An animated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm opens in theaters May 1 from “values-centric” Angel Studios. To quote the marketing to Christian conservatives, attempting to turn this violent, politically dense classic into a cute kids’ movie is a “cautionary tail” indeed.
A passion project of actor-director Andy Serkis (Gollum in The Lord of the Rings) for more than 15 years, this take on the parable moves quickly from animals jointly taking over their small country farm to Machiavellian pig Napoleon ruling as a totalitarian boss.
The source material, still cited widely across political divides, can be compared to Watership Down — a children’s story on the surface, but with complex, mature themes.
Orwell’s 1945 novella is a political philosophy fever dream and explicit allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution and subsequent rise of Joseph Stalin, fictionalized as the pig boss. Disillusioned by the British Empire, Orwell distilled his libertarian socialist ideas into this tale, writing pages on farming practices, labor, economics and how propaganda works.
At its heart, the story critiques power, corruption and self-dealing, which inevitably lead to suffering and death of the vulnerable — certainly relevant to the present day.
“Unlikely to appeal to either general audiences or fans of the novel, this loud, crude adaptation muddles Animal Farm beyond recognition.”
Unlikely to appeal to either general audiences or fans of the novel, this loud, crude adaptation muddles Animal Farm beyond recognition, particularly its third-act rewrite.
As a family entertainment reviewer, I’ve positively covered last year’s Angel-distributed animated films The King of Kings and David, the latter still a favorite of my two kids.
Certainly, Angel’s pitch is accurate to Orwell: “As the pigs consolidate control, truth is erased, dissent is crushed, and the farm descends into a ruthless dictatorship — fulfilling Orwell’s warning about the dangers of communism.”
But the novel’s charm and nuance rarely end up on screen. Meanwhile, advance controversy on the right has further clouded the conversation.
Sight-unseen backlash has been misplaced
In December, Angel Studios premiered a first trailer for Animal Farm, playing in front of their David feature film — puzzling many faith-and-family audiences. It ends with an announcer saying of the PG film: “Recommended for ages 11 and up.”
Even kids recognized some of the voice actors: Seth Rogen (Kung Fu Panda), Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) and Steve Buscemi (Monsters Inc.)
But the Right saw many boogeymen in this edgy animal overthrow of humans, drumming up early backlash that’s been misguided if not entirely baseless.
“The Right saw many boogeymen in this edgy animal overthrow of humans.”
Self-described “anti-woke” podcaster Tim Pool refused Angel’s ads for the movie, posting on X: “The film is shockingly offensive as it is pro communism and anti-capitalism … a critique of capitalism from beginning to end and even has pro-leftist terrorism elements.”
(While the movie is confusing, the only moment of shared good it presents for the animals comes when they set up a farmers’ market and locals buy their wares.) In response to this criticism, Angel posted clips mocking Karl Marx, as seen in another of their kids’ productions.
Others critiqued how transgender activist and actor Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) has a role in the ensemble as the sow Snowball, written as male in Orwell’s story.
“When a male trans actor is hidden behind a gender swapped female character in a children’s cartoon, that is important information,” criticized conservative movie producer Marcus Pittman.
However, while critics framed Snowball as a major role, the character appears briefly — delivering only a handful of lines before being exiled early in the film.
Still other critics have rehashed how Angel was founded by the Harmon Brothers, who make no secret of their membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Yet the studio has platformed evangelical-Protestant creators such as author Andrew Peterson (The Wingfeather Saga) and Jon Erwin (upcoming Young Washington), as well as Catholics including actor Neal McDonough (The Last Rodeo) and director Alejandro Monteverde (Cabrini).
Now they’re working with director Serkis, an atheist who dabbles in other spiritualism.
From dense allegory to goofy cartoon
With a script by Nick Stoller (Zoolander 2) and unremarkable animation from British studio Aniventure, much of Animal Farm leans on unfunny tropes. It’s a grab bag of fart jokes, spiteful bullying, noisy crashes and characters shaking their posterior.
Still, some of the novel’s ideas come through, occasionally with sparks of creativity.
Director Serkis adds a plucky young pig protagonist, Lucky (voiced by Gaten Matarazzo of Stranger Things), which is a good call when trying to adapt this parable for kids. Serkis said: “We give the moral compass journey to a young piglet (who) falls under the political ideology of Napoleon, this rather populist leader. Then the scales fall from his eyes.”
“The novel’s sharp parody of government propaganda is barely present.”
The sheep who bleat in sing-song talking points depict the idolatry of leadership, although the novel’s sharp parody of government propaganda is barely present.
Like the book, dedicated cart-horse Boxer (Woody Harrelson) makes you root for him with his vulnerability and care for others. His sacrifice, heroic but empty, serves as a dramatic climax.
It adds another villain to the story, voiced by usually standout Glenn Close (101 Dalmatians), who drives a sleek Tesla clone. While her robo-farming exploits are trying to say something about Big Tech, it’s unclear and she has little agency, subservient to the pig boss.
Even when it sticks to Orwell, it doesn’t guarantee great cinema.
The novel’s iconic end, where ruling pigs and cruel men cannot be told apart, becomes nightmare fuel here, as the human characters morph into pigs and vice versa.
Perhaps for the better, this adaptation nixes Moses the Raven, Orwell’s pointed critique of how religion and aspirational messages can be used to pacify the masses.
Rewriting the rebellion
By the time the book gets to a final rule being rewritten by the pigs — “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” — readers recoil with horror.
It comes from seeing the many ways sincere, well-rounded characters have been deceived and devalued.
In the film, Napoleon prefaces the line with “Remember one oinking thing” then shouts it several times. But it lacks the weight of Orwell’s tale. In fact, the finale depicting an authoritarian’s rally upended by rebellion-through-teamwork has uncanny similarities to recent Pixar hit Hoppers.
Following a dam breaking and villains washed away, young Lucky and friends consider how to rebuild the farm. Yet their closing lines bizarrely mute Orwell’s warning about oppression.
“We work hard for our friends because we choose to,” says one character.
“Helping others is always right,” another chimes in.
The sentiments may be comforting, but Orwell’s point never was comfort. Animal Farm warns how easily good intentions can be manipulated — and how quickly power reshapes truth. Strip that away, and little of consequence remains.
Distributed by Angel Studios, Animal Farm opens in theaters nationwide on May 1.
Josh Shepherd is a journalist, editor and communications professional who writes on faith, culture and public policy. His articles have appeared in media outlets including The Roys Report, Christianity Today and Family Theater Productions. He and his family live in Central Florida.