Ferdinand
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 6+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Ferdinand is a big bull with a gentle heart who loves flowers and does not want to fight. He is taken to a ranch where bulls are trained for bullfights. He helps his friends escape, and in the bullring he chooses not to hurt the matador. It is a funny, kind film about peace, mercy and looking out for each other, but a few jokes make light of the sign of the cross and need a word from you. The bullfighting and the slaughterhouse are scary for small children. The one age is 6, set by Common Sense Media (6+); the Catholic classification is A-I and the MPAA says PG.
For parents
One age: 6, set by Common Sense Media (6+). Catholic News Service rated it A-I (all ages) and the MPAA rated it PG. Per Common Sense Media and Plugged In, Ferdinand's father dies in the bullring off screen, a trophy wall shows the horns of killed bulls, there is a rescue in a slaughterhouse, and Ferdinand is wounded by a spear in the ring. Plugged In lists several religious gags: comic nuns cross themselves and say 'Ave Maria', they hold up a cross to ward off Ferdinand like a charm, three hedgehogs cross themselves when their missing friend comes up, and the goat says 'Don't go into the light!' while reviving a fainted bunny. The Catholic News Service reviewer found the nuns humorous, not disrespectful. Tell your kids the sign of the cross is a real prayer, and a crucifix is not a lucky charm. Plugged In also notes toilet jokes, the goat calling Ferdinand 'F-bomb' once, and a horse sneering that his parents 'weren't even related'. Talk about it: Why did Ferdinand spare the matador? Is it weak to refuse to fight? What did he mean by 'If we don't look out for each other, who will?'