A new animated film adaptation of George Orwell's classic novella Animal Farm has been met with harsh criticism, with reviewers calling it 'an abomination' and 'a tonal nightmare.' Directed by Andy Serkis, best known for his role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, the film reimagines Orwell's 1945 satirical allegory about the rise of Stalinism as a comedy-adventure animation, complete with fart jokes.
The movie features an all-star voice cast including Seth Rogen, Oscar winner Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things, and Steve Buscemi. The trailer, released last year, already sparked backlash, with fans describing it as 'absolutely horrific' and 'unfunny 3D animation slop for kids,' hoping it was a parody due to its tone being 'so over the top and at odds with the source material.'
Critical Reception
Reviews ahead of its US theatrical release on May 1 confirm those fears. Consequence of Sound warned: 'There are bad movies, and then there are movies that drain all life and joy out of a person's soul. The new animated Animal Farm falls firmly into the latter category,' adding that while aimed at children, it is 'really for no one with any sense or taste.'
The Hollywood Reporter criticized the adaptation, written by Nicholas Stoller of Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame, for 'sacrificing the story's powerful anti-Stalinist message for a dumbed-down critique of corporatisation featuring human villains.' Critic Frank Scheck noted: 'I've read Orwell's novella, but I don't think there was a moment in which Napoleon, the Saddleback boar who becomes the villain, lets loose a big wet one and exclaims: 'This is the sound of freedom!'
New Characters and Ending
The Wrap slammed the film for its 'all-new characters and a Hollywood-friendly, mega-happy ending.' New characters include piglet Lucky (voiced by Matarazzo), who acts as the audience surrogate. Liz Declan of Screen Rant wrote: 'This film's sins go beyond shying away from the executions of young pigs or the book's haunting, unhappy ending. The filmmakers' changes have resulted in the complete bastardisation of the original story and its meaning. Some adaptations, it seems, are far less equal than others.'
An earlier one-star review from The Telegraph's Tim Robey, following the London Film Festival screening in October, described the movie as 'a shudder-worthy nightmare' with visuals that are 'unremittingly horrid.' He added: 'The bizarre achievement of this new film is to make us feel trapped and punished through every phase of the story.'
Production Background
The adaptation is produced by Angel Studios, a faith-based Utah production company known for 'values-based' projects and strong Christian themes. Angel Studios previously backed the controversial 2023 film Sound of Freedom and the upcoming chocolate biopic Hershey, whose trailer was described as 'awful' and feeling like 'an AI prompt.'
Animal Farm currently holds a 36% score from 14 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with only a handful of early positive reactions from Screen International and Deadline following its premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival last June. The adaptation has been in development since 2011, with Serkis originally attached as co-screenwriter. Netflix initially purchased distribution rights in 2018, but after numerous delays, production finally began in 2022.
Animal Farm releases in US cinemas on Friday, May 1. A UK release date has not yet been announced.
