With new war fronts popping up on a seemingly daily basis, it may be an opportune moment to revisit the story of Ferdinand, the peaceable bull. Today marks the 75th anniversary of “The Story of Ferdinand,” written by Munro Leaf, a prolific writer for children, and illustrated by Robert Lawson, the only person ever to win both the Caldecott and Newbery medals.
“Once upon a time in Spain there was a little bull and his name was Ferdinand,” the book, which was illustrated with simple black-and-white ink drawings, opens. Deep in corrida des toros country, Ferdinand stood out from all the other bulls: “He liked to sit just quietly and smell the flowers.”
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First published in 1936, “Ferdinand” was released shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and was widely viewed as pacifist propaganda, leading to bans in many countries. It became an international hit anyway, translated into more than 60 languages and selling millions of copies worldwide. When Sandra Bullock read the book aloud to her sons in “The Blind Side,” sales in the U.S., always steady, spiked dramatically. Last year, the actor Seth Rogan gave a live reading, set to music, in Los Angeles.
“Ferdinand” actually has a long cinematic history. In 1938, Walt Disney created a short animated cartoon of the story, which went on to win – deservedly – an Oscar for Best Animated Short Subject (Cartoons). And just last month, Fox Animation Studios acquired the rights to the book, with plans to adapt it into a full-length CGI film. Carlos Saldanha, the director of the “Ice Age” franchise, is attached to direct.
It’s not a stretch to think of Ferdinand as more than just a symbol of peace, but as an icon for the outsider and the bullied. “He was gentle and kind/ And his moo was refined/Which the rest of the bulls all resented,” goes the song “Ferdinand the Bull,” sung by “America’s sweethearts,” The Lennon Sisters, and later covered by Michael Feinstein, the acclaimed songwriter and singer, on his children’s album, “Pure Imagination.” “He knew how to tango/And dance the fandango/But he never learned how to fight.”