn. When the door opens and he sees a small figure approaching, he gets a bit scared; thinking the figure wants to harm him. The figure is revealed to be an 8 year old girl named Nina who means him no harm. Nina realizes that Ferdinand likes flowers when he starts sniffing the flower perched on her left ear. When she allows Ferdinand to smell it and pets him gently while promising to take good care of him, Ferdinand begins to like and trust her. Then, Ferdinand is introduced to the other figures he saw last night before passing out who are revealed to be Nina's florist/farmer father, Juan and their pet dog, Paco. Nina takes Ferdinand into a field full of flowers with a cork tree at the top of a hill. Ferdinand begins to enjoy this moment as he sniffs flowers, chases a butterfly, and sits next to the tree with joy while admiring the view from there.

As time goes on, Ferdinand and Nina bond as they spend plenty of time together, which includes watching television, riding through Sunflower fields, comparing their heights, rolling down the hill, dancing, and feeding each other even when Ferdinand has fully matured; much to Juan's joy and Paco's partial jealousy.

Then, one day, when getting ready to go for Flower Festival day in the village, he takes the time to greet Paco, whom he considers like a brother. At first, Ferdinand refuses to listen to Paco concerning the bad news despite his best efforts until Juan reveals the truth to Nina when Nina appears excited about taking him to the festival like every year given the fact that he's not a little calf anymore; much to Ferdinand and Nina's shock. After they leave while taking Paco in his place, Ferdinand sits by his favorite cork tree, confused as to why he can't go to the festival anymore despite his size and age. Ferdinand has a hard time making decisions about whether to go or not; knowing that if he goes, Nina will be happy leaving Juan disappointed for his disobedience but if he stays, Nina will be sad and Juan will be satisfied with his cooperation. To make things fair, Ferdinand makes a bet with himself. If an orange doesn't fall from a tree or a rock still stays in the same position by the time he counts to 3, he will go but to no avail. Finally, he tries to count to 10 before one of the chicken eggs hatches but when he notices it's about to hatch, he cheats by counting really fast and finally, goes to the festival.

Time at the festival

Ferdinand's presence provokes a small twitch of fear in everybody; given his size except for a crying baby girl who takes a sudden liking to him when he starts making faces at her in order to cheer her up. Nevertheless, Ferdinand proceeds to join up with Nina while sniffing flowers in his path. However, when he finds Nina and though she is happy to see him, she reminds him that he shouldn't be here but when Ferdinand backs away while breaking free from a clothesline, he accidentally sits on a bumblebee, which causes him to bellow so loud, run, and charge out of control like a raging, wild bull; nearly hurting everyone while destroying things in his path. Thus, scaring everyone and giving them the assumption that he is a wild, dangerous beast despite Juan's best attempt to convince them that he is actually gentle.

When the police and Animal Control arrive to handle the situation, Paco tells him to get back to the farm while he holds them off but to no avail. Then, Ferdinand finds himself hiding in a China shop. Despite his best efforts to stay hidden while avoiding breaking stuff, he provokes a large sneeze when the elderly lady owner naively mistakes and uses his tail as a duster against his muzzle while cleaning dishes. This action finally gets him spotted, caught, and then shipped into a truck despite his best efforts to avoid getting in and Nina trying to convince everyone including the authorities that he is a gentle bull. As Ferdinand is driven further away, Nina, with her father and Paco in pursuit, tries to catch up with him but fails, thus, reducing her to tears and leaving her heartbroken.

Back at Casa del Toro

After a long drive, at night, Ferdinand suddenly finds himself back at Casa del Toro, the very same place he was born and ran away from when he was a calf. Ferdinand starts panicking while accidentally getting his horns stuck in the truck hole. Moreno thinks he's a beast "going out of control" and instructs one of his men to bring Lupe, the "calming goat" so as to "calm him down." Ferdinand is introduced to Lupe as she tries in vain to calm him down but to no avail until he breaks himself free and out of the truck and accidentally lands on her, which he apologizes for and helps her up, after which she is surprised by his large size.

Ferdinand tries to explain to Lupe that he needs help escaping the Casa, but she thinks he means he needs help to become a fighting bull and thinks he is simply denying the things that happened to get him sent there. Ferdinand tries to follow her and accidentally breaks down a door, after which he meets Bones, Guapo, and Valiente, who are all grown up now and are joined by Angus, a bull who can't see very well due to his long locks covering his eyes, and Maquina, a silent bull who Lupe says was "created in a lab" and can neither say nor feel anything at all. Then, Ferdinand meets Valiente again, who isn't at all intimidated by Ferdinand's large size as he continues mocking and messing with him, and says that it will make him look better when he beats him to a pulp inside the ring, after which he sarcastically says: "Welcome back, Ferdinand." and walks away in anger, leaving Ferdinand and Lupe stunned.

Meeting the hedgehogs

Afterwards, Lupe excitedly shows Ferdinand the stables he is sleeping in, which is the same one from when he was a calf, and is now extremely small and cramped for him. Lupe tries to befriend Ferdinand by coughing up a flower as a gift, feminine touch, and symbol of their relationship, after which she falls asleep with a bucket that she lives in over her head. Ferdinand tries to sleep despite her loud snoring and is soon woken up by three hedgehogs, Una, Dos, and Cuatro, who attempt to steal their food and the flower before being spotted by Ferdinand; much to their annoyance. He initially thinks they are bugs and is fooled by them into thinking they aren’t doing anything wrong, after which he is hit on the head by Lupe's bucket as she wakes up and gets into an argument with the hedgehogs. After Una pokes Lupe with one of her quills during the argument, the hedgehogs fall off the ledge and into the stables, where they try to attack Ferdinand, thinking he is going to eat them.

Ferdinand stops Lupe from antagonizing them and then explains that he isn’t going to eat them. Realizing Ferdinand is not like the other bulls, they decide to start over and introduce themselves. After learning about their supposedly deceased brother, Tres, Ferdinand lets the hedgehogs leave with their food (except the flower, which Lupe demands stays) and gives them a lift up to the window.

After this, Ferdinand tries to sleep again, but is annoyed by Lupe's sleepwalking. He sneaks out of the barn and around to the other side of the building where he tries to cross an electric fence but is electrocuted, after which he meets the snobbish horses: Hans, Klaus, and Greta, who snobbishly tell Ferdinand that he can’t cross the fence or they will alert the humans, after which they go back inside, leaving Ferdinand alone.


El Primero's Arrival

The next morning, Ferdinand is woken up by an excited Lupe informing about El Primero's arrival, who accidentally steps on his tail, which causes him to scream and accidentally kick her into a wall, which he apologizes for afterwards. Ferdinand and the bulls approach to witness his arrival while Lupe explains to a reluctant Ferdinand that El Primero is the greatest bullfighter in all of Spain. Once El Primero arrives at Casa del Toro and when they learn that he has come to select a bull for his final fight, the other bulls except Ferdinand are excited but dismayed when they see that Lupe thinks this is her chance to train and make a fighter out of Ferdinand as his coach.

The Trial for El Primero

A reluctant Ferdinand and the others are seen getting ready to show off their fighting skills and training for El Primero in the ring. After receiving a quick pep talk from Lupe, he is made to come out first by Moreno since he wants him to be the first bull to do so; much to the other bulls' annoyance when Angus calls Ferdinand "the teacher's pet" and Bones points out that "nobody likes the teacher's pet" to Ferdinand. Then, Valiente reveals to Ferdinand that he has been waiting for this day for a long time and states that it's going to get messy out there. When Ferdinand refuses to go out while unintentionally blocking the others' passage, Valiente pokes him on the rear with his horn to force him to get out there.

During the trial, Ferdinand tries to avoid violence despite the other bulls trying to either hit or fight him and Lupe's encouragement. Then, Valiente challenges Ferdinand to a fight until Guapo intervenes. When Ferdinand tries to help Guapo up after passing out; thanks to Valiente messing with his head again, this causes Valiente and the rest of the bulls to foul up, therfore, causing an embarrassment to them and unimpressing El Primero, who decides to leave until Moreno asks him to reconsider, which he does for the next two days before his final fight in Madrid.

Upset for not getting picked by El Primero, Ferdinand is reprimanded by the other bulls for making them look bad even though that was hardly his intention and all he was doing was just trying to help Guapo. When Ferdinand reveals he isn't a fighter, everybody is confused including Lupe; though this is barely a surprise and a bit of a shock to Bones and Valiente since they've known about his pacifism since they were calves as pointed out when Valiente still refers to him as the "same, scared, little coward he always was."

Then, everybody hears Guapo boasting about his "success" back at the trial to them as he is seen boarding a truck; assuming he has been picked by El Primero. But as they watch him leave, they realize that the truck he is boarding on is actually a meat truck that transports bulls to the chop house nearby if they fail to impress the matador and are considered "soft" as pointed out to Ferdinand by Bones when he asks him where they are taking Guapo; much to Bones' horror and shock and a fact which Guapo remains oblivious to for now.

Upset, Bones blames Valiente for this because of messing with Guapo's head during the trial; a fact which Valiente tries to deny while stating that "Guapo was never going to make it to the ring." When Ferdinand asks him if that's the reason why he deserves to go there, Valiente coldy states that things have changed around here ever since he ran away while pointing out that bulls are either considered as fighters or meat now. Then, he leaves after coldly referring to Ferdinand as "meat."

Bonding with Bones

That night, Ferdinand stares out the window of his stables while thinking of Nina (who is also thinking of him) until he hears Bones crying for the loss of his friend but Bones tries to deny his crying to be due to allergies to pollen and that Guapo was more of his competition than his friend when Ferdinand expresses his sorrow for Guapo and mentions the word "friends" to him. But when Bones actually reveals how much he really cared about Guapo, Ferdinand reassures him that it's okay to feel bad about it. When Ferdinand promises Bones to keep this a secret, Bones begins to respect him; telling him that "he's okay" but points out that if he doesn’t want to end up like Guapo, he is going to have to start training seriously; admitting this is the one thing Valiente is right about.

Training and dancing

The next morning, Ferdinand observes the other bulls training in various ways as the hedgehogs, mainly Una point out to Ferdinand that El Primero is watching them while relaxing in the drinking water barrel until Lupe tries yet again to convince him to toughen up. Then, Ferdinand notices Angus charging at a barrel again, the same time a Bunny hops in front of it, which Angus can't see due to his long locks obscuring his vision. To avoid a disastrous collision, Ferdinand runs alongside him, shouting at him to look out before knocking him out of the way and nearly hitting Bunny himself. He manages to avoid him, albeit causing him to pass out while Ferdinand accidentally and temporarily gets his horns stuck in a water tank.

Ferdinand manages to revive the Bunny through cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, who quickly dives back into his hole in anger then angrily tosses a carrot at him despite Ferdinand's apology, which causes Valiente to laugh at him. Later, Ferdinand reveals to Angus that he was responsible for knocking him out of the way when he notices him inadvertently talking to a tractor. Ferdinand tries to make Angus feel better when Angus begins to worry that he could be next just like Guapo. Then, Angus reveals his "terrible secret" to him that he can’t see very well (which he says to a pitchfork that he thinks is Ferdinand). When Angus begins to panic, Ferdinand finally licks his hair up, allowing Angus to see well for the very first time; much to his joy. With his eyesight fully restored, Angus observes the things around him and finally manages to destroy the barrel.

Angus states to Ferdinand that he has given him a fighting chance and asks why would he do such a thing despite their differences, Ferdinand replies that if they don't look out for each other, who will and states that his good act wasn't that big of a deal but in Angus' opinion, it was indeed. After Ferdinand and Angus have a quick bonding moment, Lupe takes Ferdinand aside to tell him another important lesson, which is to stop helping the competition. She tries to explain how bullfighting is like a dance, at which point the three horses: Hans, Klaus, and Greta show up and mock Ferdinand again for not being able to dance. When Lupe stands up to them for Ferdinand, Ferdinand simply proves them wrong by dancing pretty good in front of them; much to Lupe and the hedgehogs' amazement. When all three horses start dancing, Angus joins along in Ferdinand's defense. Then, when the horses insist on proving that they are better dancers than the bulls, Ferdinand and Angus are joined by Bones and finally Maquina while the hedgehogs turn on the music on the radio as they have a dance-off, with Lupe and the hedgehogs dancing as well. They eventually win and mock the horses as Valiente walks up and watches what’s happening.

As Ferdinand and the others celebrate and laugh over their victory on the horses (with Maquina smiling for the very first time), their happiness is cut short when Valiente intervenes to remind them that as they continue doing other things besides training and fighting, they will be sent to the chop house sooner than they think as he still continues boasting about being the one to be selected to fight in the ring tomorrow against El Primero. Ferdinand tries to object and offers to take them with him back to his home on the farm, but then Valiente asks him why they sent him back here in the first place if it was so great out there, but before Ferdinand can answer, Valiente unjustly interrupts him by pointing out that he is a bull no different from the others no matter what he thinks. Unfortunately, Valiente's statement proves efficient enough to convince the others to reluctantly and regrettably resume training.

Then, Ferdinand talks to Lupe about escaping from Casa Del Toro and manages to convince her to go with him the moment he mentions his owner, Nina and the fact that she will love her if she comes with him, but when she points out that escaping from here is very difficult after gladly rejecting her former dream to train Ferdinand to become a champion bull, Ferdinand; remembering how the hedgehogs managed to slip through the horses' pen on the first night they met, decides to enlist their help in exchange for the flower Lupe gave him; much to her annoyance.

Escape from Casa Del Toro

Though reluctant at first, they agree to help when Cuatro is the first and only one to accept the gift in exchange for their help. Using one of her quills, Una unlocks the door that leads straight to Moreno's garage and into his house. Though this means trouble, the hedgehogs point out it's the only way to get out, so, Ferdinand and Lupe agree to go along with it. Despite difficulties like Ferdinand taking Una's statement of "doing exactly what they do" by rolling like a ball literally and both Ferdinand and Lupe accidentally starting up El Primero's car radio after sneaking in through the small garage window, the hedgehogs are able to provide a distraction good enough to fool two of Moreno's employees by dancing until Dos bites one of them on the finger after mistaking them for squirrels.

Later, after resolving Ferdinand's balance problem in the kitchen, Ferdinand and Lupe discover a room full of swords, trophies, and worst of all, horns belonging to past bulls that actually thought they could win a fight against matadors including Ferdinand's father, Raf, which explains why Ferdinand ran away from the Casa the first time when he was a calf; fearing he would suffer the same fate as his father did. Realizing the truth, Lupe sympathizes with him and regrets her former dream as they proceed to the now-opened door. Nevertheless, this revelation makes Ferdinand decide to reveal the truth to the rest of the bulls just when Lupe and the hedgehogs are close to freedom so as not to allow them to suffer the same fate as well.

Ferdinand and Lupe head back to the stables to wake up and inform everybody about the truth. At first, they are skeptical and refuse to leave until the hedgehogs arrive with a pair of bull horns trophy to further intensify Ferdinand's evidence about the bulls' fates in the arena; stating that whether they get selected by the matador or not, they will all die either way. However, Valiente, being the stubbornest of all bulls, refuses to believe his story and challenges him to a fight, which results in Valiente losing his right horn and being sent to the chop house and worst of all, Ferdinand getting selected by El Primero, who witnessed the whole thing; much to everyone's shock.

Realizing what getting selected means for Ferdinand, Lupe states that they should get him out of here immediately, but Ferdinand refuses unless everyone comes with him, which everybody gladly agrees to. Nevertheless, when Ferdinand mentions everyone, he also means rescuing Valiente from the chop house despite their differences in the past.

Later, after the hedgehogs trick and trap the horses inside their pen, Ferdinand and the others enter after Maquina chews off and swallows the electric wires of the fence and try to hold the horses off inside their pen so as not to alert the humans while Ferdinand goes out and up to the chop house to rescue Valiente.

After entering the chop house, Ferdinand searches and calls out for Valiente until he finds him locked inside a temporary enclosure, waiting to be the next victim of the factory's deadly machinery. Ferdinand frees him and asks him to hurry up because they don't have a lot of time, but Valiente refuses to leave; given his recent state and preferring to accept his fate rather than to run away from it since he thinks it's over for him and still believes in the whole "You're either a fighter or you're meat" thing. Ferdinand tells him it doesn't have to be that way and that he's "more than just a set of horns" while offering him a chance to come back home with him as well but Valiente scoffs at the possible idea of sniffing flowers and paling around with goats. After Ferdinand points out that all this is his thing, he kindly tells Valiente that he can live his own life now unless he gives up. Then, both of them hear a voice in the place, which Ferdinand recognizes as Guapo's; implying that Guapo is still alive. When Ferdinand asks Valiente to come help out, Valiente simply refuses to leave and listen to him any further as he coldly tells him to go away. Disappointed, Ferdinand reluctantly leaves but not before stating that he was wrong about believing that Valiente was more of a fighter than a quitter.

Ferdinand finds Guapo hung up while trying to escape. However, when he tries to help him get down, Ferdinand accidentally and unintentionally activates the security alarm system, which activates the factory's machinery. Ferdinand tries in vain to save Guapo from being crushed to death but to no avail. Luckily, just before Guapo is close to sudden death, Valiente suddenly comes out of nowhere and uses his horn to disable a pole so as to stop the machine just in time from crushing him momentarily; much to Ferdinand and Guapo's surprise. Ferdinand acts surprised by Valiente's sudden change of heart and act of heroism, to which Valiente simply replies: "Thought you could use an extra horn." When Guapo gets dragged away to proceed to further machines that turn bulls into meat in one direction, Ferdinand and Valiente proceed to further rescue Guapo before getting dragged along in the opposite direction.

After all three bulls have been dragged through the mechanism while avoiding some deadly machinery, they finally get themselves iced in the freezer and then sent down and out of the factory and the ice as they roll back down in a cart to and break through the horses' pen.

After rescuing Valiente and Guapo from the chop house and the horses are dealt with for good for now, the hedgehogs take command of the truck transporting the bulls and Lupe and drive further away from Casa del Toro after the humans have been alerted. On the way, they stop the truck to avoid hitting the same Bunny again, which Ferdinand brings on board as well for Angus (later, Maquina) to revive next, and then, continue to drive on with Moreno and his men in pursuit in his car.

During the chase, the hedgehogs accidentally turn left after misunderstanding Lupe's sense of direction until they including Ferdinand and Lupe notice a low bridge on their way and duck to avoid collision while screaming, which somehow destroys the top of the cart carrying the bulls and the Bunny now perching on Maquina's head; making it a close shave for them.

When Moreno and his men get closer and after Una manages to subdue them momentarily, which ends with Una being rescued by Valiente, the humans crash into a haystack pile in a field as Ferdinand and the bulls drive further away towards Madrid.

Escaping to the train station in Madrid

The gang are stuck in a heavy traffic jam in Madrid until they notice Moreno and his men having caught up to them and decide to go on hoof to the train station that will take them to Ferdinand's home where he grew up in Seville with the hedgehogs riding on Ferdinand while the Bunny rides on Maquina. During the chase, Ferdinand is saved by Bones from getting caught by one of Moreno's men with a rope. At one point during the chase, near a restaurant, after Bones saves Ferdinand, Ferdinand catches some porcelain dishes and cups with a tray with great success to avoid greater damage being accidentally and unintentionally caused by the bulls. Then, the other bulls except Ferdinand, of course, are seen charging at a phony matador (a guy in a matador cutout actually). Later, Ferdinand can be seen enjoying some churros with his friends while riding a bus to the train station.

At the station, after the hedgehogs watch on the board for which track to take, Ferdinand and the others follow them. Unfortunately, they are spotted by Moreno and his men and their passage is somewhat blocked. After Ferdinand gives Una a boost to locate the train headed for Seville, as previously asked by Una, and Una notices it leaving and informs them, Ferdinand and the others hurry to catch up with it. While the bulls push a cart to connect it to the train, the hedgehogs climb aboard to help with the connection and Lupe uses the train switch to get the cart onto the track that the train is on. As soon as everbody is on board the cart after it's been connected to the train, Valiente asks Ferdinand to climb aboard next but Ferdinand insists he climbs up next instead while dragging and pushing him up the cart by force and later, stays behind as Moreno and his men catch up with them. When Ferdinand sacrifices himself to save his friends and Lupe stays behind as well, his friends are saddened as they watch him get captured by Moreno and his men to be taken to the arena in El Primero's final fight while riding further away.

The Fight in The Ring

After Ferdinand and Lupe have been brought to Plaza del Toros and before the fight begins, inside his temporary enclosure, Ferdinand listens to Lupe's words of kindness and encouragement even if it means having to fight his way out of this situation.

When the door opens, Ferdinand comes out while Lupe stays behind inside momentarily. Once inside the ring, El Primero taunts him with his cape and commands in Spanish so as to push him into fighting him, but Ferdinand still refuses and is, of course, afraid to die. Nevertheless, El Primero then has the entire cuadrillas trying to push Ferdinand into fighting, but to no avail until one of the picadors pokes him on the rear with a spear, which eventually causes him to bellow and run in pain and charge straight towards El Primero's cape, therefore, giving him his "fight" and the admiration of his fans as well. Trying to avoid another spear from another picador, Ferdinand runs and charges towards the cape again, but the next time, while El Primero's back is turned, Ferdinand accidentally and unintentionally snatches the cape with his horns, where the cape remains temporarily attached on, which partially and temporarily blinds him, thus, causing a slight embarrassment for El Primero in front of everyone; much to the matador's anger. Slightly embarrassed and upset, El Primero tries in vain to recover his cape but Ferdinand keeps resisting, thus, rendering the fight more like a "bullfighter fight" instead until El Primero suddenly finds himself on Ferdinand's back after finally and momentarily grabbing the cape. Then, Ferdinand starts to panic and the fight turns into a rodeo; much to the crowd's amusement until Ferdinand accidentally and unintentionally tosses El Primero out of the ring.

However, Ferdinand is now left to deal with a humiliated and enraged El Primero having stormed back inside the ring with banderillas and proceeding to try in vain to kill him, but Ferdinand still resists every attempt on his life until finally, El Primero accidentally and unintentionally scratches Ferdinand on his right shoulder, which drives him so mad as he bellows loudly in so much pain up to a point where he suddenly begins to retaliate in anger; much to everyone's shock.

At first, Ferdinand hesitates until he notices a flower under his hoof, thus, making him realize that he is becoming the fighter he was never willing to be at all. So, Ferdinand generously spares El Primero and proceeds to sniff the flower as El Primero walks further back away.

After Ferdinand is done sniffing the flower, El Primero approaches and ungratefully proceeds to try and kill Ferdinand with a sword once and for all. As El Primero gets ready to deliver the final blow, Ferdinand unexpectedly surrenders himself to El Primero; much to everyone's confusion. Nevertheless, El Primero continues until the crowd, touched by Ferdinand's gentle nature and bravery, suddenly shouts for him to let Ferdinand live and spare his life and proceeds to cheer for him, thus, making history as the first bull to ever make it out of a bullfight alive by being himself.

After El Primero, having regained his honor and respect, nods to Ferdinand and finally leaves the ring as he retires with honor and dignity, Ferdinand finally finds himself happily reunited with his owner, Nina and the rest of his friends having followed him into the ring as well so as to rescue him, thinking they are too late at first, as the crowd continues cheering for him and throwing flowers for him in the ring; much to his delight and joy. Impressed, Ferdinand's friends sit to praise him for his efforts.

Back Home on The Farm

After winning the fight, Ferdinand and his friends are taken in a truck by Moreno back to Juan's farm in Seville where Ferdinand grew up most of his life. Once Ferdinand and the others are out, Ferdinand tells Paco how much he missed him but Paco denies that he missed him; a fact which can be denied when Ferdinand points out to Paco that his "tail doesn't lie" when he notices his tail wagging after calling him "brother" again. After Lupe becomes the first to be welcomed on the farm and loved by Nina, Ferdinand makes his way into a field of flowers on top of a hill as he sniffs flowers and then, happily watches the sunset over Ronda from there next to his favorite tree until he is joined by the other bulls along with Lupe.

Trivia

  • Ferdinand's character design took a year and a half to complete, his fur alone taking three weeks.
  • Ferdinand is the fourth Blue Sky Studios animal character to be a protagonist, after Manny from Ice Age, Horton the Elephant from Horton Hears a Who! and Blu from Rio.
  • He is similar to the affable bull character "Aff" from the Picture These SAT Words series, as they are friendly bulls and suffer ridiculing from their fellow bulls.

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