Film Preview: Ferdinand (2017)

Page Revisions:

(April 2, 2017) Original
(July 16, 2017) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#4)
(October 1, 2017) New Trailer (#3) / New Posters (#5-#8)
(November 12, 2017) New Trailer (#4) / New Poster (#9)
(December 10, 2017) New Posters (#10-#18)

Release Date:

December 15, 2017

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “After Ferdinand, a bull with a big heart, is 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.”

Poster Rating: D / B- / C+ / C / B- (2) / C+ (2) / D+ / B- / D / C / C- (5) / C

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) Yup. It’s a bull. At least part of one. That’s it, nothing detailed. Nothing interesting. Thankfully, the corny tagline isn’t displayed.

(#2) This poster is reminiscent of old children’s storybooks from the 1950s and 1960s. The clear attempt is to make this seem like an old fashioned kids movie. It works modestly well. (#3) It’s a pretty backdrop, but an inconsequential design. (#4) Like the previous design, #3, it has a nice setting, but it’s particularly compelling.

(#5 & #6) These artistically stylized posters are reminiscent of advertising of the period and and area. (#7 & #8) These two stylized poster designs, while dissimilar enough to be discussed separately, share a common line-drawing style that makes them fit together quite well.

(#9) Why studios insist on creating poster designs that lack background detail and feel unintentionally ludicrous will never make sense.

(#10) The first trailer also tackled the “bull in a china shop” concept, so it doesn’t quite have much weight anymore. However, compared to the dreary red scheme of the film’s other posters, it’s a welcome respite. (#11) More of the red design and while they attempt to go the “Latin lover” route, it doesn’t feel appropriate for a children’s film poster. (#12) All the characters in a satisfactory design doesn’t quiet inspire. (#13-#17) These character posters are as lifeless as all the other designs so far. (#18) We now have confirmation that the artists behind the designs have no inspiration. They literally copied a scene from the film for this poster. A poor decision.

Trailer Rating: C- / C- / C- / B-

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1) Could there be a better trailer to exemplify everything wrong with the production company Blue Sky’s films than this trailer. Simplistic humor, weak voice-over work, and animation that’s decent, but not spectacular. People will watch it, but it doesn’t look like it will be that good.

(#2) Animated films must appeal to children and while studios like Disney/Pixar and DreamWorks are better at conveying their films in a more broadly appealing manner, Blue Sky and their ilk can’t quite figure out how to sell their movies without making them look rudimentary and childish.

(#3) The same tired jokes are still present in the trailer and showing the actors who give the characters voice might sway some potential viewers, but without something really exciting or authentically funny in the trailer, that won’t do much good.

(#4) While the preciousness of the prior trailers is still there, this trailer makes the adventure seem more pressing and less problematic. That doesn’t mean that it won’t be an utter disappointment, but at least it looks slightly more interesting than past trailers would have suggested.