PLOT: Following an animal revolution, the pigs seize power, and a farm transforms into a ruthless dictatorship.
REVIEW: When Angel Studios debuted the first trailer for Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm, the internet, as it’s wont to do, lost its mind. Like a flock of misinformed sheep, many keyboard warriors bleeted about the potential ruin of George Orwell‘s timeless satirical allegory, which was many folks’ introduction to dystopian literature. I’m here to tell you that everything is going to be okay. Not only is Serkis’ adaptation of Orwell’s novel worth your time, but it’s also as disturbing and poignant in modern times as one would expect.
I’ve been racking my brain for the past 24 hours about what people want or expect out of Serkis’ Animal Farm. At some point, you need to let go of assumptions, buy the ticket, and take the ride. I’ve seen some gnarly reviews of this film in the lead-up to its wide release, and so many set themselves up to hate this movie before giving it an honest shake. Yes, the initial trailer doesn’t nail the tone of Orwell’s anti-utopian novella, but the second one certainly does. Knowing what to expect after reading the book in middle school (it’s one of my favorites from that time), I expected Serkis’ film to dabble in Orwellian themes, but never fully commit. I’m thrilled to say I was dead wrong. For me, Animal Farm feels more like a slow-burning animated horror film than a family-friendly romp with talking animals. Serkis’ Animal Farm is dark and unnerving in ways that make me question who would take their kids to see it in theaters. I’ll tell you this much: if you bring the kids to see Animal Farm, be prepared to answer some harsh questions about freedom, oppression, and how, despite the best efforts of the well-intentioned, it only takes one impatient and uncooperative dissident to make it all come crashing down.
In Animal Farm, a group of farm animals stages a revolt after realizing they’re heading toward a slaughterhouse. With man out of the picture, the animals organize, establish rules, and begin working together to survive their new reality as independents. However, when Napoleon (Seth Rogen), a pig who refuses to play by the rules, sows doubt among the group, their dream of freedom and prosperity quickly devolves into a survival-of-the-fittest struggle.
As it has been since 1945, Orwell’s Animal Farm holds a mirror to humankind’s inability to get out of its own way. As humans, we toil, struggle, and scrape for any semblance of happiness or justice as vampires in power mismanage, manipulate, and manhandle the dream of equality. Serkis’ Animal Farm understands the assignment and tells Orwell’s story while holding little back so as not to offend those who choose not to see the forest for the trees. Is the adaptation perfect? Absolutely not, but it’s better than people assume.
While the movie does a fantastic job of establishing the dividing line between those looking to create a new society on equal footing and those barely lifting a finger (or hoof) to ride shotgun down easy street, there are a few moments when Animal Farm misses the mark. I’m talking about the soundtrack. Good grief. There are two points in the movie where I thought, “Oh, no. You had me. Don’t do this. What is this audio slop? Mix it in with the rest of the leftovers in the trough.” Thankfully, Animal Farm quickly recovers from a few brief moments of cringe, bringing us right back to the life-or-death carnival of poison words and rotting ideals as it should be.
I’d also like to shake the hand of this film’s casting director, because Animal Farm is a murderers’ row of talent, from Seth Rogen’s sinister performance as Napoleon, to Gaten Matarazzo as Lucky, the piglet caught between a war for acceptance from his own species or the well-being of his other animal friends. Laverne Cox also shines as Snowball, an idealist who takes charge early in the story, hoping to revive the farm in a way that benefits all animalkind. Her time in the movie is brief, but her performance is powerful. Woody Harrelson does an outstanding job at playing Boxer, a horse on his way out to pasture, who believes in hard work and togetherness. We love Boxer. We should all strive to be more like him. Kathleen Turner lends the group a comedic air as Benjamin, a nihilistic donkey whose worldview was bleak before the slaughterhouse revolt. Benjamin has one of the best arcs throughout the film, as Benjamin’s nihilism turns to optimism and determination with each new struggle. Ms. Marvel actress Iman Vellani plays two roles, Puff and Tammy, two show pigs whose ideals couldn’t be more similar, until the danger of Napoleon’s lies yields deadly consequences. Kieran Culkin also knocks his role as Squelaer, Napoleon’s weasely yes-pig, out of the park. He’s the kind of sniveling character you wouldn’t mind seeing end up as a plate of well-done bacon alongside a stack of blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs.
The animal characters in Serkis’ film look fantastic. They’re highly detailed, adorable, and wretched when the situation calls for it. Napoleon, for example, becomes more and more slovenly and hideous as the story plays out, while Lucky (Matarazzo), Puff (Vellani), and other members of the downtrodden alliance adapt a “sad but still adorable” look throughout the ordeal. I do have some issues with the start of the film’s third act, finding the “sabotage mission” lacking in its execution, but this is a minor gripe. Whatever problems the movie presents, it quickly recovers, returning to the heart of the struggle, the reason we’re there, in almost no time at all.
Look, this movie could have been a disaster. We could have gotten a watered-down, saccharine, cowardly version of Orwell’s ever-poignant story of survival, revolution, and freedom. Animal Farm does an excellent job of conveying Orwell’s themes without beating audiences over the head with ideology or putting lipstick on the pig. As always, we’re living through trying times, and Animal Farm isn’t afraid to call attention to what’s broken about our current system. It doesn’t offer any solutions either, but that’s the point. No one really knows what to do, because humans, like the animals in Orwell’s story, are lost. Hopeful, but lost. No one knows how to fix what’s broken, and until people can set their differences aside, listen to one another, and work together to build a better tomorrow, we’ll continue to act like swine wallowing in our own shit until the heat death of the universe. No billionaire is coming to save us, Frieda Pilkington (Glenn Close) is forever a villain, and people like Mr. Wymper (Steve Buscemi) will always bend a knee to the dollar before doing what’s best for those in need. In a world full of Napoleons, be a Lucky, and start the revolution.
I’m giving Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm a strong 8 out of 10. The movie genuinely surprised me with its unflinching approach to Orwell’s eye-opening novella, with all the philosophy, danger, and warning intact. It presents an overwhelming sense of dread throughout and offers some of the most thought-provoking narrative concepts, thanks to its honoring of its source material. Anyone who says otherwise either doesn’t get it or chooses not to.