Ferdinand the Bull is a Walt Disney

Walt Disney

Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...

 cartoon released on November 25, 1938 by R.K.O. Radio Pictures, directed by Dick Rickard. Based on the book, The Story of Ferdinand

The Story of Ferdinand

The Story of Ferdinand is the best known work written by American author Munro Leaf and illustrated by Robert Lawson. The children's book tells the story of a bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in bullfights...

 by Munro Leaf

Munro Leaf

Wilbur Monroe Leaf , was an American author of children's literature who wrote and illustrated nearly 40 books during his 40-year career. He is best known for The Story of Ferdinand , a children's classic which he wrote on a yellow legal-length pad in less than an hour...

 and illustrations by Robert Lawson

Robert Lawson (author)

Robert Lawson was an American author and illustrator of children's books. During World War I, he also served as a camouflage artist.-Background:Born in New York City, Lawson spent his early life in Montclair, New Jersey...

. Sometimes considered to be a Silly Symphonies

Silly Symphonies

Silly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...

 cartoon, otherwise it might not be a part of the series.

Plot

In the beginning, there are a lot of bulls, romping around together and butting their heads. There was only one bull who wasn't doing that, and that was Ferdinand. All he wanted to do was go under a shady tree and smell the flowers all day. Then one day his mother noticed that he wasn't playing with the other bulls. His mom asked him why he wasn't butting his head with the other bulls. He replied that all he wanted to do was to sit and smell the flowers. Luckily, his mother was very understanding. Over the years, Ferdinand grew and grew until he was as big as the tree. The other bulls wanted to accomplish one goal in life: to be in the bullfights in Madrid, Spain, but not Ferdinand. Then one day, five strange looking men were here to see the bulls. When the bulls noticed them, they fought as rough as possible, hoping that they would get picked, but not Ferdinand who went back to smell the flowers. Just as Ferdinand was sitting, he accidentally sat on a bumblebee. That made him go crazy and on a rampage, knocking the other bulls out and crashed into a tree, making it fall down. The five men cheered as they took Ferdinand to Madrid. There was a lot of excitement when the day of the bull fight came. On posters, they called him Ferdinand the Fierce. At the ring came out picadors and the matador who was being cheered on. When he was bowing, a woman in the audience gave him a bouquet of flowers which landed in his hand. Then the moment came where Ferdinand came out. He was wondering what was he doing there. The picadors were scared and hid, but the matador was scared stiff as Ferdinand noticed the bouquet of flowers. He was coming as the matador dropped the bouquet of flowers as Ferdinand smelled the flowers. The matador was angry that he wasn't charging at him. Then he was so angry that he cried because he didn't do anything and ripped his shirt. Ferdinand noticed that he had a flower tattoo with the word "Daisy" at the bottom. Ferdinand licked the tattoo as he kept on crying. Eventually, he was dragged out of the arena smelling the flowers and was taken back home. Then he went back under the tree and just smelled the flowers.

Sequels

There was a book sequel to this cartoon called "Ferdinand and the Bullies", apart of the Walt Disney's Fun-to-Read Library

Walt Disney's Fun-to-Read Library

Walt Disney's Fun-to-Read Library is a 19-volume children's book series, published by Bantam Books and Walt Disney Productions, and released in 1986.-Volumes:# Mickey Meets the Giant# Thumper's Little Sisters# Pinocchio's Promise# Goofy's Big Race...

.

Awards

Ferdinand the Bull won the 1938 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons)

Academy Award for Animated Short Film

The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....

.

Home Video Release

1. Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts: 1920s-1960s
   Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Five
   -The Chronological Donald, Volume Two:This set covers the second leg of Donald Duck's long career, starting from 1942 to 1946, covering World War II in the process. The Japanese, French and German releases of this set only contains 29 of the 32 shorts available on the American release. The shorts...
   
    (DVD) 2005
2. Walt Disney's Timeless Tales Volume 2: The Ugly Duckling/Wind in the Willows/The Country Cousin
   Walt Disney's Timeless Tales
   Walt Disney's Timeless Tales is a series of DVDs by Walt Disney Home Video. Each release had around one-hour of Disney animated short films featuring classic fairy tale adaptations. As opposed to the chronological nature of the Walt Disney Treasures line, each release included cartoons in no...
   
    (DVD) 2005
3. Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films Volume 6: The Reluctant Dragon (DVD) 2009

External links

• Ferdinand the Bull, in the Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts