In 1945, George Orwell published Animal Farm, a satire that explained the flaws of Communism using farm animals, acting as a direct comparison to the history of Russia and the Soviet Union. His novel was met with much critical acclaim (and ironically, censorship). 81 years later, Animal Farm is getting an animated movie adaptation on May 1st, 2026.
This is far from a new idea. Animal Farm has already been adapted into a 2D animated film commissioned by the CIA in 1954, as well as a live-action TV movie from 1999. The obvious difference is in the 3D animation style, but with the release of a trailer, many unique things can be found, none of which are very promising.
The biggest problem with the trailer is the target audience, as it tries to attract a much younger scope of people. Animal Farm is not a children’s book. Even though it uses simple domesticated animals in its story, it is an allegory for the real life cruelty and suffering of the Soviet Union’s Communist tactics. It only uses the animals to create something more presentable so that the audience can have a better understanding.
Orwell could have very well written the book about an alternative cast of humans, but it wouldn’t have nearly as much impact because it would be generic and much less memorable. Because it tries to bury this representation, children will see the movie as a fun story about talking animals and not as the political warning it was meant to be.
One specific joke perfectly exemplifies the negative feelings I feel towards this trailer. A group of pigs (including Napoleon) read the side of a truck that says “Laughterhouse”, only for it to be revealed that it actually says “Slaughterhouse”. This one joke already breaks one of the rules that Orwell set: none of the animals could read until much later in the novella, as it was a human trait that they sought to separate themselves from. If your movie trailer breaks one of the core themes of the story it is adapting 20 seconds in, I don’t think there is much hope for the rest of the unseen film.
The next thing worth mentioning is the animation style. While not inherently bad, it is incredibly unremarkable, and it is close to in artstyle to many of the AI-generated mock animated videos that have garnered such a negative stigma. I wouldn’t be surprised if AI was used in assistance for the creation of it. Again, that’s not a bad thing unless it detracts from the overall message and themes of the source material, which it does. The film continuously gives off the feeling that all it wants to do is take a recognizable property and find ways to make the most money possible.
Animal Farm originally took place in a similar time period that it was published in. The movie takes a similar but different approach by adapting the story into the present day. Orwell’s themes are everlasting, so this theoretically wouldn’t be a problem; however, it seems that the film yet again only uses this to try and create more humor. It looks incredibly cursed to see a pig that is supposed to represent Joseph Stalin wearing sunglasses and Tokyo-drifting in a pink car that bears too close a resemblance to a Cybertruck. Could this have maybe worked if it didn’t seem like that this was all the film was? Probably not, but it might at the very least have been tolerable.
Casting is unimpressive. Seth Rogen stars as Napoleon, Orwell’s portrayal of Joseph Stalin, the guy who killed tens of millions of people who dare say that they disagree with him. Seth Rogen just really doesn’t do it. He has his moments, but he’s not the memorable cruel leader that Orwell intended, again opting for more of a comedic approach which detracts from the overall message.
It’s disappointing to see such a warped representation of the film, especially when the CIA succeeded in commissioning a faithful one more than 70 years ago. Again, Animal Farm is not a children’s book. Just because a book uses animals for characters over people like Jack Torrance or Alex DeLarge, it doesn’t mean it isn’t trying to convey a deeper message that applies to the real world.
If nothing else, Orwell’s themes are none the more prevalent than in modern day. North Korea keeps its political prisoners in camps, akin to Stalin. Vladimir Putin has been trying to reclaim past land of the Soviet Union for the last four years. Time really does feel like a circle , and all that does is prove the longevity of the messages and themes that Orwell taught with Animal Farm.
Of course, time can change many things. Perhaps the movie will be slightly reworked due to the criticism provided by many people. Maybe there are much deeper themes in what hasn’t been shown. But with what we have been given, the future for Animal Farm’s third film adaptation looks darker than it should.
