| Director | Carlos Saldanha |
|---|---|
| Genre | adventure film, comedy film |
| Runtime | 108 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $111 million |
| Box office | $296 million |
In Spain, a calf named Ferdinand lives with other bulls at the Casa del Toro, whose owner Señor Moreno trains them for bullfighting. Ferdinand is a pacifist, which his peers mock him for. When the matador arrives, and the fathers fight to impress him, Ferdinand's father, Raf is picked. When his father never comes back from the ring, Ferdinand runs away from the Casa del Toro to a flower farm owned by a man named Juan, whose daughter Nina adopts him.
Years later, Ferdinand has grown into an enormous but still gentle bull. One day, Ferdinand looks too scary to take along to the annual flower festival in Ronda, as in previous years. Ferdinand follows them anyway, but is stung by a bee and panics, accidentally destroying the town square and wreaking havoc in a china shop. Animal control officers deem him dangerous and take him away before Juan and Nina can explain.
The officers return him to the Casa del Toro, where he reunites with Valiente, Bones and Guapo, as well as Lupe, a goat, and two new bulls, Angus and Maquina. Ferdinand tries to escape, but is stopped by three Lipizzan horses of German origin named Klaus, Greta and Hans.
The next day, snooty matador El Primero arrives, needing a bull for his final bullfight before retirement. His assistant Moreno puts all the bulls in a ring to fight it out, but Ferdinand refuses to take part, causing mishaps when he tries to help Guapo recover from a stage fright-induced faint. El Primero gives Moreno two days to get the bulls into shape while Guapo is sent to a chop house as non-fighters now become meat. The next day, Ferdinand begins to bond with the other bulls, but Valiente mocks them for wasting valuable practice time, causing them to reluctantly abandon Ferdinand and return to training.
With the help of hedgehog siblings Una, Dos and Cuatro, Ferdinand and Lupe try to escape through the house. Ferdinand finds a wall of horns in a trophy room, including Raf's. Realizing that bulls die whether they are selected or not, Ferdinand goes back and warns the other bulls to leave the Casa del Toro. Valiente refuses to accept the truth and starts fighting Ferdinand, accidentally breaking off his own horn. He is taken to the chop house, and Ferdinand is chosen by El Primero, who believes he deliberately injured Valiente.
With the aid of his friends, Ferdinand rescues Valiente, as well as Guapo, who had not yet been killed. Together, Lupe, the bulls, the hedgehogs and a rabbit Ferdinand had almost accidentally killed earlier steal a truck and flee to Madrid, causing El Primero to send out Moreno and his men to retrieve Ferdinand. The bulls arrive to the Atocha train station and Ferdinand helps the others get aboard the train, but sacrifices himself to buy them time to get away. He and Lupe are captured by Moreno and brought to the ring, but a video of the bulls' escape has made the news. Recognizing Ferdinand on TV, Juan's dog Paco alerts Juan and Nina to come see the broadcast; realizing where Ferdinand is, the three rush off to Madrid to save him.
At Las Ventas, Ferdinand, after being convinced by Lupe that he must survive, refuses to fight and starts running around in blind panic, accidentally knocking over and humiliating El Primero, who wounds him with a banderilla. Ferdinand nearly retaliates until he sees a carnation crushed beneath his hoof, reminding him of his time with Nina. Ferdinand spares El Primero and sits down, waiting to be killed, but the crowd demands El Primero to let Ferdinand live, which he obliged, putting down his sword and leaving with dignity. Ferdinand's pacifism makes him the first bull to survive a bullfight, and he is reunited with Nina. Moreno then brings Lupe, Ferdinand and the other bulls, along with the hedgehogs and rabbit, to live at Nina's farm.